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Press Release
Potato Technology Travels From Space To Poland
Seed potato technology which utilizes space science was presented
at the 33rd Scientific Assembly of COSPAR, the Committee on Space
Research, held this July in Warsaw, Poland.
Controlled environment technologies used in biomanufacturing of
pathogen-free seed potatoes, and which was developed for space by
the NASA sponsored Wisconsin Center For Space Automation &
Robotics (WCSAR) along with American Ag-Tec International, Ltd.
was the subject of a presentation made at the Assembly by Dr.
Raymond J. Bula, Cross Plains, WI.
Dr. Bula, who is the former Director of the NASA Center at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison made the formal presentation
concerning controlled environment technologies developed for
space-based plant growing facilities, and how they have been
transformed into a terrestrial seed potato biomanufacturing system.
This terrestrial based plant production system could serve as a
model for a plant production unit of an Advanced Life Support
for future space colonies.
The first commercial application of this technology is scheduled
to be implemented in central Poland later this fall and is called
Quantum Tubers. The Wisconsin company behind the technology
is American Ag-Tec International, Ltd. of Delavan. Mr. Robert G.
Britt, President of Ag-Tec expressed his enthusiasm in describing
the positive impact that the Quantum Tubers technology will have
to agriculture in the world's third largest potato producing country.
Britt also said "without the technology benefits from our association
with NASA this new biomanufacturing ability could not have been
commercialized".
COSPAR is the Committee on Space Research, with headquarters
in Paris, France. The Scientific Assembly of COSPAR meets each
two years with attendees worldwide exceeding 2000 scientists.
The last COSPAR assembly was in Nagoya, Japan, and the next
assembly will be in Houston, TX in 2002.
WCSAR (Wisconsin Center for Space Automation & Robotics) is
located in the College of Engineering at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison with Dr. Weijia Zhou as its present Director.
WCSAR is one of the NASA Centers working on space related
technologies, with their specialty being plant and foods oriented.
Their web site is www.engr.wisc.edu/centers/wcsar
American Ag-Tec International, Ltd., located in Delavan, Wisconsin
has developed the Quantum Tubers biomanufacturing technology
and offers the technology franchised worldwide for pathogen-free
seed potato production. The technology can be viewed by going
to the Quantum Tubers web site at www.quantumtubers.com .
Quantum Tubers Corporation
P.O. Box 569, Delavan, WI 53115-0569 USA
Phone: 262-728-8815 ~ Fax: 262-728-8131
E-Mail:
info@quantumtubers.com
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