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Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

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Research

Defying disciplinary boundaries to create measurable, scalable and enduring solutions since 1888.
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Biology Scholars Program
Supporting undergraduate diversity, academic excellence and providing career preparation in biological sciences.
Biology Scholars Program
A man holding a large pallet of tomatoes in one hand and picking through tomato plants for additional tomatoes
Moonbeam adds a big bang of flavor to Galaxy tomatoes
Our newest grape tomato – Moonbeam – has joined a constellation of heirloom-style tomatoes in the 2020 High Mowing Organic Seeds catalog.
Moonbeam adds a big bang of flavor to Galaxy tomatoes
A young woman in a lab coat and safety goggles holds a thin wire near an open flame on a bunson burner
Office of Research Development
Assisting faculty at all levels in creating research.
Office of Research Development
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Genetics, not field conditions, makes hemp ‘go hot’
A new study shows that a hemp plant’s tendency to become too high in THC is determined by genetics and not as a response to growing conditions.
Genetics, not field conditions, makes hemp ‘go hot’

Purpose-driven science? We literally wrote the book on it.

The first undergraduate textbooks in mammology, ornithology and food science? Check. The first successful integration of botany and zoology in 1967’s Biological Science? Check. A 1925 handbook of nature study that is still a primary resource on the subject? Check.

The research of Cornell CALS scientists, students and staff hasn’t just informed discovery and innovation, but it is also the foundation upon which fields of study have been built.

In this section

We accelerate purpose-driven science by supporting inquiry that crosses disciplinary boundaries and stretches from discovery to invention.

three overlapping red circles highlighting CALS research areas

The world is complex and intertwined, and bringing global challenges into focus takes more than one lens.

That’s why we focus on three overlapping spheres of inquiry. 

We work relentlessly to understand the systems that drive the human and natural worlds. We do this to promote the well-being of communities and to ensure access to sustainable food, energy and environmental resources.

Because no single discipline is able to address the complex problems facing our communities, CALS researchers collaborate across disciplines.

By working in and across multiple scientific areas, CALS is able to address the challenges and opportunities of the greatest relevance, here in New York, across the nation and around the world.

Undergraduate research

Discovering new genes

Cameron Xu ’26 is using biometry and statistics to help Cornell CALS animal science professor Vimal Selvaraj identify new genes. Together, they’re investigating how steroid hormones regulate the body’s processes, uncovering new knowledge that could advance cancer research and solve other human health challenges.

Explore synthetic biology at CALS
Play CALS Undergraduate Research Experience: Cameron Xu '26
Research in lab

Undergraduate opportunities

Plant Science researchers working in a lab.
Graduate student grants

Opportunities include Andrew W. Mellon Student Research Grants, Arthur Boller Research Fund, Kieckhefer Adirondack Fellowships and Grant Proposal Application Instructions

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Faculty research support

Did you know?

Explore some of the discoveries that have changed lives and industries.

Disease-resistant papaya

In the 1990s, he developed the first-ever transgenic, disease-resistant papaya that effectively saved Hawaii’s $11 million papaya industry.

Five-kingdom scheme

He proposed the five-kingdom scheme of classification for organisms in 1969, adding three kingdoms – Monera (bacteria), Protista and fungi – to the previous two – animals and plants.

Nine plant patents

She holds nine U.S. plant patents: four sweet cherries, one tart cherry and four apple varieties, including SnapDragon™ and RubyFrost.™

First molecular maps

He developed the first molecular maps of both rice and tomatoes.

Red wine benefits

He was first to discover that resveratrol in red wine is beneficial for human heart health.

World’s first “gene gun”

They developed the world’s first “gene gun,” a prototype of which is found in the National Museum of American History.

Latest news, discoveries and breakthroughs

Explore the work we’re doing today and discover how it’s reshaping tomorrow.

Graphic representing the collaborative framework of CROPPS decoding plants’ internal biological processes, STEPS improving sustainable management of phosphorus, and a two-way collaboration with diverse stakeholders.

News

Growth across fields: Scientific collaboration tackles farming challenges

A new study, published in Global Change Biology, presents five case studies that demonstrate how deep collaboration can transform crop monitoring, fertilizer use and water management to tackle the most significant challenges facing farming...

  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Biology Section
  • Agriculture
Two men stand on either side of a rainfall simulator in a lab.

News

Investigating the impact of rainfall on nutrient movement
by Madeline Hanscom Master’s candidate Carlos Irias and Zamorano intern Greivin Fernandez Benavides are currently conducting rainfall simulation experiments, studying nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss in runoff and infiltrate. Manure is a...
  • Animal Science
  • Agriculture
  • Field Crops
A person in a forest with old trees and new plantings

News

More than maple: Cornell research designs sugarbush agroforestry systems
Virtually all of the world’s maple syrup is produced in Canada, the Northeast U.S. and some upper Midwestern U.S. states, where natural conditions for maple sugaring are perfect: wet summers, cold winters and springs with fluctuating...
  • Arnot Teaching and Research Forest
  • Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
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