K-State IMSE team working to advance next-gen greenhouse gas sensors
Monday, Dec. 1, 2025
A Kansas State University industrial and manufacturing systems engineering research team is charting a path toward commercializing next-generation greenhouse gas sensors aimed at advancing sustainable agriculture. Through the Great Plains NSF I-Corps program, the team is gaining essential entrepreneurial training and market insights to transform its research into real-world solutions.
The team is led by Suprem Das, Jeffrey and Joy Lessman – Carl and Mary Ice keystone research scholar and associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, alongside doctoral student Shreyansh Mishra and customer-discovery lead Amrutha Mallela. Rounding out the team is postdoctoral researcher Aarthi Kannan, who is focused on addressing a critical global challenge: the lack of accessible, science-based tools to detect and monitor hard-to-measure greenhouse gases in agricultural settings.
“In agriculture and bioeconomy, sustainability is the key,” Das said. “Science shows that greenhouse gases are real, but there is limited understanding of their direct impact on farming. More importantly, there is no existing technology to detect some of the most difficult gases, nor enough awareness that they affect lives and livelihoods. I-Corps is helping us gather stakeholder feedback so we can better tailor our innovations.”
The team is participating in the Great Plains Regional I-Corps Hub, managed by North Dakota State University, with K-State currently in discussions to join as a partner institution. The team is also working closely with the Kansas State University Research Foundation to explore future technology-transfer opportunities as its sensor technology matures.
The Great Plains I-Corps Program offers a free, intensive five-week training program that helps graduate students, faculty, researchers and entrepreneurs evaluate commercial potential, refine value propositions and understand customer needs. The program has a strong track record of moving early-stage technologies closer to market.
Participants in the Great Plains I-Corps Program receive actionable market insights through structured customer discovery, experienced mentorship from industry professionals and trained I-Corps instructors, entrepreneurial skills, confidence to assess commercial readiness or launch a venture, and eligibility for the NSF I-Corps National Teams program, which includes a possible $50,000 grant.
As agriculture shifts toward greener practices and circular bioeconomy systems, in-field sensor technologies for optimal fertilizer use and greenhouse gas mitigation are becoming increasingly essential. The K-State IMSE team’s work addresses a significant unmet need in this space.
“This is a global problem with a critical gap,” Das said. “We’re using the I-Corps framework to better understand stakeholder needs and accelerate our path toward commercialization.”