Sandia, Monsanto Sign Cooperative Research Agreement

Sandia National Laboratories of Livermore, Calif., which provides research and development for the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and St. Louis-based agricultural product developer Monsanto Co. announced a three-year biology and bioenergy research collaboration. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The research, which falls under a five-year "umbrella" cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA), will initially focus on hyperspectral fluorescence imaging and spectral analysis. The technology will be used to help Monsanto study plant tissue samples relevant to its creation of new seed-based products for farmers, including corn products that produce more ethanol per bushel. Hyperspectral imaging detects microscopic images using a continuous spectrum of light, providing significantly more information on a subject than other commercially available scanning technologies.