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Subject Sites Sites for Educators/Students Other
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Photosynthesis Online Group Sites The largest group site, the Arizona State University (ASU) Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis, went online in 1995. Formerly known as the Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis, the center expanded its areas of interest to emphasize bioenergy research into alternative fuels derived from photosynthetic bacterial biomass, the production of hydrogen from photosynthetic influenced model systems, and participation with other ASU initiatives to study climate change and energy sustainability issues at the scientific and public policy levels. In recognition of this evolution, the center changed its name. Its Web site was developed and is currently maintained by one of us (LO) and can be accessed at http://bioenergy.asu.edu. This award-winning site is very comprehensive and showcases not only the operations and work of the center, but also provides original material and numerous annotated links to individual and group photosynthesis research sites of interest to researchers, educators, students and the general public. Early on, the center site was tasked to cover “all things photosynthesis” and this has now expanded to include bioenergy matters and related issues such as climate change and other solar energy topics. One of its most popular items is the educational section that contains links to sites of interest to students and educators and has been annotated as to subject matter and appropriate age-level of understanding (http://bioenergy.asu.edu/photosyn/education/learn.html). Recently, the center added Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tempe-AZ/Center-for-Bioenergy-Photosynthesis/121720517379?ref=ts) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/bioenergycenter) pages in order to provide breaking news to the public. Another popular area is its Nicelist, a list of photosynthesis researchers who don’t mind receiving and answering emails (hence they are “nice”) and includes their email addresses and, in most cases, their Web site URLs (http://bioenergy.asu.edu/photosyn/nicelist.html). Some of the center’s other Web pages will be mentioned in the other sections. An artistic representation of the promise of bioenergy from photosynthesis is shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Artist’s representation of the various research interests of the ASU Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis (http://bioenergy.asu.edu). ASU is also the home of a new Department of Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), the ASU Center for Bio-Inspired Solar Fuel Production (http://solarfuel.clas.asu.edu/), established in 2009. Closely affiliated with the Center for Bioenergy & Photosynthesis, this new center approaches the design of a complete system for solar water oxidation and hydrogen production by applying the fundamental design principles of photosynthesis to the construction of synthetic components, and their incorporation into an operational unit. The functional blueprint of photosynthesis is being followed, using non-biological materials. See below in the “Bioenergy / Biofuels/ Solar Fuel / Biomass” section for more EFRC sites related to photosynthesis and renewable bioenergy research. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), home of National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and Mosaic (and therefore the “mother” of all modern Web browsers), hosts several important sites. A site by one of us (G) (http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/), is much more than an individual site as it includes information on a variety of topics, including course Web pages, a major tutorial/essay on “The Photosynthetic Process” (by J. Whitmarsh and Govindjee), movies, photos and several items of historical importance including PDF files of Personal Perspectives of some eminent scientists, as well as some obituaries, and brief comments on Robert Emerson, Eugene Rabinowitch, William Arnold, Lou Duysens and Stacy French. There is also a tutorial on “Photosynthesis and Time” and other teaching materials such as slides that can be used in the classroom. A significant item is the availability of the complete references of all the chapters in Volumes 1–29 of Govindjee’s Series ‘Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration’ (Springer) (http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/Reference-Index.htm). UIUC is also the home of the wonderful and highly educational site of A. R. Crofts (http://www.life.illinois.edu/crofts/ahab/index.html). The Photosynthesis Research Unit (http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/docs.htm?docid=3333), affiliated with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, covers many areas of photosynthesis crop research. The Theoretical Biophysics Group at UIUC is also present with an excellent site (http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/) with many important pages including “Quantum Biology of the Photosynthesis Unit” (http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/psu/psu.html), animations of various structures (http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Gallery/Movies/) and much more. The Photosynthesis Group at Queen Mary University of London, UK (http://queenmaryphotosynthesis.org/) contains much useful information and links as well as interesting pages on ‘‘Light, Time and Micro-Organisms’’ (http://jfa.bio.qmul.ac.uk/~john/webstar/ltm/default.html), imaging chlorophyll fluorescence, and much more. Also see the Web sites for John Allen and Jon Nield in the “Individual Researchers’ Sites” section. The Department of Biophysics at Leiden University, The Netherlands (http://www.biophys.leidenuniv.nl/) hosts information about several important subjects. Follow the links under Aartsma Lab (http://www.biophys.leidenuniv.nl/aartsma-bf/index.php?module=article&view=51) at that site to find information about “Biophysics of Photosynthesis,” including “Mechanism of oxygen-evolution in photosynthesis,” “Single-molecule spectroscopy of pigment-protein complex” and “Physics of Photosynthetic Reaction Centers.” The Photosynthesis Group at Göteborg University, Sweden, has a nice site with detailed descriptions of their work with plastocyanin and other areas of photosynthesis (http://www.bcbp.gu.se/photosyn/). Uppsala University, also located in Sweden, is the home of the Photosynthesis Group (http://www.fotomol.uu.se/Forskning/Biomimetics/fotosyntes/index.shtm), led by Stenbjörn Styring, which studies Photosystem II and artificial photosynthesis. It is also the home of the new SOLAR-H program to bring together laboratories to do basic research on hydrogen production from renewable sources (http://www.fotomol.uu.se/Forskning/Biomimetics/solarh/index.shtm). The Avron-Wilstätter Center for Photosynthesis Research is located at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. (http://www.weizmann.ac.il/acadaff/Scientific_Activities/2009/wilstatter_center.html) and is working with several groups to study many areas of photosynthesis. The Chemistry Division of Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois, is working on several areas of photosynthesis (http://glassblowing.anl.gov/photosynthesis/index.html). The Robert Hill Institute, Centre for Photosynthesis Research at the University of Sheffield, UK (http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/rhi) has links to several of the researchers working at the Institute. Acad. M. Popov Institute of Plant Physiology, Dept. of Photosynthesis, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (http://www.bio21.bas.bg/ipp/photosynth/photosynth.html) is conducting research on biophysical, biochemical and ecological aspects of photosynthesis and photorespiration in higher plants. Instituto de Bioquímica Vegetal y Fotosíntesis (IBVF) is a joint venture of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and the Universidad de Sevilla (USE), Spain (http://www.ibvf.cartuja.csic.es/IBVF_General%20%28ingles%29.htm and http://www.ibvf.cartuja.csic.es/principalbonitaingles.htm)
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Author Contact Information : Larry Orr Govindjee This Website is based on the Review: Photosynthesis Online. Photosynthesis Research (2010) 105: 167–200, DOI: 10.1007/s11120-010-9570-8 Please contact the authors with any broken links, corrections or suggestions. |
| 07-Feb-2011 |
