Kansas State University (K-State) is launching the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics.
The institute is a people-centered interdisciplinary collective with a goal to transform learning, research and outreach around digital technologies and advanced analytical methods as well as enhance agricultural, environmental and socioeconomic decision-making.
Work done at the institute will include developing and integrating analytical methods and digital technologies — like sensors, automation and robots — that enhance food production and inform decision-making for sustainable and resilient systems.
“Through this new institute, Kansas State University is working across disciplines to solve global agricultural problems and build the economic prosperity of Kansas and one of our state’s key industries,” said K-State President Richard Linton.
The institute will use expertise from the College of Agriculture, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, Kansas State University Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus and K-State Research and Extension.
Public-private partnerships with industry experts and collaboration with Kansas communities are key components of the institute.
“The goal is to expand our digital footprint to rural communities to facilitate innovative and entrepreneurial ideas with research-driven expertise as it pertains to digital ag,” said Ignacio Ciampitti, professor of agronomy and a member of the institute’s administrative team. “Our team has faculty with K-State research and Extension appointments facilitating the translation of our science from the research and classroom to every county in Kansas.”
This effort will provide K-State with an effective foundation to develop programs that sustain the long-term competitiveness of agriculture in Kansas.
“Our team is ready to develop and expand the digital ag capacity at K-State to enhance the lives of Kansans, now and into the future,” said Susan Metzger, director of the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources, The Environment and the Kansas Water Resources Institute and a member of the institute’s administrative team. “We will not only help train the next generations of thinkers using existing university personnel and programs, but we feel this cooperation will help us prepare the new workforce for the future of our state while developing a university-wide road map on these critical topics in research, teaching and Extension.”
