The symposium presents leading plant science researchers working on topics that relate to the five critical global issues identified by the Global Plant Council — namely world hunger, human health, global climate change, energy and biomaterials, and sustainability and environmental protection. The symposium brings to the fore how transgenic and other new technologies can play a major role in sustainable agriculture and food production, how plant science can help mitigate the effects of global climate change, how plants play a key role in improving human health in a changing society, how biofuel and food crops can coexist, and how new technologies in plant biology can affect global food security. The speakers will highlight current efforts in each target area and discuss how recent technological advances in computing, information sciences, and chemistry can facilitate new biological discoveries relevant to many in the scientific and engineering communities. By bringing the plant science community together to bring perspective and innovation to global issues, the panel intends to offer solutions or mitigation strategies to address some of the threats to human health and well-being and the planet.