![[Biotechnology Center for Agriculture & the Environment]](http://njaes.rutgers.edu/_common/images/subheads/biotech.gif "[Biotechnology Center for Agriculture & the Environment]"){kind=small}
Mission
- Lead in agricultural and environmental biotechnology research
- Train students and build a high-technology workforce
- Share knowledge and technology for a better future
What We Do
At the Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, our scientists are finding innovative solutions to some of New Jersey's most challenging problems, like cleaning up the contamination of its harbors, groundwater, and brownfields, and developing new high-value crops for its farmers. We are finding new agricultural and industrial applications for microorganisms discovered in New Jersey and around the world through bioexploration. We are developing new health products from plants and examining how plant and animal growth is affected by the environment. The center's research and discoveries in these and other areas contribute to the welfare and economy of the state and beyond, support New Jersey's farmers and bioscience companies, and create new jobs.
How the Center Started
Conceived in the 1980s as one of New Jersey's new Advanced Technology Centers, the Biotech Center began to take shape with the appointment of founding director Peter Day in 1987. Backed by the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology (NJCST) and Rutgers University, research got underway in 1989 in temporary laboratories. By 1995, facilities were dedicated in Foran Hall, built with major support from state bond funds through NJCST and from USDA.
Growth and Recognition
Today the Center includes 15 faculty from five departments and shares its facilities and services with many colleagues at the School for Environmental and Biological Sciences. Its research has gained international recognition and attracted over $59 million in competitive funding, and its faculty have been honored with prestigious awards for both research and teaching.