The long-term goals of my research program are to understand and utilize the genetic and functional phenotypic variation present in plant populations to responsibly address the challenges facing a growing global population including food and fiber security. The research program is composed of three separate but synergistic areas that combine to elucidate the genetic mechanisms responsible for key agronomic, quality, and stress-adaptive traits that are critical to crop production in areas prone to intense abiotic stress pressures. The first area is centered on identifying and characterizing existing genomic variation in plant populations to better understand the dynamics of phenotypic diversity. The second area concentrates on using emerging high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) technologies to quantify and record complex phenotypes that are responsive to environmental fluctuations throughout the plant’s life cycle in order to understand temporal trait expression patterns. The final area is focused on discovering allelic variants and causative genes responsible for observed phenotypic variation through the use of genetic mapping populations and statistical methods. Together, my research program’s findings are used to more efficiently develop improved crop cultivars that are capable of meeting the socioeconomic demands and environmental constraints of the future.