Smart Agriculture targets efficiency and the environment. These technologies save time and money, as well as reduce waste and pesticides. UF researchers and graduate students are tending multiple test fields in Florida, from Quincy in the Panhandle to Immokalee in Southwest Florida. 

Much of that work touches the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, particularly with AI use and digital applications. 

University of Pennsylvania is the lead institution on the grant, which also includes Purdue University and University of California Merced. Research will be headquartered at the University of Pennsylvania, the Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag), which is one of four NSF Engineering Research Centers established this month. The other research centers focus on quantum networks, sustainable roadway electrification and cryogenic technologies.

UF will be represented by at least a dozen faculty members and graduate students from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the College of Education.

David Arnold, George Kirkland Engineering Leadership Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is co-principal investigator on the NSF grant and site director for the UF site.