Thursday, September 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the Union Museum of History and Art in Farmerville, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech University biology professor Dr. Joshua Vandenbrink and his colleagues discuss his research on the issue of the lack of food in space and how we can overcome it.
His presentation, "Growing Food in Space: Current Research and Future Perspectives," is a feature of the museum’s NASA exhibit on display until September 26th, 2026.
Dr. Vandenbrink, associate professor in Louisiana Tech University’s School of Biological Sciences, received the NASA Research Initiation Award to study how edible mushrooms can be utilized in space to support long-duration space missions.
The two-year, $300,000 award will fund research titled Cultivating White Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) as Part of a Bioregenerative Life Support System for Spaceflight. This project will support four undergraduate students and one graduate student, offering opportunities to present their work at the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research annual conference.
