As the global population continues to grow, and climate change and pollution lead to environmental degradation, ensuring the future of agriculture and food production becomes increasingly imperative. What role can computing research play in alleviating these challenges going forward? The impact of computing technology on the future of agriculture and plant science was the subject of the Using Computing to Sustainably Feed a Growing Populations scientific session at the 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual meeting in Seattle, Washington one month ago. This session was moderated by Lucas Joppa, the Chief Environmental Officer at Microsoft, and co-organized by Shashi Shekhar (CRA Board Member) and James Hodson (AI for Good […]

Contributions to this post were made by Shashi Shekhar, Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Council member and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Minnesota.  The Task Force on American Innovation held a Capitol Hill reception titled “Deconstructing Precision Agriculture” on Wednesday. The Computing Research Association was a co-sponsor of the event. It showcased U.S. farmers, leading agriculture technology companies, and scientists including Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Council member and University of Minnesota distinguished university professor Shashi Shekhar. The event exhibited three essential technologies of precision agriculture that originated from a broad spectrum of federally funded science: Guidance Systems and GPS, Data & Mapping with GIS, and Sensors & Robotics. Rajiv Khosla, Professor […]