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  • Sensors applied to plant leaves warn of water shortage

  • Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP)

     is one of the five Interdisciplinary Research Groups in the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre. DiSTAP started in January 2018 and is a research programme funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF), under its campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.

    Research Objectives

    Novel Sensors

    Novel Sensors

    study the production of plant hormones and secondary metabolites to improve urban farming and will develop disruptive technologies for discovering plant biosynthetic pathways
    [Read More]

    Urban Farming

    Urban Farming

    develop nano and optical sensors to measure plant metabolites in real time. These sensors will enable optimal production and rapid development of plants suitable for high-density farming
    [Read More]

    Plant Biology

    Plant Biology

    study the production of plant hormones and secondary metabolites to improve urban farming and will develop disruptive technologies for discovering plant biosynthetic pathways
    [Read More]

    More on Research & Development ⇒

  • Principal Investigators


    Michael Strano - MIT

    Michael Strano - MIT

    Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering

    Research: Nanotechnology, Sensors & Plant Nanobionics

    Chua Nam Hai - Singapore

    Chua Nam Hai - Singapore

     

    Deputy Chairman, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory

    Admin & Management


    Dr. Gajendra Pratap Singh

    Dr. Gajendra Pratap Singh

    Scientific Director & PI

    Project: Raman spectroscopy of plants

    Dr. Farzad Olfat

    Dr. Farzad Olfat

    Director for Research Facilities (AMR & DiSTAP IRGs in SMART)



    Dr. Min Hao Wong

    Dr. Min Hao Wong

    Deputy Scientific Director (DiSTAP)



    MIT Faculty


    Benedetto Marelli

    Benedetto Marelli

    Assistant Professor, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Research: bio-inspired materials, self-assembly, mechanical and optical properties, 3D printing, and emerging technologies

    Rajeev Ram

    Rajeev Ram

    Professor of Electrical Engineering & EECS

    Former Program Director,
    ARPA-e

    Temasek Lab


    In-Cheol Jang

    In-Cheol Jang

    Principal Investigator

    Research: Use DiSTAP sensors to characterize hormonal changes in shade avoidance syndrome and its application for high density urban farming

    Bong Soo Park

    Bong Soo Park

    Research Investigator

    Research : improved nutrition use efficiency in plant and diagnosis of plant nutrient deficiency by Raman spectroscopy


    Rajani Sarojam

    Rajani Sarojam

    Principal Investigator

    Research: Use DiSTAP Sensors to Monitor Neighboring Plant Hormone Response to Release of Aromatic Plant Volatiles and its application in urban farming for integrated disease management

    Daisuke Urano

    Daisuke Urano

    Principal Investigator

    Research: Plant diagnosis with DiSTAP phytohormone sensors




    Collaborators


    Dr. Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew

    Dr. Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew

    NUS




    Giovanni Volpe

    Giovanni Volpe

    Professor, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

    DiSTAP PI & Computational Thrust Leader

    Staff


    Dr. Mervin Ang Chunyi

    Dr. Mervin Ang Chunyi

    Principal Research Scientist & Associate Scientific Director

    Project: developing novel alternating π-conjugated- amphiphilic A-B co-polymers adsorbed onto single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)

    Suh In Loh

    Suh In Loh

    Principal Laboratory Technologist

    Project: Maintaining plant strains, production of SWCNT nanoparticles as sensor precursors

    Dr. Khong Duc Thinh

    Dr. Khong Duc Thinh

    Research Scientist

    Project: developing novel alternating π-conjugated- amphiphilic A-B co-polymers adsorbed onto single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)

    Dr. Yangyang Han

    Dr. Yangyang Han

    Postdoctoral Associate






    Raju Cheerlavancha

    Raju Cheerlavancha

    Senior Postdoctoral Associate
    Dr. Song Wang

    Dr. Song Wang

    Research Scientist
    Dr. Ekta Jain

    Dr. Ekta Jain

    Postdoctoral Associate
    Dr. Praveen Kumar Jayapal

    Dr. Praveen Kumar Jayapal

    Postdoctoral Associate
    Dr. Anoop Chidambar Patil

    Dr. Anoop Chidambar Patil

    Senior Postdoctoral Associate
    Dr. Nur Syafiqah Binte Mazlan

    Dr. Nur Syafiqah Binte Mazlan

    Postdoctoral Associate
    Mr. Muhammad Sayyid Aly Bin Hadja Mohaideen

    Mr. Muhammad Sayyid Aly Bin Hadja Mohaideen

    Senior Research Engineer)
    Ms. Ganga Sravanthi Cheerlavancha

    Ms. Ganga Sravanthi Cheerlavancha

    Research Engineer
    Ms. Amanda Si Yi Ngoh

    Ms. Amanda Si Yi Ngoh

    Research Engineer

     

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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    Department of Chemical Engineering
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    Cambridge, MA 02139-4307

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