The Center for Plant Environmental Stress Physiology was initiated and approved by Purdue University in 1986. The Center primarily reflects the strength of the Department of Horticulture in research related to plant environmental stress tolerance. Horticulture Department members include Edward N. Ashworth (physiology and biochemistry of plant cold hardiness), Ray A. Bressan (molecular biology of plant osmotic stress tolerance and plant-pathogen interactions), Peter B. Goldsbrough (molecular biology of plant heavy metal tolerance), Natalia Dudareva (molecular biology and biochemistry of plant floral scent production), Avtar Handa (post-harvest physiology and molecular biology), Paul M. Hasegawa (molecular determinants of abiotic and biotic stress resistance, and genetic transformation), Matthew A. Jenks (physiology and genetics of plant cuticular lipids), Robert J. Joly (physiological and morphological adaptations of plants to water deficits), Cary Mitchell (plant mechanical stress tolerance mechanisms), K.G. Raghothama (molecular biology of plant nutrient acquisition), David Rhodes (biochemical genetics of plant osmotic stress tolerance), David E. Salt (molecular physiology of heavy metal accumulation and tolerance in plants), and Stephen C. Weller (weed biology; herbicide mode of action and resistance mechanisms).