By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 x 281

Source(s):
Mike Martin mvm@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1971
Robert Ferl robferl@ufl.edu, (352) 392-1928 ext. 301
Bill Knott william.knott-1@ksc.nasa.gov, (321) 867-6988
Jan Heuser, NASA jan.heuser-1@ksc.nasa.gov, (321) 867-4455

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.—The “launch” of a new Center for Space Agricultural Biotechnology Research and Education — or SABRE — at the Kennedy Space Center is set for April 29 when officials from the University of Florida and NASA gather at the facility to formally initiate the program.

The SABRE program, which will include faculty from UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, will focus on the discovery, development and application of the biological aspects of advanced life support strategies, said Mike Martin, UF vice president for agriculture and natural resources. SABRE faculty will be located at KSC and UF in Gainesville.

“The interdisciplinary SABRE program will emphasize the regeneration of life support environments for space flight,” he said. “Such an emphasis has direct parallels in Earth-based applications for solving problems in the agricultural and environmental sciences.”

Martin said SABRE will be directed by Robert Ferl, professor in the horticultural sciences department and assistant director of UF’s Biotechnology Program. As director, Ferl will be responsible for coordinating the research and education efforts of UF and NASA.

The UF biotech program includes the Sid Martin Biotechnology Development Incubator in Alachua and the research support of the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research on the UF campus in Gainesville.

Ferl, a molecular biologist, said SABRE also supports a $30 million investment by the State of Florida in the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory (SERPL), a new state-owned facility being built at KSC that will conduct pre- and post-flight space research for the International Space Station.

“KSC will continue to be the starting point for human exploration of the universe, which presents many opportunities for space-related and other industries to make a sizable economic impact on Florida and the nation,” Ferl said. “It is critical that these new research programs be established in the space program, leveraging findings to meet biotech, agricultural and environmental needs on Earth as well as in space.”

Roy Bridges, KSC director, said the biological research team at the space center has worked with Ferl for several years, including two space flight experiments. Bridges said Ferl will be an “excellent” director for the new SABRE center.

Among those expected to attend the April 29 SABRE program at KSC are Martin, Ferl, Bridges, Win Phillips, UF vice president for research, and William Knott, senior scientist in the NASA biological sciences office.

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