Why Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Is Key to AgTech Advancements
When Bruno Basso stepped off the plane in Michigan as a 17-year-old with a soccer injury, he couldn’t have predicted that this detour would launch a career spanning continents, disciplines, and the boundary between academia and industry. Today, as a Hannah Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University and the scientific founder of CIBO Technologies, Basso embodies a non-linear innovation journey—one that offers insights for both researchers and entrepreneurs.
“I was playing soccer at a high level in Italy but got injured,” Basso recalls. What might have remained a personal setback instead became the start of a scientific career when his father, a scientist himself, wrote to MSU professor Joe Ritchie asking if Bruno could spend the summer assisting with fieldwork.
That visit sparked a recurring summer tradition, eventually leading to a four-year stint as Ritchie’s technician before Basso began his PhD. This unplanned entry point—starting in the field rather than the classroom—provided a ground-level understanding of agricultural systems that would later inform his theoretical and applied work.
Cross-Pollinating Disciplines
What sets Basso’s journey apart is how it zigzags across traditional boundaries. His background blends agricultural science, engineering, computer modeling, remote sensing, and entrepreneurship—a mix well suited to addressing the complex challenge of agricultural sustainability.
“One of the core innovations was applying crop models spatially—integrating them with satellite and drone imagery to capture variability across landscapes,” he explains. This approach, now central to the creation of digital twins for farm fields, stems from Basso’s comfort navigating between disciplines.
For innovation ecosystems, this cross-pollination offers a powerful lesson: breakthroughs often occur at the intersection of fields. Basso’s lab now brings together physicists, agronomists, geophysicists, and programmers—a microcosm of the interdisciplinary thinking that drives modern innovation.
Long-Term Relationships as Innovation Infrastructure
Perhaps most striking about Basso’s story is his decades-long relationship with a single institution. From teenage visitor to distinguished professor, his connection to Michigan State provided continuity and resources to pursue big questions—and later, to launch a company.
This runs counter to the stereotype of the constantly moving entrepreneur. Instead, Basso’s story suggests that deep institutional knowledge and long-term relationships can serve as powerful foundations for innovation and commercialization.
“Starting a company is similar to writing a research grant,” he says. “You’re solving a problem and pitching the value of your idea.” Years of scientific credibility gave CIBO Technologies a head start when it came to building trust with investors and industry partners.
From Scientific Models to Business Models
Today, CIBO Technologies operates as a B2B platform that quantifies environmental impacts across agricultural supply chains. Corporations like Nestlé and Rabobank use CIBO’s tools to assess sustainability and report key environmental metrics—turning complex modeling into practical, business-facing solutions.
The key insight isn’t just the science, but how it’s framed. “I always begin by asking: What pain are we alleviating?” Basso says. That orientation—toward tangible, customer-relevant problems—helped translate sophisticated models into tools with real-world value.
As CIBO’s Chief Scientist, Basso continues to bridge academic rigor and commercial application. “The credibility of the science is what sets CIBO apart,” he notes—a reminder that in an era of fast-moving innovation, deep expertise remains a vital differentiator.
A Roadmap for Impact
For researchers exploring commercialization and entrepreneurs building science-driven ventures, Basso’s story offers a valuable roadmap. It’s one where unexpected beginnings, interdisciplinary collaboration, long-standing institutional ties, and a commitment to scientific integrity combine to deliver lasting impact—both in the lab and in the market.
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This article is based on an interview with Bruno Basso, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of CIBO Technologies, on the MSU Research Foundation Podcast. You can listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.