NMC Biological Laboratory Greenhouse, 100 Entrada Dr., set to serve dinner Thursday. Photo by Greg Kendall/ladailypost.com
LANL Deputy Director Beth Sellers addresses dinner guests at the new Bio Lab Thursday. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
Staff Report
Guests primarily from the worlds of science and education attended a special “Greenhouse Dinner” Thursday at the New Mexico Consortium (NMC) Biological Laboratory, 100 Endrada Dr., near the entrance to Los Alamos.
NMC Executive Director Katherine Chartrand, Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director Beth Sellers and LANL/NMC Senior Scientist Dr. Richard Sayer mingled among the 150 people invited to tour the state of the art facility, scheduled to officially open in June. The guests dined on African style food from Santa Fe’s Jambo Cafe and listened to presentations by Chartrand, Sellers, Sayer and UNM Health Sciences Executive Vice Chancellor, Dr. Richard Larson.
They explained that the new Bio Lab supports cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional initiatives in plant biology and biomedical technology and engineering. University faculty and researchers from Los Alamos and across the world will collaborate on global challenges in food security, medicine and sustainable energy in the new facility.
To feed and fuel a growing population in a sustainable way, as efficiently as possible, will require the development of novel innovative technologies that are guided by a greater understanding of how human activities impact the planet. By bringing together scientists from diverse disciplines and research divisions within LANL working in an open laboratory environment, it is expected that new innovative approaches will emerge to address these challenges. An estimated 60 research scientists from LANL with joint appointments at the NMC will develop cross-cutting research programs to address some of the major grand challenges facing the planet. The 27,000 square-foot laboratory and 4,000 square-foot greenhouse facility was built as a result of a joint partnership between LANL, the NMC and Los Alamos County.
The NMC is a non-profit corporation formed by New Mexico’s three research universities to advance scientific research and education.
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