Where Technology, Agriculture and Young Minds Meet

This summer, the Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) hosted the largest cohort of students yet in the four-year history of the CDA Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. In 2023, seven students interned in the 10-week program. This year, that number has tripled to 22 students.

“We want to give students opportunities for research that they may not get in their home institutions,” said Christina Tucker, the CDA REU program coordinator. “We want to bring engineering and computer science students to campus and NCSA to introduce them to agricultural applications and a future career path. We also want to do the same for agricultural students and show them that they have a place and a voice in the digital agriculture space. Students from these groups need to be part of the conversation for us to solve these important problems.”

The CDA REU program pairs students with mentors to work on research projects in digital agriculture. One of the program’s core principles is workforce development, focusing on recruiting students from non-Ph.D.-granting institutions and from underrecognized populations, including groups from minority-serving institutions (MSI), community colleges and women in STEM. Tucker notes the program inspires students to consider digital agriculture as a career path and to pursue graduate school or other industry opportunities.

“This is our largest class, with many computer science and domain students. We plan to keep growing the program,” Tucker said. “If you look at the number of applications from the first three years, the program has become more and more competitive.”

The program has caught the attention of students from across the country. This year, 115 students applied. Tucker says the goal is to increase the number of students accepted into the program to 30 to 40 students in the future, giving more students chances to learn about digital agriculture and get real-world research experience.

Students drive the CDA REU program, and what they get from it demonstrates the strength of its reach. In addition to working on research projects, students also take part in the AI Foundry for Ag Application Short Course and Hackathon, a certificate-earning, graduate-level boot camp on AI.

Isabella Fonseca: Looking for Signs of Respiratory Illness

Isabella Fonseca is a rising junior in animal science at Texas A&M University in College Station. This summer, she worked with CDA REU co-PI Angela Green-Miller to identify respiratory illness in pigs.

“Respiratory illness is a major issue in the pork industry, so I was using an existing dataset of pigs that were administered a lipopolysaccharide challenge,” Fonseca said. A lipopolysaccharide challenge is an experiment where scientists introduce bacterial molecules to trigger an immune response. This helps researchers study the body’s defense mechanisms and understand inflammation and related health issues.

When three unexpected mortalities occurred due to respiratory illness during the study, Fonseca got to work. “I labeled videos with any behaviors and postures that I saw. In the end, I found that certain behaviors may be indicative of changes to health status,” she said.

This summer’s CDA REU program gave Fonseca first-hand experience working on real-world problems. “I really got a sense of what research entails. It was so exciting to be able to present new results and make significant progress in this experiment,” she said. “I think that this program is great for people wanting to gain research experience and learn about the application of technology in agriculture. Technology is the future of agriculture, and I learned so much about this field while participating in this program.”

The experience also meant a lot to Fonseca for more personal reasons. “As a first-generation Latina, I hadn’t imagined that I would have the privilege of being in a research fellowship like this. I truly enjoyed my time at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and all of my mentors were amazing,” she said. “I was impressed by how diverse our group was!”

Sona Javadi: Helping Robots Navigate Fields

Farm fields might appear straight-lined and orderly to the casual observer, but to robots that rely on satellites or cameras to navigate, acres of crops pose significant challenges.

Sona Javadi is a rising senior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and is double majoring in computer science and mathematics. This summer, she worked on “Evaluating 2D Point Tracking Models for Under-Canopy Navigation” with mentor Arun Narenthiran Sivakumar, a Ph.D. student in computer science at the U. of I.

“It’s tricky because the crops are close together, and traditional navigation tools like GPS and sensors often struggle,” Javadi said. “So, we’re developing models that can track points in 2D space to guide the robot accurately between the rows of crops, making it easier for them to move without bumping into anything. Seeing these models that can identify and follow crop rows in the simulation was incredibly satisfying and demonstrated the potential of our work.”

Javadi found out about the CDA REU project through a friend who “knew about my interest in combining technology and agriculture. I chose to apply because it offered a unique opportunity to work on real-world problems in precision agriculture, which is a field I find fascinating and full of potential for impactful innovation.”

