Wouter Saeys

Prof. Wouter Saeys leads the Biophotonics group at the Department of Biosystems (BIOSYST), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, KU Leuven. His research focuses on light interaction with biological systems for sensor development in agrofood and biomedical domains. Funded by FWO, European Commission, and IRO, his work spans hyperspectral imaging, chemometrics, and machine learning applications.

• Full Professor and Head of MeBioS Technologies division
• Contact person for Mechatronics, Biostatistics and Sensors (MeBioS)
• Member of faculty councils and teaching committee

Research Interests

Specializes in Biophotonics for agrofood systems, developing optical sensors for:

• Milk composition analysis via spatially resolved spectroscopy
• Pork adulteration detection using Raman/NIR fusion
• Precision fertilization through UAV-based multispectral monitoring
• AI-driven X-ray spectral imaging for horticultural quality
• Acoustic pest insect identification via wingbeat signatures
• Precision nitrogen management in potato cultivation

Publications & Projects show consistent focus on hyperspectral deep learning, spectral data fusion, and non-destructive evaluation methods. Recent articles demonstrate 2025 breakthroughs in subspace learning (partial Tucker decomposition) and fluorescent tagging for grain contamination detection.

Honors:

• CADcracker science prize (7500 euro)

Academic Leadership: Supervises 10+ PhD/MSc students including Valeria Fonseca Diaz, Anna Tsibart, and Laura Carolina Martinez Esmeral. Teaches courses in Chemometrics, Agricultural Robotics, and Engineering Properties of Biological Materials.

Laboratory: Maintains state-of-the-art facilities for Vis-NIR/SWIR hyperspectral cameras, femtosecond laser manufacturing of optical references, and RGB-D imaging systems at Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, Leuven.