Cornell University Team Wins Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and Technology Competition

From the USDA
 
A team from Cornell University was one of four winners of the first Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and Technology competition.
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the National Science Foundation announced the winners in the $200,000 prize competition. 

The Innovations in Food and Agricultural Science and Technology, called I-FAST, helps scientists and engineers broaden the impact of their research by encouraging collaboration between academia and industry to translate fundamental agricultural innovations into the marketplace.
 
“Innovation is an economic driver and a necessity in the agriculture industry,” said National Institute of Food and Agriculture Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “Through this new partnership with the National Science Foundation, we are able to help move ideas from the research lab to the marketplace, where they can provide real solutions as these teams intended.”
 
Each of the four winning teams receive $50,000 to start a business and move their innovation towards full commercialization. Team members will also participate in the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps, a six-month entrepreneurial immersion course to develop skills that help them commercialize their inventions and discoveries.
 
Teams also are eligible to apply for additional funding through the USDA Small Business Innovation Research Program, administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
 
The winning teams are:
 
** Cornell University, Ithaca – The team developed a micro electro-mechanical systems microtensiometer sensor that monitors minute-by-minute readings of both plant water and soil stresses to help producers optimize irrigation to improve the yield and quality of crops.
 
** University of Houston, Houston, Texas – The team developed a behavior-based affordable educational toolkit and augmented reality technology system to educate, monitor and improve employees’ fresh- and fresh-cut produce handling practices.
 
** University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Ill. – The team is bringing to market two software packages that make it possible for crop advisors to inexpensively run large-scale, on-farm agronomic trials and create strategies for profitable nitrogen fertilizer management.
 
** Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Mo. – The team developed a pathogen detection biotechnology test kit to determine if E. coli 0157:H7 is present in food to help lower the risk of contamination all along the food chain from the farm to the consumer.