Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems
What if the same technologies that help us grow more food could also conserve our ecosystems and help our communities flourish?
The College of Agricultural Sciences envisions a future where advanced technologies help create sustainable, resilient agricultural systems interconnected with the living systems that sustain them.
A new vision for twenty-first century agroecosystems
The Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems (TALiS) initiative is a unique, holistic approach that balances the need for increased food productivity and efficiency with a dedication to conserving our vital living systems.
These living systems include agriculture but also the adjacent forests, wetlands, and waterways—along with the biodiversity of plants, insects, and animals, and the resilience of our rural and urban communities. Pennsylvania’s landscapes offer an excellent testbed for integrating technologies across these different types of agriculture, natural, and social ecosystems. We envision Pennsylvania as a leader in developing and testing these integrated agroecosystems, serving as a living laboratory for scalable and practical solutions.
The TALiS initiative establishes a framework and roadmap to grow and support an entire pipeline of technological solutions, from early development to real-world application. These innovations in farming and ecology dramatically improve our ability to monitor and manage production and access to food, biodiversity and natural resources, and human health and wellbeing. This approach ensures a stable food supply, promotes environmental conservation, and boosts the economy of Pennsylvania by fostering innovation and creating new job opportunities.
Leading balanced innovation through the TALiS initiative.
Developing and testing emerging and advanced technologies from the lab to the field.
Integrating and leveraging strengths across the Commonwealth and Northeast region.
Providing unique and impactful opportunities to ensure a skilled workforce pipeline.
About the Symposium The Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems Symposium initiates and fosters the productive partnerships necessary for the integration of emerging and advanced technologies to address the complex challenges we face with climate change, resource protection (soil, water, air), biodiversity losses, rural and urban health, and social and economic shifts within our communities.
TALiS Practitioners at Penn State are faculty from the College of Agricultural Sciences who are experts in their fields and practice under one or more of TALIS's three pillars: Robotics and Automation, Biotechnology, and Monitoring, Sensing, and Prediction.
Latest News
September 9, 2026
Could plant scientists breed heavy metal contamination out of cacao?
Varieties of cacao plants — which give rise to chocolate — differently mitigate and manage a toxic heavy metal that occurs naturally in the plants' soil. Researchers have now identified genetic differences in how two varieties manage metal uptake and facilitate the metal’s movement throughout the plant, which could help inform breeding practices.
Read More
September 4, 2026
Center for Plant Excellence to award $130,000 in grant funding
The Center for Plant Excellence to award more than $130,000 in grant funding for proposals in research and advancement of Pennsylvania's plant industries. Applications are now open.
Read More
August 27, 2026
Mixture of traditional edible plants inhibits fungus growth in corn, study shows
Farmers in West Africa have long used a mixture of traditional plants to reduce fungi in grain storage, but the true impact of this approach was unknown, according to an international team led by Penn State food scientists. Now, that team has found that a formulation made from an evergreen tree called neem, lemongrass, garlic and hot chili plants effectively inhibits the growth of two kinds of Fursarium fungus in corn.
Read More
August 26, 2026
Ag Progress Days town hall highlights partnerships, innovation in Pa. agriculture
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Extension are working together to turn research, innovation and insights from farmers into practical solutions for Pennsylvania agriculture.
Read More
Meet the Director
- Interim Department Head and Professor of Production Systems and Modeling
Areas of Expertise
- Agroecosystems
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling
- Hydrologic and Nutrient Cycling Modeling
- Environmental Biophysics
- Plant Ecophysiology
