Stephen P. Long facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stephen Long
FRS https://esec.illinois.edu/directory/profile/annlong
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Stephen Patrick Long
13 August 1950 London, England
|
| Other names | Steve Long |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater |
|
| Spouse(s) | Ann Long |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2019) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | C4 photosynthesis in cool temperate climates, with reference to Spartina townsendii (S.L.) in Britain (1976) |
| Doctoral advisor | Dr. H.W. Woolhouse |
| Doctoral students | Lisa Ainsworth |
Stephen Patrick Long (born August 13, 1950) is a scientist who studies plants. He was born in Britain but is also an American citizen. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Long is a plant physiologist. This means he studies how plants work and grow. His main goal is to make photosynthesis better. Photosynthesis is how plants use sunlight to make their own food. By improving this process, he hopes to grow more food and plants for biofuel. Biofuel is energy made from plants.
He is a professor at the University of Illinois. He also teaches at Lancaster University and University of Oxford in the UK. His research has shown that we can change how plants do photosynthesis. This can help plants grow more, which was once thought to be impossible! Dr. Long has also helped us understand how climate change affects plants. This includes how more carbon dioxide and ozone in the air change plants. He has even shared his ideas with important leaders like former president George W. Bush and Bill Gates.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Stephen Long grew up in London, England. When he was in high school, his biology teacher made him interested in plants. He also saw how famines (when there isn't enough food) happened in the 1960s. This made him want to find ways to grow more food.
He went to University of Reading and earned his first degree in agricultural botany in 1972. Then, he studied at University of Leeds and earned his doctorate in plant environmental physiology in 1976. Later, in 2007, Lancaster University gave him an honorary doctorate. This was to recognize his important work in environmental research.
Career and Research
Dr. Long started teaching at the University of Essex in 1975. He became a full professor there in 1990. In 1999, he moved to the University of Illinois. Over the years, he has worked at many different research places. These include the Smithsonian Institution and Brookhaven National Laboratory.
In 2007, Dr. Long helped start the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI). This was a huge research project that lasted 10 years. It was one of the biggest partnerships between universities and a company (BP). The goal was to find new ways to make energy from living things.
From 2010 to 2016, he also advised the U.S. government on programs about biomass. Biomass is plant material used for energy.
Improving Photosynthesis
In 2012, Dr. Long began leading a project called Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE). This project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its goal is to make plants do photosynthesis more efficiently. This helps grow more food around the world in a sustainable way. The RIPE project received more funding in 2017 to continue its important work.
Dr. Long has also led other projects focused on energy and plants. These include projects to engineer plants for oil production and to develop new ways to study crops quickly. He also helped with a project to make sorghum plants use water more efficiently.
In 2013, he was chosen as a Center for Advanced Studies Professor at Illinois. This honor is given to professors for their excellent research. He also joined the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology in 2014. In 2016, he became a Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University. He was also a visiting professor at University of Oxford. In 2019, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. This is a very high honor for scientists in the United States.
Scientific Publications
Dr. Long is also very involved in scientific publishing. He started and is the chief editor of a journal called Global Change Biology. He also started GCB Bioenergy, which is a very important journal about bioenergy. In 2018, he launched a new journal called in silico Plants. This journal publishes research that combines plant biology with math and computer science. He is also on the editorial board for PNAS.
Dr. Long has written more than 400 scientific papers. Over 250 of these have been reviewed by other scientists and published in top journals like Nature and Science.
Some of his key discoveries include:
- Finding the most productive land plant known, called Echinochloa polystachya.
- Identifying Miscanthus as a very productive plant for energy. He helped turn it into an important bioenergy crop in Europe and North America.
- Creating the first computer model that shows the entire process of photosynthesis.
Recently, Dr. Long's work has focused on engineering plants to photosynthesize better. This helps increase the amount of food and bioenergy crops we can grow. He also helped create SoyFACE. This is the largest outdoor laboratory in the world. It helps scientists study how future climate conditions will affect crops.
In 2016, his team showed that they could increase crop yield by using computer-designed engineering. This was a big breakthrough and was reported in Science and the New York Times. More recently, his team engineered a crop that needs 25% less water but still grows just as much. They did this by changing one gene found in all plants. This amazing discovery was published in Nature Communications.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Long has received many awards and honors for his important work.
- In 1972, he received the University Prize from the University of Reading.
- He has been recognized as a highly cited researcher in plant and animal science every year since 2005. This means his work is often used and referenced by other scientists.
- In 2007, the American Association for the Advancement of Science chose him as a fellow.
- He has given many special lectures at famous universities like University of Oxford, Imperial College London, Princeton University, and Harvard University.
- In 2009, he became a Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists.
- In 2012, he was an invited expert on food security for the President's Council of Advisors on Science Technology.
- Also in 2012, he received the Charles F. Kettering Award for Excellence in Photosynthesis Research. He also received the Marsh Award for Climate Change Research.
- In 2013, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very old and respected society that honors top scientists and engineers.
- In 2016, he became an Elected Fellow of Lincoln College at the University of Oxford.
- He has also been named one of "The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds" by Thomson Reuters.
