Cary A. Mitchell Professor Ph.D. Area of Interest: Plant Physiology & Controlled Environment Agriculture E-mail: Lab Homepage CV

Dr. Mitchell has a B.S. degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Illinois, an M.S. degree in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. degree in Plant Physiology from the University of California at Davis. He has been a Professor of Plant Physiology and Horticulture at Purdue University since 1972, where he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Nursery Management, Plant Growth & Development, Research Methods, and specialty courses in Photobiology and Germination & Dormancy. He presently teaches dual-level courses in Plant Responses to the Environment and Controlled Environment Agriculture. His research program has covered diverse areas of plant stress physiology (viz. mechanical and hypoxia), optimization of environmental conditions for hydroponic production of food crops in controlled environments, and development of energy-efficient, solid-state plant-growth lighting. He serves as Purdue University's representative to the NCR-101 Committee on Controlled-Environment Technology and Use. Dr. Mitchell's funding has come from a number of federal agencies, most notably NASA Life Science Programs. Dr. Mitchell has advised 50 professional trainees, including graduate and post-doctoral students. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS). He has been President of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology and is the current President of ASHS. He is Director of the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training in Advanced Life Support. Dr. Mitchell has published 80 refereed articles, and has received more then $20 million in external funding.

RelevantPublications

• Montgomery, J., R. Bressan, and C. Mitchell. 2004. Optimizing environmental conditions for mass application of mechano-dwarfing stimuli to Arabidopsis. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 129:339-343.
• Orcun, S., G. Blau, J. Pekny, and C. Mitchell. 2003. An advanced scheduling model for crop production in bioregenerative advanced life support systems. Proc. SAE Int’l. 2003-01-2358.
• Frantz, J., R. Joly, and C. Mitchell. 2001. Intracanopy lighting reduces electrical energy utilization by closed cowpea stands. J. Life Support & Biosphere Sci. 7:283-290.
• Frantz, J., R. Joly, and C. Mitchell. 2000. Intracanopy lighting influences radiation capture, productivity, and leaf senescence in cowpea canopies. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 125(6):694-701.
• Frantz, J., J. Frick, and C Mitchell. 1999. A liquid/solid-matrix hydroponic system for establishment of small-seeded crop species. HortTechnology 9: 668-671.
• Goldman, K. and C. Mitchell. 1999. Effects of long-to-short photoperiod shifts on productivity of a day-neutral rice cultivar. HortScience 34: 875-877.
• Frantz, J., C. Chun, R. Joly, and C. Mitchell. 1998. Intracanopy lighting of cowpea canopies in controlled environments. Life Support & Biosphere Sci. 5: 183-189.
• Chun, C. and C. Mitchell, 1997. Dynamic optimization of CELSS crop photosynthetic rate by computer-assisted feedback control. Adv. Space Res.20: 1855-1860.
• Mitchell, C., C. Chun, W. Brandt, and S. Nielsen. 1997. Environmental modification of yield and proximate composition of 'Waldmann's Green' leaf lettuce. J. Food Quality 20:73-80.
• Mitchell, C., T. Dougher, S. Nielsen, M. Belury, and R. Wheeler. 1996. Costs of providing edible biomass for a balanced vegetarian diet in a controlled ecological life-support system. Plants in Space Biology, H. Suge, ed. Tohoku University Press, Sendai, Japan, pp. 245-254.
• Chun, C. and C. Mitchell. 1996. Dynamic control of photosynthetic photon flux for lettuce production for CELSS. Proc. IntÌl. Symp. Plant Prod. in Closed Ecosystems. T. Kozai, Ed. Acta Hort. 440:7-12.
• Ohler, T. and C. Mitchell. 1996. Identification of yield-optimizing environments for two cowpea breeding lines by manipulating photoperiod and harvest scenario. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 121:576-581.
• Ohler, T. and C. Mitchell. 1995. Effects of carbon dioxide level and plant density on cowpea canopy productivity for a bioregenerative life-support system. J. Life Support & Biosphere Sci. 2:3-9.
• Volk, G. and C. Mitchell. 1995. Photoperiod shift effects on yield characteristics of rice. Crop Sci. 35:1631-1635.