Media Advisory 04-31
Senator Bond and NSF Director Announce Multi-Agency Plant Genome Research Program in St. Louis

October 7, 2004

Arlington, Va.—Arden L. Bement, Jr., acting director of the National Science Foundation, will appear with Senator Kit Bond at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Mo. on Monday, October 11 to announce a Maize Genome Sequencing Project jointly funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy.

The Maize Genome Sequencing Project grew out of a community workshop held in St. Louis in July 2001. The workshop focused on selecting one particular representative version of the genome to sequence. The upcoming research program, with an estimated budget of $30 million, will focus on sequencing all of the maize genes and placing them on the maize genome map.

At the conclusion of brief remarks announcing the new research program, members of the news media are invited to join Sen. Bond and Dr. Bement on a tour of the Danforth Center.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Cheryl L. Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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