Co-developed PA in Australia in the early 90s, many years on the international scene. Now back in Australia and developing On-Experimentation and other aspects of Digital Agriculture internationally

Dr Fiona Evans has extensive and specialised mathematical and statistical knowledge and skills, with 23 years of research experience in the novel application of statistics and machine learning to solving problems using large, spatial-temporal datasets. She has a professional, intellectual and personal commitment to research that enhances the assessment, monitoring and productivity of Australia’s environmental and agricultural resources. Whilst employed by CSIRO and the Department of Agriculture and Food WA (now Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), she has worked on collaborative research projects to: • Monitor and predict areas affected by dryland salinity using remotely sensed and other spatial data. • Detect and identify objects in digital images. • Assess and map fisheries stocks using data from trawls and underwater video cameras. • Forecast seasonal rainfall. • Predict wheat yield. • Produce online decision tools to help farmers with on farm decision making. Fiona was awarded a PhD in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Western Australia in 2007, following an MSc in Computer Science from Curtin University in 1999 and a BSc (Hons) in Pure Mathematics and Statistics in 1995. Her fellowship project ‘Transforming broadacre farming in WA by combining big data, agronomic and economic models’ aims to develop and apply advanced analytics to combine big data with field trial data, on farm experiments, biophysical and agro-economic models to better predict the effects of crop inputs on yield and net return.

ISPA President from 2016 to 2018 On-Farm Experimentation Community co-lead as of October 2020

Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, Dr. Adamchuk obtained a mechanical engineering degree from the National Agricultural University of Ukraine (currently National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine), located in his hometown. Later, he received both MS and PhD degrees in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Purdue University (USA). In 2000, Dr. Adamchuk began his academic career as a faculty member in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA). Ten years later, he assumed his current position in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University (Canada), while retaining his adjunct status at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Currently, he serves as the Chair of the Bioresource Engineering Department. In addition, he is Canada’s representative to the International Society of Precision Agriculture. Dr. Adamchuk leads a Precision Agriculture and Sensor Systems (PASS) research team that focuses on developing and deploying soil and plant sensing technologies to enhance the economic and environmental benefits of precision agriculture. His team has designed and evaluated a fleet of proximal sensor systems capable of measuring physical, chemical and biological attributes directly in a field. Most sensors produce geo-referenced data to quantify spatial soil/plant heterogeneity, which may be used to prescribe differentiated treatments according to local needs. Through studies on sensor fusion and data clustering, he investigated the challenges faced by early adopters of precision agriculture. Through his outreach activities, Dr. Adamchuk has taught multiple programs dedicated to a systems approach in adopting smart farming technologies around the world.