Block I logo
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Photosynthesis & Food Security

Ag + Energy

Health + Wellness

Tech + Society

The Photosynthesis & Food Security theme works to improve and future-proof crop photosynthesis to support global food security.

Read More About PFS

PFS Projects

Featured Stories

Stephen Long and Donald Ort of the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project.
Research
Long/Ort step back from RIPE leadership roles they helped create
Read
As part of the Tansley Review, the trio discuss their own research in increasing Rubisco in sorghum, as shown in these 2023 field trials. The authors believe improving rubisco could be part of short-term, and long-term efforts to meet the growing global food demand. Credit: Coralie Salesse-Smith
Research
Rubisco's role in global food security
Read
Katherine Meacham-Hensold led work looking to improve the photorespiratory bypass of potato as a postdoctoral researcher in Don Ort’s lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Research
Climate-ready crop: RIPE team shows increase in food mass through photorespiratory bypass in elevated temperatures
Read
From left, ORNL’s Biruk Feyissa holds a five-month-old poplar tree expressing high levels of the BOOSTER gene, while colleague Wellington Muchero holds a tree of the same age with lower expression of the gene. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Research
Researchers discover new photosynthesis gene that boosts plant height
Read
Professor and C.A. Ewing Chair of Crop Physiology Lisa Ainsworth / L. Bran Stauffer
Research
Prominent global change scientist joins crop sciences, plant biology
Read
Highly cited researchers this year at Illinois are, clockwise from top left: Ed Deiner, Brent Roberts, Atul Jain, Axel Hoffmann, Stephen Long and Kaiyu Guan. Photos by L. Brian Stauffer and Fred Zwicky
Research, Awards
Six Illinois scientists rank among world's most influential
Read