AI in Agriculture Symposium
Presented by
When
September 15, 2025
8:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Where
Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences
1371 W. Altheimer Drive
Fayetteville, AR 72704
Registration
There is no cost to attend. Register to attend in person or virtually using the buttons below.
Join us at the inaugural AI in Agriculture Symposium, hosted by the Center for Agricultural Data Analytics within the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Featuring artificial intelligence and automation experts from academia and industry, this event offers the latest on AI research and real-world application.
Attendees can choose to attend in person at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville, Arkansas, or watch the presentations online. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to in-person attendees, and the event wraps up with a reception and poster session. There is no cost to attend in person or online. Register today!
Agenda
8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Light Breakfast
9:00 – 9:15 a.m.
Opening
Jean-François Meullenet, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Vice President for Agriculture-Research and Director of the AAES
9:15 – 10:05 a.m.
Girish Chowdhary, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and Computer Science, UIUC
10:05 – 10:10 a.m.
Arkansas AI in AG Hackathon: 3rd place
10:10 – 10:30 a.m.
Break
10:30 – 11:20 a.m.
Rohit Sanjay, M.Sc.
Automation Developer
Tyson Foods
11:20 – 11:25 a.m.
Arkansas AI in AG Hackathon: 2nd place
11:25 – 11:55 a.m.
Rich Adams, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Entomology and Plant Pathology & Center for Agricultural Data Analytics, UADA
11:55 – 12:00 p.m.
Arkansas AI in AG Hackathon: 1st place
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch & Networking
1:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Aranyak Goswami, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Animal Science & Center for Agricultural Data Analytics, UADA
2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Nicholas Ames, Ph.D.
Principal Data Scientist
Bayer Crop Science
Erin Gilbert, M.Sc.
Staff Data Steward
Bayer Crop Science
2:50 – 3:10 p.m.
Break
3:10 – 4:00 p.m.
Alon Arad, Ph.D.
Director of Artificial Intelligence and Analytics
Walmart Global Tech
4:00 – 4:50 p.m.
Round Table with Speakers: AI as a bridge for multidisciplinary collaborations in Ag
Ana Maria Heilman-Morales, Ph.D.
Director, NDSU Agricultural Data Analytics
North Dakota State University
4:50 – 5:00 p.m.
Final Remarks
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Reception & Poster Session
Speakers
Girish Chowdhary, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and Computer Science, UIUC
Rohit Sanjay, M.Sc.
Rich Adams, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Entomology and Plant Pathology & Center for Agricultural Data Analytics, UADA
Aranyak Goswami, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Animal Science & Center for Agricultural Data Analytics, UADA
Nicholas Ames, Ph.D.
Erin Gilbert, M.Sc.
Alon Arad, Ph.D.
Ana Maria Heilman-Morales, Ph.D.
Director – NDSU Agricultural Data Analytics
North Dakota State University
AI IN AG HACKATHON
Sign up for our first ever AI in Ag Hackathon!
The AI in Ag Hackathon gives graduate students a chance to work with real-life data to tackle scenarios commonly faced by multinational seed companies like Bayer Crop Science. The event takes place at Mullins Library at the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, from Sept. 13-14. The top three teams will present their solutions at the AI in Ag Symposium on September 15 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville.
Event Details
- The deadline to register is Sept. 10, 2025.
- Participation is limited to graduate students from the University of Arkansas Fayetteville campus or the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
- The hackathon is limited to 40 participants who will be divided into 10 groups. The goal is to assemble groups of students from at least 3 different colleges.
- Participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis; however, students with some background in AI or statistics (i.e., those who have taken at least one graduate-level stats class) will be given priority.
- Groups will be formed by the organizers at the beginning of the hackathon.
The AI in Ag Hackathon is a collaboration between the Center for Agricultural Data Analytics, the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, and Bayer Crop Science.
To learn more about the AI in Agriculture Symposium, contact Samuel B. Fernandes at samuelbf@uark.edu or 479-575-5677. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact the event organizer as soon as possible.