The team, which was started at Peking University, Beijing, worked on a technology that improves seeds by increasing crop yield, improving the crop’s resistance to drought and reducing the incidence of seed-borne diseases.
‘We really wanted to develop an idea that would have a maximum impact on improving the quality of life for Chinese farmers,’ said Jonathan Chin, sole representative of the nine-member team to make the journey from Beijing to Pittsburgh for the 2007 McGinnis Venture Competition.
The seed-improvement technology acts by exposing seeds to a blast of light from a plasma-quartz bulb, Chin said. The technology has been lab- and field-tested, and the Chinese MBA team is now working towards a broader deployment. The technology will work with corn, wheat and other grains, Chin said.
The Wall Street Journal recently ranked the Tepper School as the third-best business school in the United States.
Source: SeedQuest