Mentor Narenthiran Sivakumar sees CDA REU as a route for students to explore possibilities they would not otherwise have. It’s also a rewarding experience for him to grow as a mentor and academic.

“By participating in the CDA REU program, I hope students realize the breadth of great opportunities that exist in this interdisciplinary area of digital agriculture to make a significant impact,” Narenthiran Sivakumar said. “The REU program allows me to gather more mentoring experience and to work with students from diverse backgrounds.”

Participating in the CDA REU program gives students like Javadi new opportunities for growth and opens new and interesting career possibilities.

“I am more likely to consider a career that involves AI and machine learning for real-world applications like agriculture, climate change, environmental science and computational biology,” Javadi said. “This program has shown me how impactful technology can be in these areas.”

It provides a hands-on experience with cutting-edge research in digital agriculture, offers great mentorship, and allows you to work on projects that have real-world applications. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn, grow and make a tangible impact.

CDA REU student Sona Javadi

Moises Rodriguez: Using AI to Fight Weeds

For R1 universities with high research activity and funding, like the U. of I., research opportunities abound for students to explore. Programs like CDA’s REU can provide research avenues to undergrads from community colleges without research as part of their mission.

For Triton College and Oakton College student Moises Rodriguez, the CDA REU program is a bridge between his community college studies and transferring to Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois for aerospace engineering. Rodriguez worked with mentor Sunoj Shajahan, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Shajahan described their project as developing an automated computer vision pipeline for classifying horseradish and pest plants.

“I have been working on using AI as a tool for farmers to combat weeds,” Rodriguez said. “Over the years, weeds have become highly resistant to chemical solutions and have survived harsh conditions, taking essential nutrients and water away from important crops, leading to lower yields. I was in charge of getting the AI up and running, which was a roller-coaster experience.”

“As someone who didn’t know applications like OpenCV, Python, or coding, I learned these skills on the fly. I used images to create boxes around objects and labeled them, initially doing it by hand,” Rodriguez said. “Later, I programmed a computer to perform these operations. It was challenging, but over time, I learned to tackle many issues from different angles.”

For Shajahan, mentoring students like Rodriguez ignites a spark.

“I have a passion for mentoring undergraduates. I find it exciting and enriching to explain research concepts to undergraduate students, as it helps simplify complex ideas and encourages critical thinking,” Shajahan said. “Answering their questions and guiding them through the research process is a rewarding and memorable experience.”

Kennedy Shorter: Interpreting “Programmable Plants”

Kennedy Shorter is a political science major at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in Greensboro, one of 101 HBCUs nationwide. She’s working on a project to gauge people’s response to the concept of “programmable plants.”

“Essentially, we’re asking students what comes to mind when they hear that term,” Shorter said. “By gathering their responses, we’re helping researchers understand these perceptions.”

Kennedy’s highlight in her time here was meeting students from different places, including Singapore, and discovering their perspectives.

“It was cool to experience how different backgrounds influenced their perceptions. Additionally, being part of the initial steps of a potentially groundbreaking innovation that could address climate change and promote sustainability is incredibly exciting,” she said.

Jumping into a field that isn’t in your wheelhouse might seem overwhelming. Digital agriculture is a far cry from Kennedy’s political science major, but she took hold of the CDA REU experience and ran with it.

“The agricultural focus might seem daunting initially, but it’s a fantastic opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills,” Kennedy said. “The program is led by an amazing director with supportive mentors and offers many professional development opportunities. Most importantly, it provides hands-on research experience and the chance to connect with people from diverse backgrounds. I would recommend this program to others, especially HBCU students with social science majors or anyone interested in a non-technical science approach to agriculture.”

Austin Veal: “Made Me a Better Engineer”

Morehouse College’s Austin Veal majors in applied physics and mechanical engineering and learned about the CDA REU program from a Morehouse faculty member. Veal, an Illinois native, was encouraged to apply to the program. He worked on a program to increase agricultural robots’ durability and navigation, and the experience also helped him improve his 3D printing skills.

