Increasing racial diversity in the North American Plant Phenotyping Network through conference participation support

Abstract

A key goal of the North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN) annual conference is to cultivate a new generation of scientists from diverse backgrounds. As part of their effort to diversify the plant phenomics research community, NAPPN acquired funding to cover all attendance costs for participants from historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) for the 2022 annual meeting. Seven award recipients represented the first attendees from HBCUs in the conference's 6-year history. In this commentary, we report on the impact of the conference awards, including lessons learned, and the future of the award. © 2023 The Authors. The Plant Phenome Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America.