Zahid Azlan

Zahid Azlan is an Assistant Professor of Controlled-Environment Agriculture Engineering at Texas A&M University, affiliated with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He leads a research lab focused on engineering solutions for precision agriculture, including edge-AI systems, robotics, and automation in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). His work bridges agricultural engineering with advanced technologies to enhance resource efficiency and crop productivity.

Education:

• B.S. in Agricultural Engineering, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (2013)
• M.S. in Agricultural Engineering, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (2015)
• Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Pennsylvania State University (2021)

Research Interests: Zahid’s research emphasizes sustainable technologies for CEA facilities, including robotic harvesting, plant wearable sensors, digital twin frameworks, and smart irrigation systems. His work addresses challenges in precision agriculture, such as optimizing resource allocation for hydroponic crops and improving disease detection through AI and computer vision.

Publications: His recent work focuses on AI-driven solutions for crop monitoring, robotic end-effector design for lettuce harvesting, and thermal environment controls in vertical farming. These studies highlight trends toward integrating edge computing and automation into agricultural practices.

Awards:

• Rain Bird Engineering Concept of the Year Award (2022)

Grants and Advising: Zahid collaborates on grants addressing water management in Pakistan’s Indus Basin and sustainable robotics for tree pruning. He currently advises no listed students but actively mentors graduate researchers in his lab.

Labs/Teams: Zahid directs the Controlled Environment Agriculture Engineering Lab at Texas A&M, focusing on cross-disciplinary innovations at the intersection of agriculture, robotics, and AI. His team develops scalable technologies for commercial and research CEA systems.