ABE researcher among recipients of DPI's first round of seed funding
CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) is launching eight world-class research teams from the University of Illinois System and partner universities with more than $1 million in seed funding.
The goal is to develop these multi-disciplinary teams into international centers of excellence that will achieve significant economic and societal impact. Each nascent team is receiving $125,000 as well as administrative and grant-writing support, access to corporate partners and DPI’s downtown Chicago office.
Girish Chowdhary, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Grainger College of Engineering, will lead the Center for Research on Autonomous Farming Technologies (CRAFT). His team will develop and test autonomous robots that will weed and spray corn and soybean crops; work in urban food gardens; and care for berry and nut orchards.