Emerging Trends in Plant Biology: Climate Resilient Crop to Biomanufacturing

Emerging Trends in Plant Biology: Climate-Resilient Crops to Biomanufacturing (PLACBIO 2027) will bring together students, researchers, scientists, innovators, and industry professionals to explore the limitless frontiers of plant biology and their applications in sustainable agriculture and biomanufacturing. The conference will highlight advances in plant physiology and biotechnology, plant–environment interactions, plant memory and stress priming, plant-based food and nutrition, plant specialized metabolism and volatiles, biomechanics and plant mechanobiology, and cutting-edge tools and technologies for plant research and development. It will also showcase the transformative potential of plant synthetic biology and biomanufacturing in developing climate-resilient crops and next-generation bio-based products.

This international conference will bring together experts from various fields, including molecular biology, biotechnology, genomics, epigenetics, analytical biochemistry, systems and synthetic biology, microbiology, and space biology. Participants will engage in critical discussions, share groundbreaking findings, and inspire new ideas beyond the realm of Plant Biology. With various interactive sessions (via lectures, posters, roundtable discussions etc.) amongst the domain experts and young researchers, PLACBIO 2027 aims to catalyze new opportunities for groundbreaking research, collaboration and networking, thus fostering the next wave of innovation toward addressing global challenges in food security, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, bio-economy, and “one health” ecosystems.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, established in 1951 at Hijli Detention Camp, West Bengal, is India's first among the IIT system and an Institute of National Importance. As it celebrates its 75 years of excellence, marking its Platinum Jubilee, it carries a distinctive legacy of education, research, innovation, and nation-building. The “PLACBIO 2027” conference is being organized jointly by two Departments of IIT Kharagpur- Agricultural and Food Engineering, and Bioscience and Biotechnology.

The Agricultural and Food Engineering Department began as Agricultural Engineering in 1952 at IIT Kharagpur and was renamed in 1994. Unique within the IIT system, it spans Farm Machinery and Power, Land and Water Resources Engineering, Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Biotechnology Aquacultural Engineering and Agricultural Systems & Management.

The Department of Biotechnology was officially established in 1999 at IIT Kharagpur. However, its academic and research programs began earlier, in 1986, within the Department of Chemical Engineering through an M.Tech course in Biotechnology & Engineering supported under the Manpower Training (MPT) Program of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. The department was renamed as Bioscience and Biotechnology in 2023, focusing on interdisciplinary engagement and industry collaboration to enhance its academic and research activities