The device Les Fuchigami holds in his hands has generated a lot
of interest from growers. With a simple click of the "Ping Meter,"
the horticulture professor emeritus can measure the nitrogen and
water content of a plant's leaf, and compare the results to
existing standards.
This instant information can help growers adjust fertilizer and
irrigation plans to optimize the quality and yield of their plants.
It's a technology that is so exciting that Fuchigami receives calls
every week from people checking on the meter's progress.
But until the project received a Venture Fund grant, the
commercial future of this useful invention was uncertain.
"The Venture Fund award came at the perfect time," said
Fuchigami. "We were funding this out of our pockets, and our
pockets are very thin."
Created by the Oregon State legislature, the University Venture
Development Fund is a tax incentive program designed to bring more
ideas developed at Oregon universities to the marketplace. Oregon
taxpayers who give to the fund can receive a 60 percent state tax
credit. For some donors that means their bottom line cost can be as
little as 5 or 10 percent of their total gift.
With the support of many donors, OSU was able to distribute the
first round of Venture Fund awards this summer to six promising
projects. In addition to the Ping Meter, grants were made to
develop thin-film solar cells using ink-jet printing technology; a
new wood-adhesive made from all renewable materials; a small-scale
water pasteurization system; a new organic compound that could
improve drug production; and a major advance in mass spectrometry,
the molecule-smashing technology used in a variety of scientific
fields.
For Fuchigami and his former doctoral student Pinghai Ding - for
whom the Ping Meter is named - the Venture Fund award means they
can take their invention through the final stages of development to
turn it into a commercial product. And that's a prospect many
Oregon growers and nursery owners are looking forward to with
anticipation.
"At this point there's no other technology that will give you
results as rapidly," said Lance Lyon, '71, manager of Femrite
Nursery, who has been following Fuchigami's work ever since he was
a student at OSU himself. "If they can get all the pieces in place,
I think it will be a very valuable tool."
For more information visit the OSU Venture Fund webpage, or contact
Julie Brandis at 541-737-2900 or Julie.Brandis@oregonstate.edu.