CSREES Multistate Research Project No

CSREES Multistate Research Project No. NE-1030 Characterization and Mechanisms of Plant Responses to Ozone in the U.S. Minutes of 2010 Annual Meeting Air Quality Learning/Demonstration Center, Arboretum, Penn State University, State College, PA July 15-16, 2010 Participants  Best, Teodora ([email protected]) – Penn State University, State College, PA  Booker, Fitzgerald ([email protected]) - USDA-ARS Plant Science Unit, Raleigh, NC  Burkey, Kent ([email protected]) - USDA-ARS Plant Science Unit, Raleigh, NC  Carlson, John ([email protected]) – Penn State University, State College, PA  Chappelka, Art ([email protected]) - Auburn University, Auburn, AL  Decoteau, Dennis ([email protected]) – Penn State University, State College, PA  Fiscus, Edwin ([email protected]) – USDA-ARS Plant Science Unit, Raleigh, NC  Nicholas Gilliland ([email protected]) – Auburn University, Auburn, AL  Grantz, David ([email protected]) - University of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA  Herr, Josh ([email protected]) – Penn State University, State College, PA  Knighton, Raymond ([email protected]) – USDA-NIFA, Washington, DC  Neufeld, Howard ([email protected]) – Appalachian State University, Boone, NC  Savage, Jim ([email protected]) - Penn State University, State College, PA  Skelly, John ([email protected]) – Penn State University, State College, PA (retired)  Smith, Margaret ([email protected]) - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY  Wiese, Cosima ([email protected]) – Misericordia University, Dallas, PA  Zilinskas, Barbara ([email protected]) – Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

Minutes The meeting was held at the Air Quality Learning/Demonstration Center, Arboretum, Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania. The meeting was called to order by Chairman David Grantz at 9:00 on July 15, 2010. Our secretary, Meg McGrath, could not attend the meeting, so Fitz Booker volunteered to record the minutes of the meeting. Dave welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked our host, Dennis Decoteau, for organizing the meeting this year. We were reminded that the current project expires in 2012 and that we should be thinking about approaches for the new proposal. Dave encouraged the group to think about possible collaboration activities, funding opportunities and the need to increase student participation. Dennis Decoteau welcomed the group and thanked Jim Savage for his help setting up for the meeting. Jim is the primary caretaker of the Demonstration Center and has done a great job maintaining and improving the facility. John Skelly opened the meeting with a presentation on the history of the Air Quality Learning/Demonstration Center. He emphasized that success of the center was due in part to cooperation between Penn State University and private industry, notably RRI Energy. John said it was great to see how far the center had progressed from his initial efforts in getting it started. Margaret Smith, our project administrator, encouraged the group to continue meeting its multi-state project objectives. Collaborative research is a component of Hatch Fund projects, and 25% of each project’s fund must be spent on it. Our annual report should highlight multistate research activities. She went on to say that our project renewal process should begin now. The current project terminates on September 30, 2012. A request to write a proposal renewal is due to NIMSS by March 2011. The request should emphasize what’s next in the project’s objectives and how it will take advantage of the multi-state approach. Ray Knighton, our USDA representative, described the four institutes in the newly formed NIFA office, formerly known as CSREES. The institute of Energy, Environment and Climate Change is where he is now assigned. The focus of the funding program has been narrowed compared to previous years but the scale of the projects is much larger. Resources allocated to each project were increased to promote multidisciplinary teams whose research will have impact, in this case, on climate change mitigation and agricultural production problems associated with climate change. Emphasis will be on projects that can develop approaches that will be viable for use in the field in short order. The meeting proceeded as a series of technical reports from each of the participating Experiment Stations. These are captured in the annual report. A field trip to Accuweather, the headquarters of a weather-forecasting company, was incorporated in the afternoon’s activities. We wish to express our appreciation to Mark Steinberg, our tour group leader, and Accuweather for a most interesting and informative tour. Station reports continued on day 2 of the meeting, July 16th. In addition, Vince Brisini, from RRI Energy Corporation, talked about their participation in establishing the Air Quality Demonstration Center and reviewed the current status of emission control activities at power generation facilities. He stated that emission controls were quite effective now and that attaining further reductions will be difficult. Economic incentives must be available for businesses to comply with stricter regulations. Holly Salazer, Air Resource Manager, National Park Service, located at Penn State, presented an overview of the park service’s goals for improving air quality in National Parks. By law, they are mandated to prevent significant deterioration in air quality in National Parks. Specifically, by 2064, the goal of the Regional Haze Regulation is to reduce haze in the parks to pre-impact levels. Holly’s office helps coordinate analysis of air quality monitoring data and comments on permit applications for development that may affect air quality in national parks. Maria Cazorla, a Ph.D. student at Penn State, presented results of her research on a new instrument that measures ozone production rates for use in air quality monitoring in the field. The meeting was interrupted by a thunderstorm and was reconvened at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. After completion of station reports, David Grantz conducted the business meeting. A committee was formed, consisting of Art Chappelka, Fitz Booker and Dave Grantz to write the request to renew the project proposal, due for submission by March 2011. Location of the next meeting will either be on Long Island, hosted by Meg McGrath, or at Rutgers University, hosted by Barbara Zilinskas. Art Chappelka succeeded Dave as Chair of the project. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm, July 16, 2010. Respectfully submitted, Fitzgerald Booker Acting Secretary July 20, 2010