Project Grant 2510940

The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded Missouri Western State University $111,547 on August 1, 2026, to acquire a LI-6800 Integrated Gas Exchange and Fluorescence System with plant, aquatic, soil, and insect chambers under the Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083). The instrument will enable multidisciplinary research and hands-on student training in plant science, ecology, environmental science, microbiology, chemistry, and agriculture at the St. Joseph, Missouri campus through July 31, 2029.

The system will allow researchers and students to quantify how plants, algae, insects, soils, and aquatic organisms respond to environmental conditions and interact with one another, yielding data on ecosystem function, agricultural productivity, and environmental quality. Research enabled by the equipment will investigate plant responses to environmental stress, identify naturally occurring compounds that improve crop resilience, evaluate environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional agricultural inputs, and monitor ecosystem condition using field measurements, remote sensing, and advanced analytical approaches. The project will also support development and application of artificial intelligence tools for metabolite discovery and interpretation of remotely sensed environmental datasets, accelerating scientific discovery and improving environmental monitoring. As a primarily undergraduate institution, Missouri Western will use the instrument to provide advanced technology training typically unavailable at institutions of this type, addressing challenges related to food security, sustainable agriculture, water quality, and natural resource management.