Lincoln’s laboratory in a paddock

11 March 2016
- for immediate release

Lincoln’s laboratory in a paddock

Lincoln University academic staff and postgraduate students are welcoming the conversion of workshops and storage space into a state of the art plant physiology laboratory and controlled environment facility. Chancellor Tom Lambie officially opened the building on 10 March 2016, an occasion he described as a red letter day for Lincoln.

The new Field Research Centre facilities replace those previously located in the earthquake damaged, and now demolished, Hilgendorf Building, and offer a complete suite for field based plant science research, with paddocks, laboratory, growth chambers and academic staff all on one site. The development is a collaboration between the Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences Department and the Agricultural Sciences Department.

Plant Science Professor Derrick Moot says, “The addition of the laboratory and growth chambers complements the field based research that has been happening in the adjacent paddocks for over 100 years. The combined facility will be one of the few in the world that enables post graduate students to move seamlessly from field to laboratory to process samples in one facility. There are a number of projects ready to go for the growth chambers.”

Professor Moot says being without growth cabinets to control temperature and light has made research difficult and put some on hold altogether. “The earthquakes created a lot of disruption for staff and students at Lincoln University, but in this case it also provided a golden- or more appropriately ‘green’ - opportunity to enhance our crop and pasture research.”

Unlike many agricultural universities, Lincoln University has not lost its research fields to urbanisation. “Our paddocks are our laboratories,” says Professor Moot. The controlled environment facility is a university-wide resource that will be used by Masters and PhD students and staff from a number of university departments. External users will be welcome. The controlled environment facility is designed to allow undergraduate or school group visits.

Technical Officer Stephen Stilwell says, “The controlled environment facility consists of four walk-in chambers (growth chambers) with programmable lighting, temperature and additive humidity and CO control, supplemental UV lighting and anteroom supply-air control.

“The potential uses for the facility are extremely varied, including tropical simulations, frost studies and climate change scenarios. The chamber temperature cycle and day length can be programmed to produce out of season plants, for teaching or research purposes.”

Speaking at the opening, Vice-Chancellor Professor Robin Pollard said the new facilities are a credit to everyone who endured hard times when they lost their laboratory space, but that they now have something better than the original.

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