This long-standing Gordon Research Conference has been held on a triennial basis since 1976. The Conference alternates between sites in the U.S. and outside the U.S. The 2011 conference is being held in Europe at Les Diablerets, Switzerland.

The 2011 conference will be a great opportunity to discuss all aspects of the “carbon-side” of photosynthesis - from genome to biome. The meeting will cover basic plant research related to photosynthesis, including the regulation, partitioning, and engineering of carbon assimilation. Approaches that range from post-genomic technologies and systems biology through fundamental biochemistry, physiology and molecular biology are integrated within ecological and agronomic contexts. The 2011 conference will also emphasize the central role of carbon assimilation by plants for development of new sources of bioenergy and for achieving food stability and security. A special characteristic of this conference is its “intimacy”. It is a small meeting with conferees ranging from beginning graduate students and postdoctoral associates to leading senior plant scientists. This allows for open and forward-thinking discussions in an informal, friendly setting. Anticipated sessions include talks on the evolution of CO2 fixation, CO2 concentrating mechanisms, regulation and engineering of photosynthesis, climate change and carbon balance, and biofuels and energy crops. Another novel feature of the conference is a session devoted to the latest “hot off the press” findings by both established and early career scientists, picked from the abstracts. Together with an expanded poster discussion, this conference provides an opportunity for early career scientists to present interesting new data and to “test drive” hypotheses in a collegial atmosphere.