DiSTAP – Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP)

Research Objectives

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
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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
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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
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Microbial Biosynthesis

establish principles for the high-volume production of plant food components, such as amino acids, vitamins, lipids, and other valuable natural products, in industry-relevant microbes
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Principal Investigators

Michael Strano - MIT

Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering

Research: Nanotechnology, Sensors & Plant Nanobionics

Chua Nam Hai - Singapore

Deputy Chairman, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory

Admin & Management

Dr. Gajendra Pratap Singh

Scientific Director & PI

Project: Raman spectroscopy of plants

Dr. Farzad Olfat

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

Dr. Min Hao Wong

Deputy Scientific Director (DiSTAP)

Dr. Azlinda Bte Anwar

Assistant Director (Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory)

Adjunct Assistant Professor (Duke-NUS Medical School

MIT Faculty

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

Professor of Electrical Engineering & EECS

Former Program Director,
ARPA-e

George Barbastathis

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Temasek Lab

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

Research Investigator

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

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