In partnership with the Oregon State Seed Lab, Yanming Di innovates seed sampling devices and protocols. Seeding testing — used for determining seed lot quality and establishing seed value — is a fundamental phase of the agricultural marketing system. Getting an accurate subsample of seed depends on the accuracy and precision of the device used.

Devices and protocols developed by the OSU Seed Lab and the USDA in the 1970s are still considered state of art today, leaving ample room for further improvements. With SciRIS funding, Di and collaborators aim to start a new wave of groundbreaking innovations by incorporating recent advances in robotics, computer vision, machine learning and stochastic modeling into seed testing. Funds for Di’s SciRIS-ii project entitled “Innovating Seed Sampling Devices and Protocols” come from the College of Science’s Education & General Funds.