“Using Fusion 360 software, I created robust 3D-modeled parts such as mounts and the outer shell, ensuring they are suitable for outdoor environments and can withstand plant interactions and water exposure,” Veal said. “Additionally, I improved the robot’s navigation by designing a Python script that uses GPS and LIDAR to execute precise end-row turns, ensuring the robot accurately detects its position relative to the cornrows and performs a 180-degree turn to face the next row.”

“It was very interactive because I worked on the farm and got very hands-on with the robot. I also loved the mentor they gave me. This program overall made me a better engineer,” Veal said.

Vikram S. Adve is the Donald B. Gillies Professor of Computer Science and Director of the AIFARMS National AI Institute. He mentored Veal and two other students: Sofia Zasiebida and Sophie Reznik. One of his goals as a mentor is to see his mentees thrive and grow by the end of the program.

“I hope they have gained some understanding of research, learned valuable technical skills and gained some exposure to alternative career paths and areas,” Adve said.

As Veal can attest, he got a lot out of the program. “This summer, I gained valuable skills in 3D printing, coding and problem-solving, advancing the robot’s capabilities and preparing me for future challenges in robotics. This was a great summer that helped me enhance my programming and 3D modeling skills,” he said.

Cassidy Wall: Technology Transforming Traditional Agricultural Practices

Majoring in systems engineering and design at the U. of I., Cassidy Wall found out about the CDA REU program through a robotics professor and applied because of her interest in robotics. Her project this summer focused on detecting “dead zones” in cornfields, where robots lose connection to their handlers.

“It is vital to have this type of warning system to keep the user informed on where a connection may be interrupted and to know what spots previously had interruptions,” Wall said. “The coolest thing I did while working on my project was learning how to use a library within Python called Pygame. This is how I was able to display the things I wanted to for the interface I created.”

Mentor Katie Driggs-Campbell is an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering at Illinois. She said that Wall “developed a user interface that allowed an operator miles away from the field to control the robot while seeing visualizations of the video stream from the robot, a bird’s eye view of field progress and warnings about communication delays and upcoming dead zones.”

Driggs-Campbell is a first-time CDA REU mentor and was excited to work with such dedicated students. “I believe this program gave our research group a unique opportunity to create pipelines for quickly getting students up to speed on field robotics and programming so they can make contributions to the research.”

As the summer wraps up and students think about heading home to continue their undergraduate careers, they leave the CDA REU program with more than just a research experience. Students took part in weekly seminars on topics ranging from ethics in research to coping with imposter syndrome to building CVs and resumes. All this helps them expand their skill base and prepare for doing research when they leave the CDA REU. At the end of July, students also participated in a poster session where they presented their work.

Wall says this program is unique because people don’t know much about how technology and agriculture can work together. “Participating in this program has broadened my understanding of how advanced technology can transform traditional agricultural practices, making it a must-try for anyone interested in exploring the intersection of technology and agriculture,” she said.

Profiles of all of this summer’s CDA REU students are available here and all of the mentors here.

The CDA REU program is supported by NSF proposal #2244580 REU Site: Drivers for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Practices (MAPs), the Center for Digital Agriculture, Artificial Intelligence for Future Agricultural Resilience, Management, and Sustainability (AIFARMS), and Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS).

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ABOUT CENTER FOR DIGITAL AGRICULTURE

The Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) draws on Illinois’ historic land-grant pillars of agriculture and engineering to shape the future of the agriculture industry. The center brings together researchers, educators, industry and agricultural producers to transform how we feed and support a growing global population through innovative approaches. CDA also boasts a Master’s of Engineering in Digital Agriculture and six certificate programs that address the profound workforce shortage in this field by providing graduates and working professionals with in-depth knowledge and technical skills. CDA is a multidisciplinary effort at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign between the Grainger College of Engineering, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. CDA also leads the Artificial Intelligence for Future Agricultural Resilience, Management, and Sustainability (AIFARMS) Institute which is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the National Science Foundation. CDA also leads the U. of I. sub-award for the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS), which is supported by the National Science Foundation.