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Science-based innovation for a changing world

Our Four Grand Challenges

Plants, their ecosystems, the soils in which they grow, and their associated microbes are foundational to our health and the health of our planet. In the face of a changing climate and growing pressure on natural and agricultural ecosystems, our research, teaching and outreach address these critical Grand Challenges.

Sustainable crop production and food security

Safeguarding future food security for all with sustainably managed nutritious crops in diverse production systems, under a changing climate, with minimal loss to weeds and pathogens.

Learn more about sustainable crop production and food security

Plants and ecosystem health

Integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation to secure ecosystem and human health and foster climate justice in diverse environments.

Learn more about plants and ecosystem health

Biodiversity, evolution, and molecular mechanisms

Understanding plant processes from molecular to ecosystem levels, and harnessing fundamental knowledge of plants, their associated microbes, and their relationships with the environment.

Learn more about biodiversity, evolution, and molecular mechanisms

Urban plants and ecosystem services

Enhancing food access and ecosystem services for equitable human and ecosystem health in high population areas.

Learn more about urban plants and ecosystem services

Make a difference! Study plant and agricultural sciences at Cornell.

Learn more about undergraduate majors in the School of Integrative Plant Science:

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tissue culture plants
Research areas in SIPS
measuring chlorophyll
Graduate studies in SIPS
field day
SIPS extension & outreach

School of Integrative Plant Science sections

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Cultivating an inclusive community

School of Integrative Plant Science News

Learn how our research in plant and soil sciences is advancing our knowledge and securing food security and environmental sustainability. Stories from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences newsroom.

permaculture classroom

News

New online training explores permaculture-climate solutions for educators
Cornell Garden-based Learning is offering a new online training course designed for K-12 educators looking for practical tools to teach about: Food systems Traditional indigenous ecological knowledge Waste-to-resource solutions The six-week...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
  • Climate Change
4-H’ers participate in the World of Water, where they conducted research across campus, including invasive species sampling and fishing in Beebe Lake.

News

At Cornell, 4-H’ers plant seeds for future careers

Middle and high school students from across New York state spent three days discovering potential career paths during the annual 4-H Career Explorations Conference, held June 30 to July 2 at Cornell.

  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • New York State Water Resources Institute
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
A large group of people at the farm

News

Willsboro Research Farm hosts field day for Northern New York growers
Nearly 80 farmers, commercial growers, home gardeners and professionals from allied regional agricultural organizations gathered on July 8th at Cornell's Willsboro Research Farm to learn about research aimed at improving agricultural production...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station
  • PRO-DAIRY

Land Acknowledgment

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ leadership. Learn more from the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program website.