Ohio State University Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering graduate students Sandeep Dhakal and Sushma Katari were awarded Presentation Excellence Awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Annual International Meeting this past July in Anaheim, California.
The Presentation Excellence Award recognizes the top 15% of student presentations that demonstrate excellence in content, delivery, and impact, showing a high level of expertise and creativity in awardees' research and analysis.
Dhakal's research focuses on waste coal, a byproduct of coal mining, which poses significant environmental challenges to nearby communities and waterways. Implementing management strategies for this waste is challenging due to the lack of accurate data on its locations and volumes.
To address this, Dhakal and the team developed a comprehensive data analytical framework leveraging publicly available Sentinel-2 imagery, digital elevation models, and machine learning techniques to map waste coal pile locations and estimate their volumes. This framework can enhance the understanding of the distribution and availability of waste coal across the United States, supporting the development of effective environmental monitoring and management strategies.
"As a student, it is incredibly rewarding to be recognized at the national level for my presentation," said Dhakal. "I am glad that the hard work and dedication I put into my research have resonated well with a broader audience."
Fellow grad student Katari's research primarily targets leveraging remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to develop models for precision agriculture. She implemented an automated framework to count plants at early growth stages using RGB sUAS images. Currently, she is integrating multiple deep-learning models using small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) images and weather data to estimate crop growth and yield.
"It is gratifying and exciting to receive this Presentation Excellence Award for my research in precision agriculture," said Katari. "I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Sami Khanal, for her continuous support, and I would also like to share this award with my colleague Luke Waltz, who presented this research on my behalf at the ASABE Conference 2024."