Academic Venture Fund Supplemental Grants
Photosynthesis for Farmers
Supporting an eight-week summer internship at the International Food Policy Research Institute
AVF project: African farmers face severe agricultural risks from drought, floods and disease outbreaks. Accurate early predictions can save lives. Relief initiatives like famine early warning systems and index-based agricultural insurance rely on satellite images that show farmland or pasture greenness, but do not directly measure photosynthesis – actual plant functioning. The researchers will develop a new framework to improve yield predictions and emergency response systems, using cutting-edge satellite chlorophyll fluorescence that can probe the molecular process of photosynthesis, including stress-induced degradation in crops.
The supplemental grant funds an eight-week summer internship at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), where the student intern will analyze data, share findings and learn to collaborate with African cropping system specialists, policymakers and economists. The grant also supports a research symposium in Ithaca, where IFPRI researchers will share cutting-edge research that is addressing global public challenges.
Topics: Energy, Environment and Sustainability; Food and Agriculture
The Team
- Ying Sun, School of Integrative Plant Science – Soil and Crop Sciences Section
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences - Toby Ault, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and College of Engineering - Yanyan Liu, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and College of Business - David Matteson, Department of Statistical Sciences and Department of Social Statistics
Computing and Information Science and School of Industrial and Labor Relations - Community Partner: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
The Team
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Ying Sun, School of Integrative Plant Science - Soil and Crop Sciences Section
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Toby Ault, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; College of Engineering
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Yanyan Liu, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
SC Johnson College of Business
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David S. Matteson, Department of Social Statistics
School of Industrial and Labor Relations
- Community Partner: International Food Policy Research Institute
Academic Venture Fund Supplemental Grants
Supporting undergraduate participation in cutting-edge, community-engaged projects funded by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability