2026 TALiS Symposium

TALiS 2026 Symposium graphic depicting the triple helix of innovation

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 13, 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: Penn State Faculty Research Presentations

Location: 102 AVBS

Moderator: Erin Connolly

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: Penn State Faculty Research Presentations (continued)

Location: 102 AVBS

Moderator: Heather Grab

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 - Peter McCloskey

11:05 – 11:20 | Maize & Sorghum Metabolites: From Genetic Markers to Plant & Animal Health Innovations - Surinder Chopra

11:20 – 11:35 | AI-Enabled Precision and Robotic Specialty Crop Management - Long He

11:35 – 11:50 | Embodied Intelligence in Mesoscale Robots - Baxi Chong

11:50 – 12:05 | From Field Scout to Research Partner: The Open Crop Manager Journey - Paul Esker

Lunch

12:05 | AVBS Lobby

Session: Penn State 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

Location: 102 AVBS

Moderator: Paul Heinemann

1:30 - 1:35 | Introduction - Paul Heinemann

1:35 – 1:55 | Keystone Community Partnerships - Jamison Malcolm (Penn State)

1:55 – 2:15 | Building and Stewarding Relationships for Development - Lauren Steinberg (Penn State)

2:15 – 2:45 | Accelerating Innovation through Strategic Private Sector Partnerships - Dan Ciolkosz (Penn State) and Luca Pandolfi (Woodland Biomass Innovations)

Networking Break

2:45 - 3:00

Examples of the Triple Helix of Partnerships for AgTech

Location: 102 AVBS

Moderator: Rita Graef (Penn State)

3:00 - 3:45 | Advisory board partners to enhance academics and workforce development - Steve Chmely (Penn State), Kimberly Packard (Avery Denison), Josiah Newman (NTM Engineering), Tim Peters (NRCS)

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

Location: 102 AVBS

Moderator: Jeff Remington (Penn State)

8:30 – 9:00 | Perspectives on student-driven entrepreneurial opportunities - Jared Yarnell-Shane (Penn State)

9:00 – 9:45 | Perspectives on academic/industry partnerships through capstones - Britta Teller (Steller Floors), Jesse Torba (Penn State), Stan Ernst (Penn State), Juliana Vasco (Penn State), Jeff Catchmark (Penn State)

Networking Break

9:45 AM - 10:15

Partnerships for Industry Solutions: Panels

10:15 – 10:45 | Building the AgTech Ecosystem: Lessons from Penn State–CNH Collaboration – John Peterson (Penn State), Jason Bechdel (Penn State), Heather Burkholder (Penn State), Phil Eby (CNH)

Moderator: Wendy Clemens (Penn State)

10:45 – 11:30 | Enhancing Specialty Crop Production through Academic / Industry Partnerships - Yu Jiang (Cornell AgriTech), Jaiver Moreno Blanc (MoBlanc Robotics), Nicholas Gunner (Orbitist, LLC)

Moderator: Long He (Penn State)

11:30 – 12:15 | Penn State Sustainable Labs Program - Kristin Dreyer (Penn State), Steve Chmely (Penn State), Gavin Maxson (Cleveland Brothers), Tara Mather (Penn State), John Lease (EH&S Consultant)

Moderator: Gretta Tritch Roman (Penn State)