e-Agri: Integrating Sensors & Electronic Engineering to Help Deliver Low Carbon, Smart Agriculture and Crop Phenotyping
Speaker: Prof Bruce Grieve, PhD, CEng, FIET, FIAgrE
e-Agri may be defined as the fundamental device engineering, electronics and sensor system design to help deliver future sustainable agriculture and food systems. The presentation will introduce the concepts and motivations behind e-Agri and illustrate these with a series of research examples from the group, of the same name, based at the University of Manchester (UK). This is the only dedicated agri-sensors engineering group to be based within a significantly-sized School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (c.80 academic staff). The presentation will draw upon existing industry-sponsored research in the group, notably related to such platform technologies in: Sub-surface electro-impedance tomography, Networked fungal pathogen sensing, Mass producible low-cost wireless nodes for soil monitoring and Close-proximity active hyperspectral imaging. These will be used to exemplify how engineering research can be translated from none agri-food duties, re-engineered and then integrated with plant science and agronomy research to create novel 'smart farming' technologies and laboratory-to-field crop phenotyping.
e-Agri Sensors Group Leader, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, UK
Prof Grieve is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering & Technology, Vice President & Fellow of the Institute of Agricultural Engineers and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and holds the N8 Chair in Agri-Sensors & Electronics. Before joining the University of Manchester he gained c.20 years of industrial experience in the fields of on-line analysis & sensors R&D; including deployment of informatics systems within new integrated products for Sustainable Agriculture & Food. Since 2007 he has attracted over £6M of direct industrial, governmental and NGO funding which has been leveraged against a portfolio of £24M in collaborative multidisciplinary research projects. Previously Prof Grieve has been the industrial manager on a number of UK Research Council and DTI supported projects. He has been awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Fellowship to progress his e-Agri research at the University of Manchester and has held a number of funding board roles with UK Research Councils and the Innovate-UK (TSB), including being a nominated member of the BBSRC Agriculture & Food Security Strategy & Policy Panel and the STFC 21st Century Challenges Strategy Panel. Since 2013 Prof Grieve has particularly focused his agri-sensors research towards translating those smart technologies in appropriately designed and low-cost forms, to assist with the sustainable delivery of nutritious crops within less developed nations, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the assistance of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) and UK-GCRF programmes. Additionally he is co-founder of the agri-sensors company Fotenix Ltd.
