Monitoring Photosynthesis for Plant Health

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a commercialization partner for a Monitoring Photosynthesis for Plant Health.  ORNL Office of Technology Transfer is now accepting licensing applications through November 15, 2019. 

Sun-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) is the fluorescence that is emitted by a photosynthetic body during photosynthesis. Studying this fluorescence enables researchers to understand how different plants react to changing environmental conditions. However, monitoring SIF is notoriously difficult to do because solar irradiance inhabits the same spectrum range as SIF, and is about 100X stronger. What is needed is a device that is able to monitor SIF while filtering out solar irradiance, while being autonomous and automatic.

Researchers at ORNL have developed a device that is capable of meeting this need. FAME (Fluorescence Auto-Measurement Equipment) monitors an area ranging in size from a single plant to an entire canopy, and is completely autonomous and automatic. FAME effectively monitors SIF while filtering out solar irradiance. FAME has a unique advantage in that it can simultaneously monitor any environmental factors that a researcher might need.

Applications for FAME range from crop management and yield forecast to forest water stress and fire risk analysis. FAME has been tested at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux site for 3 months, and the gathered data was of very high quality. FAME can be remotely accessed via its built-in communications system, and calibrations and data downloads can be done through this system. ORNL is seeking partners in the agricultural or environmental testing market that are actively engaged in producing photosynthesis measuring devices.

Intellectual Property:

Invention Disclosure No. 201703845: Fluorescence Auto-Measurement Equipment (FAME)

Patent Application No. 15/638,473

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest US Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security.  Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under its Prime Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.

Additional Information:

National Laboratory Licensing Guide:  https://www.ornl.gov/partnerships/licensing-guidelines.

ORNL License Application:  https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/license_application_0.pdf.

Please contact Nestor Franco, Commercialization Manager, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865-574-0534, francone@ornl.gov with any questions on the opportunity or to obtain a license application.

Please contact Lianhong Gu, Distinguished Research Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865.241.5925, lianhong-gu@ornl.gov with any questions about the technology.