Building Partnerships for a Holistic AgTech Ecosystem in Pennsylvania
The 3rd annual Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems (TALiS) Symposium will highlight faculty research on agroecosystem technologies and building cross-sector partnerships for delivering technologies into practical solutions.
2026 TALiS Symposium Registration
The Symposium is free to attend but registration is required. Registration will close on May 1, 2026.
About the Symposium
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences will host the annual Technologies for Agriculture and Living Systems Symposium at the University Park campus on May 19 and 20, 2026. The theme of this year's symposium is "Building Partnerships for a Holistic AgTech Ecosystem in Pennsylvania," with an aim to bring partners across academia, government, industry, and other stakeholders together to help us refine our understanding of opportunities and challenges along the technology pipeline from discovery to delivery. Over two days, we will explore and learn how to not only create new partnerships but also how to steward them for long-term impact across the innovation pipeline.
* Some agenda details still subject to change
Day 1 | Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Details on the sessions (session themes, presentation titles, and room locations) will be updated as the sessions are finalized with contributing participants.
Registration, Breakfast, Networking
8:00 | Animal Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Building (AVBS) Southeast Lobby
Welcome
8:30 | 102 AVBS
Paul Heinemann
Director of TALiS
Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State
Troy Ott
Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State
Session: Faculty Research Presentations
102 AVBS
8:50 – 9:05 | Advancing spraying solutions for tree fruit orchards - Shan Kumar
9:05 – 9:20 | Big Data for Better Decisions: Using Technology to Support Agricultural Decision-Making - Heather Grab
9:20 – 9:35 | Isolation of auxotrophic Pseudomonas tolaasii mutants with bacterial blotch biocontrol potential - Tim McNellis
9:35 – 9:50 | Advancing Smart Agricultural Machines: From Engineering Fundamentals to Field Applications - Shirin Ghatrehsamani
9:50 – 10:05 | Genome Editing of Cacao for Biotic and Abiotic Stress Resistance - Mark Guiltinan
10:05 – 10:20 | Understanding Microbial Interactions in Agricultural Systems - Veronica Roman-Reyna
Networking Break
10:20 - 10:35
Session: Faculty Research Presentations (continued)
102 AVBS
10:35 – 10:50 | Molecular mechanisms of iron uptake and compartmentalization in plants - Erin Connolly
10:50 – 11:05 | Various uses of AI in different settings globally and also PA and Tilva - David Hughes
11:05 – 11:20 | Maize & Sorghum Metabolites: From Genetic Markers to Plant & Animal Health Innovations - Surinder Chopra
11:20 – 11:35 | Advanced Spraying Technologies for Specialty Crops - Long He
11:35 – 11:50 | Embodied Intelligence in Mesoscale Robots - Baxi Chong
11:50 – 12:05 | Learning to Discover: Fostering transdisciplinary, AI-enabled research through the INSECT NET program - Christina Grozinger
Lunch
12:05 | AVBS Lobby
Session: Faculty Research Presentations (continued)
1:00 – 1:15 | Building a Future-ready Apple Orchard – Sara Serra
1:15 – 1:30 | AI and Robotics in Agriculture: Current Progress and Future Directions – Magni Hussain
Session: Perspectives on Partnerships and the Application for AgTech
External Perspectives on Partnerships
102 AVBS
1:30 - 1:35 | Introduction - Paul Heinemann
1:35 – 1:55 | Director Keystone Community Partnerships - Jamison Malcolm
1:55 – 2:15 | Building and Stewarding Relationships for Development - Lauren Steinberg
2:15 – 2:45 | Accelerating Innovation through Strategic Private Sector Partnerships - Dan Ciolkosz and Luca Pandolfi
Networking Break
2:45 - 3:00
Examples of the Triple Helix of Partnerships for AgTech
102 AVBS
3:00 - 3:30 | Advisory board partners to enhance academics and workforce development - Steve Chmely (PSU), Kimberly Packard (Avery Denison), Josiah Newman (NTM Engineering), Tim Peters (NRCS)
3:30 – 4:00 | Panel or presentation - TBD
Tour
4:00 - 5:00 | Food Pilot Plant, Rodney Erickson Food Science Building
Reception
5:00 - 7:00 | Room 252 and Keeney Commons, Rodney Erickson Food Science Building
Day 2 | Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Registration, Breakfast, Networking
8:00 | AVBS Southeast Lobby
Partnerships for Workforce Development: Panels
102 AVBS
8:15 – 9:00 | Perspectives on student-driven entrepreneurial opportunities - Panelists TBD
9:00 – 9:45 | Industry driven perspectives on partnerships through capstones - Jesse Torba, Stan Ernst, Juliana Vasco, Jeff Catchmark, Britta Teller
Networking Break
9:45 AM - 10:15
Partnerships for Industry Solutions: Panels
10:00 – 10:30 | CNH – John Peterson, Jason Bechdel, Heather Burkholder
10:30 – 11:00 | Cornell AgriTech - Yu Jiang with Industrial Partners
11:00 – 11:30 | TBD
11:30 – 12:00 | TBD
Lunch
12:00 | AVBS Lobby and 106 AVBS
Day 2 Closing Remarks
12:50 | 102 AVBS
Symposium Logistics
All events will be held on the Penn State University Park campus. Parking information will be provided to registrants.
Lodging Logistics
State College offers numerous lodging option. Here is a small selection nearby (with walking distances):
- The Nittany Lion Inn 0.7 miles
- Scholar State College 0.8 miles
- Hyatt Place State College 0.9 miles
- The Graduate 1.0 mile
Director, TALiS
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Email hzh@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-2633
Director, TALiS
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Email hzh@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-2633
