Mike Martin speaks to launch a new program called SABRE Space Agricultural Biotechnology Research and Education that involves UF and NASA.

Mike Martin, University of Florida vice president for agriculture and natural resources, speaks during the opening ceremony to launch a new program called SABRE, Space Agricultural Biotechnology Research and Education, that involves UF and NASA. Officials from UF and NASA attended the event. In the foreground are Center Director Roy D. Bridges Jr. (left) and U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon (right). SABRE will focus on the discovery, development and application of the biological aspects of advanced life support strategies. The program will include faculty from UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, who will be located at both KSC - in the state-owned Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory (SERPL) being built there - and UF in Gainesville. SABRE will be directed by Robert Ferl, professor in the horticultural sciences department and assistant director of UF's Biotechnology Program. He will be responsible for coordinating the research and education efforts of UF and NASA