Increasing sustainable yields of feedstocks is critical to economic, environmental and land resource viability of bioenergy and bioproduct systems. Photosynthesis is a fundamental contributor to yield yet has been little improved in crops to date. My group has developed detailed mechanistic computer models of the complete photosynthetic process. Application of optimization routines to these models within a systems approach has identified bottleknecks. Transgenic increases in activity at these points has resulted in plants with increased photosynthesis and productivity. But these fall short of predicted increases, suggesting negative feedbacks. EMSL's unique proteomics facilities, supported by transcriptomics and metabolomics, would allow identification of these feedbacks and their basis. This in turn will facilitate strategies to further increase efficiency and allow improved parameterization of the computer models. Establishing this collaboration between EMSL and Illinois would greatly accelerate this systems approach to improving photosynthetic efficiency and the viability of bioenergy/bioproduct feedstock systems.