CROPS IN SPACE? UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SOWS HIS IDEAS

Those who travel in space must eat and how food is provided is the basis for the work of Utah State University professor Bruce Bugbee. That topic is also the subject of the next Friends of the Libraries Summer Citizen Lecture Series on the Logan campus Thursday, June 27. Bugbee will present his lecture, ?Feeding People in Space — USU Apogee Wheat on the International Space Station? at 4 p.m. in the Eccles Science Learning Center Rm. 046.

The Summer Citizen Lecture Series has a decade-long history and is sponsored by the Friends of University Libraries. The lectures are open to all and are free to those holding a Utah State Summer Citizen or Friends of the Libraries card. A nominal $1 charge admits everyone else.

A feature story on Utah State??s Web page highlights Bugbee?s work and helps summarize his lecture topic. Living and working in space means eating in space, and researchers at Utah State?s Crop Physiology Laboratory are building on more than a century of Aggie wheat and vegetable breeding expertise to develop plants that will grown in the challenging conditions of the International Space Station (ISS), the story begins.

?I?ll talk about why we need to grow plants in space,? Bugbee said of his lecture. ?We have wheat on the space station right now and I?ll talk about that as well.?

This past April the space shuttle Atlantis delivered a plant-growth system to the ISS where it is being tested and used to grow USU-Apogee wheat — a variety bred at Utah State specifically for use aboard spacecraft, the Web story continued.

Bugbee is professor of crop physiology in the department of plants, soils and biometeorology. He arrived at Utah State in 1981 as a post-doctorate fellow and became a research assistant professor in 1983. He holds a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University.

?This series promotes a connection between the university, the libraries and thecommunity,? said John Elsweiler, associate director for public services for the libraries. ?We are able to spotlight university and community experts in a non-academic setting. The series highlights the wide range of experience and research expertise on campus.?

The next Summer Citizen lecture is July 11 and features Nancy Roberts who will discuss guide dog training for the visually impaired.