Two UC Riverside undergraduates working with faculty mentors at the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) won Best Undergraduate Research Poster awards at the 2025 California Plant and Soil Conference in Visalia, CA.
David Ranai, an Electrical Engineering major working with Amir Verdi, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Urban Water Management in the CNAS Department of Environmental Sciences, won first place, and Wasim Khan, a Data Sciences major working with Elia Scudiero, Associate Professor of Precision Agriculture and Agronomy and Nan Li, Associate Project Scientist in the CNAS Department of Environmental Sciences, took second.
"I honestly didn't think I was going to win!" said Ranai. "I knew I'd presented my research well, but there were so many other candidates, and my research is mainly in AI, drone and satellite imaging. I think the main thing was being able to explain my research to people who didn't really have an idea of how it worked."
"David is a highly persistent and motivated student," said Professor Verdi. "He is applying sophisticated AI models, drawing on his education and background as an engineering student, to advance urban landscape management."
Khan noticed a trend amongst the conference prize winners. "We came from non-agricultural backgrounds," he explained. "We have majors in technical fields, and we ended up taking the bulk of the prizes. What it taught me was that whatever background you come from, whatever your major, you can insert yourself into any field you desire."
"What I enjoy most about working with Wasim is his enthusiasm and dedication to learning," said Professor Li. "As a first-generation college student, he has shown remarkable resilience and a strong work ethic. Wasim is not only passionate about data science, but also deeply committed to applying his skills to real-world problems, particularly in the field of agriculture...he is a proactive learner, always seeking to expand his knowledge and take on new challenges."
Hosted by the California chapter of the American Society of Agronomy in partnership with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension, the California Plant and Soil Conference works to promote human welfare through advising the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge of the nature, use, improvement and interrelationship of plants, soil, and the environment. The annual conference brings students, professionals and industry leaders together to tackle topics such as soil health, nutrient management, groundwater scarcity and regenerative agriculture.
"The conference was really fun!" said Ranai. "I really enjoyed my time with my cohort, and a lot of companies came out to try and hire people. Talking to them was quite interesting!"
"I feel like going to the conference and getting to meet other individuals opened my eyes to the diverse population we have in the United States," added Khan. "I am very appreciative that I was given that opportunity."
Both Ranai and Khan conducted their research as part of the Digital Agriculture Fellowship (DAF), a 15-month fellowship providing research, professional development, and industry opportunities in digital agriculture. The fellowship begins in participation with UC Riverside's Research in Science & Engineering (RISE) summer program and continues throughout the academic year.
DAF Fellows participate in intensive research experiences, professional development workshops and team-building activities while also engaging in ongoing research with a faculty mentor. DAF Fellows also have the opportunity to explore career opportunities in digital agriculture through potential externships in agricultural technology.
"The enthusiasm of DAF students is immense!" said Professor Scudiero. "They have a novel way of looking at things in ways that are outside the box and interdisciplinary in nature. Having the chance to have these brilliant minds work on these agricultural problems is advancing the science and giving the research mentors new ways of looking at the problems they're investigating."
According to Professor Scudiero, the exchange of ideas and perspectives between fellows and faculty is a key hallmark of DAF. "It's a two-way street," he explained. "The students are getting lots of relevant research experience and the mentors are gaining news ways of looking at the problems affecting agriculture both in California and globally."
A major goal of DAF is to build interest amongst students in pursuing agriculture as a career by providing them with the experience and guidance necessary to enter the U.S. agricultural workforce. "DAF is a unique opportunity for students to develop transdisciplinary knowledge between agricultural sciences, engineering, and data sciences as well," said Professor Scudiero. "DAF students have the opportunity to get experience in agricultural sciences they wouldn't otherwise be exposed to. It's a paid position, an experience that's going to look really good in the eyes of future employers or graduate school admissions committees, and there are mentors ready to welcome students in their labs!"
According to Professor Scudiero, DAF students also have a unique opportunity to produce meaningful research quickly. "The other students at the conference have been doing research for multiple years, while our students only started last summer," explains Professor Scudiero. "In a short amount of time, they were able to produce research that wasn't just accepted at a conference, but won awards as well!"
Neither Ranai nor Khan had any prior experience with agricultural research before applying to DAF, but both knew they wanted to develop research skills that would help them throughout their future academic and career endeavors.
"A friend of mine was in the program last year, and he told me that I should join it this year," explained Ranai. "It was a lot of fun! It helped me develop the basic research skills I now have today."
For Khan, the opportunity to apply classroom learning to the real world was a huge selling point. "The big struggle that a lot of college students undergo is how to apply what they've been learning in the classroom to real-world applications," he said. "Once I was given this opportunity...honestly, it all clicked! I was able to apply certain concepts and delve deeper into the specific concepts I was passionate about, and turn them into something that I can talk about in the future, as well as something I can call a specialty of mine."
"I was kind of thrown into the deep end," admitted Ranai. "I had a lot to learn and it took a lot of time, but thanks to the tools and knowledge given to me by my principal investigator (PI), I was able to do a pretty good job."
"David has been working on a project focused on automating precise plant species detection using drone-based remote sensing and AI," explained Professor Verdi. "These AI models can be leveraged for efficient urban landscape management, including optimizing landscape water use."
According to Ranai, having a measure of freedom to pursue his own research interests was a key component of the DAF experience. "That's something I really enjoyed, having the creative freedom to pursue my own interests," reflected Ranai.
Khan's research projects enabled him to apply his passion for data science to agricultural prediction models. "I'm using current, existing data on soil tension, the amount of energy it takes for a plant to receive water form its soil, to make predictions about the remainder of the year, and slowly turn that into a prediction of future years," he explained.
"Wasim's research focuses on using machine learning models, specifically the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMAX model, to predict soil moisture tension," said Dr. Li. "This is a critical variable for precision agriculture, as it helps inform irrigation management and water research management. Wasim has been instrumental in cleaning and analyzing large datasets, identifying seasonal patters, and training the model to make accurate predictions. His work has the potential to improve irrigation practices in California through timely forecasting of the soil moisture."
Ranai and Khan are planning for the future, and credit DAF with opening their eyes to opportunities in graduate school and the private sector. "My plan is to go into tech or graduate school...I've yet to decide exactly what I want to do," says Ranai. "I want to branch out more...I love big tech. I've done internships in it before, and that's definitely something I want to continue to do."
"I found it very appealing, seeing other Ph.D. and masters' students delving into research," said Khan. "That gave me a little bit of inspiration...if they can do it, why can't I do it? I'm also open to industry positions as well, because agriculture is also a very big industrial field. I hope to see if I can apply my expertise and specialties in aspects of energy conservation and anything relating to the environment as well."
Ranai has some advice for UC Riverside students considering DAF. "Just go for it!" he says. "If you're interested in the program, learn more about it and what you can do, and how you can apply it to your major. Don't be afraid to reach out!"
"I would recommend DAF to students who are willing and eager to apply what they're learning in the classroom to the agricultural field," said Khan. "At the end of the day, students who are looking to be learners, students who are looking to apply their passions to the real world should look into DAF and use it as an opportunity at UCR."
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