~$11.6MM
in capital improvements
during FY22 and FY23
Our team is excited to work with you!
Meet our Plant Growth Professionals
53
greenhouse compartments for
Research and Instruction
31
Conviron chambers.
16 held for flexible use.
9 supporting BSL-2 research.
100%
Compartments with Cooling Systems
79% Compartments with
Supplemental Lighting
~7,500 sq-ft expansion for facilities by Georgia H.B. 81 Appropriation
58% of our chambers have dimmable LED lighting
CAES Multi-Disciplinary Greenhouse Addition
Plant Growth Facilities added approximately 8,000 square feet of greenhouse and support spaces tailored to agricultural and horticultural plant research at our Riverbend Greenhouse Complex. Construction began late-August '22 and was completed December '23. The facility features Wadsworth SEED environmental controllers, Adiabatic Cooling, Supplemental LED lighting, Automated-Irrigation Solenoids, Insect Exclusion, Sample Processing Spaces and more.
2426 Growth Chamber Expansion
Our newest growth chamber facility was finished in November 2021. The area features 12 Conviron chambers, 5 of which are reservable for use by CAES programs. You can view time slots available for research and current reservations at our greenhouse and growth chamber reservation page.
Photos of the 2426 Growth Chamber Room Expansion
PGF Growth Chamber Availabilities
Get to know our plant growth professionals
Graduation decor by PGF's Pam Lewis
Pamela Lewis has been cultivating flowers and plants for the CAES convocation ceremonies for a decade. Following the event, she carefully selects the best remaining plants and donates them to nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the Athens area.
Poinsettias hold a special place in Lewis’ heart as her favorite horticultural crop. In their native habitat, these plants bloom in response to shorter day lengths. To ensure their proper growth during winter, we employ blackout tents to prevent light drift.
Daniel Gershon
Daniel earned a B.S.A. in Horticulture from the University of Georgia in 1992. His decades of experience began when he was a student working at the UGA Trial Gardens. In 1998, he established Apple Cart Horticultural Services, Inc, a successful landscaping business. By 2010, he joined the Grounds Maintenance team at UGA where he supervised a crew for thirteen years. He enjoys family outings, plant propagation, restoring motorized vehicles and equipment, and giving tours of his cherished gardens.
Facility updates
Greenhouse M1 thru M3 Polycarbonate Replacement
These greenhouses were built in 2008. Over time the polycarbonate has degraded from UV radiation. This impacts the quantity and spectral composition of the light transmitted through the polycarbonate panels to the plant leaves. CAES - Office of Teaching, CAES-Office of Research and Plant Growth Facilities are funding new paneling! Expected completion is early-June 2022.
Evaporative cooling pad update
Our facilities include 52 greenhouse compartments on three sites in Athens. Thirty-six percent of the compartments required almost 800 new cooling pads. Combining an order of this size allowed us to purchase with economies of scale. The savings were directed back into the cooling media by "double-dipping" many of the pads to extend their expected life from five years to an average of eight.
PGF's first cool-season greenhouse
Our facilities have expanded to include 600 square feet of cool-season greenhouse space to support Robin Buell's genomics research program. The greenhouse will be completed this May. These compartments will be a part of the larger multidisciplinary greenhouse expansion scheduled to begin construction in late-July 2022.
View Cool Season Greenhouse Photos
Whitefly grant
Thanks to a whitefly grant award, our entomology department's old greenhouse has been updated with supplemental lighting, area trench drains, insect-exclusion vestibules, new glazing and many other features. The greenhouse now has five compartments all capable of BSL-2 certification.
View Entomology Greenhouse Photos
Riverbend soil shed update
We have removed an unused raw material bunk in our Riverbend soil shed to increase the amount of mixing and sterilizing space and increase the amount of palletized media that we can have on hand.
CAES News
In the Peach State, UGA blueberry research is driving a fast-growing market worldwide
From bringing more than 50 varieties to market to monitoring the growing economic impact of the blueberry, this series dives into the multidisciplinary University of Georgia research behind the top-10 Georgia commodity. “The UGA blueberry breeding program has been a key to the success of launching a significant commercial blueberry industry in Georgia in the 1980s and helping sustain it for four decades,” said Scott NeSmith, professor emeritus in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
CAES News
CAES researchers study how parasitic wasps use ancient viruses to ensure survival
Supported by a $1.1 million award from the National Science Foundation, University of Georgia entomologists Gaelen Burke and Michael Strand are seeking answers about how parasitic wasp biology has developed to use viruses passed down from parent to offspring to ensure survival. Scientists have been able to trace the relationship between the wasps and their viruses back 100 million years. Today about 55,000 types of wasps carry these types of inherited viruses.
CAES News
UGA’s Interdisciplinary Field Program mixes geology, ecology and anthropology into a road trip across America
Compared to some of the long, more strenuous hikes at Yosemite National Park in California, the venture up the granite outcrop at Olmsted Point is short if a little steep. But an epic view awaits the 18 University of Georgia students who make the climb. High above Yosemite Valley, they gaze westward to make out Half Dome in the distance. Other peaks of various shapes and features stretch on endlessly. Class is now in session.