Innovation to Application

The rough-hewn buildings at Penn State's Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SEAREC) date back to the infancy of our nation. During this land's evolution as a traditional homestead dairy, tobacco farm, and now research center, its timbers have witnessed every agricultural innovation that has blossomed across Penn's Woods over the past 235 years.

Exploring the dusty, darkened corners of our barns, I delight in every discovery of an obscure tool or forgotten piece of equipment. During my time as director of SEAREC, I have encountered iterations of farming and educational technology that span decades, from brushing rust from the earliest tobacco shears to pulling a copy of a 1970s FFA meeting agenda from a mimeograph machine, the last copy issued from its rollers.

Our location in the heart of Lancaster County embeds us among a fantastic variety of cultural engagement with technology. Our role in the College of Agricultural Sciences is to serve all, from Amish to drone operators, regardless of their level of technology adoption. In this regard, what is most important? What should be the priority when we decide which new technologies to develop, engage with, and teach to our communities?

What rises to the top of the list is that the tools serve us. Who among us hasn't been frustrated when a new device or application costs us more in time or effort than we ultimately realize from its use? At its most essential, technology is nothing more than a set of tools that should enhance our lives and help us build a better world as we see fit.

This is why I am excited to begin our new role at SEAREC as a Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems (TALiS) Innovation Hub, bridging the gap between agricultural research discovery and practical application. We are aiming to help lower the barriers to adoption and efficiency for users of new agricultural and environmental technologies. We also want to make it easier for businesses to test their new developments in real-world settings, shortening the time between invention and application.

At the heart of this initiative is ensuring that these tools serve the people, making our businesses, lives, and connections with others better than before, with the promise of a future that serves generations to come. I cannot help but wonder what artifacts of this age will one day be discovered, lit by a shaft of sunlight, by our successors.

Alyssa Collins is an associate research professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology and director of the college's Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Manheim.