Skip to main content
Cornell university
Cornell Statistics and Data Science Cornell Statistics and Data Science
  • About Us

    About Us
    Cornell's Department of Statistics and Data Science offers four programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Undergraduates can earn a BA in statistical science, social...

    Welcome to the Department of Statistics and Data Science
    History
    Facilities
    Statistics Graduate Society
    Recently Published Papers
  • Academics

    Academics

    Undergraduate
    PhD
    MPS
    PhD Minor in Data Science
    Courses & Course Enrollment
  • People

    People

    Faculty
    Field Faculty
    PhDs
    Emeritus Faculty
    Academic Staff
    Staff
    Research Areas of Expertise
    Statistical Consultants
  • News and Events

    News and Events

    Events
    News
  • Resources

    Resources

    Professional Societies and Meetings
    Affiliated Groups
    Career Services
    Cornell Statistical Consulting Unit
  • Alumni

    Alumni
    Cornell's Statistics and Data Science degrees prepare students for a wide variety of careers, from academia to industry.  See the After Graduation page for a general overview of...

    Alumni Profiles

Search form

You are here

  1. Home 
  2. News

Cornell Research Team Awarded Sustainability Funds

Cornell Research Team Awarded Sustainability Funds
Monday, July 17, 2017

An interdisciplinary team of Cornell researchers – including Stats Associate Prof David Matteson and graduate research assistant Binh Tang – is among 15 research groups who received venture funding to support Cornell-led sustainability projects.

As the Cornell Chronicle reports, the team's project, Photosynthesis for Farmers, seeks to develop a new framework to improve yield predictions and emergency response systems for African farmers facing severe agricultural risks from drought, floods and disease outbreaks. While initiatives like famine early warning systems and index-based agricultral insurance rely on satellite images that show farmland or pasture greenness, they do not directly measure actual plant functioning. The team intends to use satellite chlorophyll fluorescence that can probe the molecular process of photosynthesis, including stress-induced degradation in crops.

Along with Matteson and Tang, the team of investigators includes: Ying Sun, soil and crop sciences; Yanyan Liu, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Dyson, and Toby Ault, earth and atmospheric sciences.

Research funding comes from the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future's Academic Venture Fund, which seeks to aid the development of new approaches to meet some of the world's greatest sustainability challenges. This recent round of Academic Venture Funds totaled $1.8 million. Read about other funded research initiatives here.

Recent News in News

  • New analysis helps discern benign from malignant thyroid growths
  • Researchers develop new method for studying TB, other organisms that go dormant
  • DIY tinkerers tackle defunct tech at Earth Day Repair Fair
  • Bunea, pioneering statistical theorist, receives IMS Medallion Award
  • Quantum statistical approach quiets big, noisy data

News Categories

  • News
  • Student Profiles
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
© Cornell University Department of Statistics and Data Science

1198 Comstock Hall, 129 Garden Ave., Ithaca, NY 14853

Social Menu

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Cornell Bowers CIS College of Computing and Information Science Cornell CALS ILR School

If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an alternate format, contact web-accessibility@cornell.edu for assistance.