Sierra Young

Dr. Sierra Young is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Utah Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University, where she leads the DAISy (Digital Agro-environment and Intelligent Systems) Lab. Her research integrates robotics, computer vision, and environmental sensing to advance monitoring in agriculture and hydrology.

• PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018
• MS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015
• BS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 2014

Dr. Young's research focuses on field robotics, automation, and optical sensing systems for environmental and agricultural applications. She specializes in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), developing robotic payloads for tasks such as aerial pollination, soil moisture measurement, and water quality sampling. Her work also emphasizes hyperspectral imaging and machine learning for non-destructive evaluation of crops like industrial hemp and loblolly pine, enabling high-throughput phenotyping and disease detection.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong trend in intelligent robotics for agriculture, computer vision for environmental monitoring, and sensor fusion for hydrological applications. Key themes include autonomous decision-making in UAS, hyperspectral analysis for plant health, and real-time data processing for operational field deployment.

• NSF CAREER Award, 2024
• Outstanding Reviewer, Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 2024
• Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award, ASABE, 2024
• ASABE Outstanding Reviewer, 2023

Dr. Young mentors graduate students in civil, environmental, and electrical engineering, guiding research in robotics, sensing, and data science. She has secured funding from agencies including the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Robotics Initiative to support projects on camera-based hydrologic monitoring and autonomous water sampling. Her teaching includes courses in computer programming and computer vision for engineers. The DAISy Lab fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly with NC State University, focusing on scalable robotic solutions for agricultural and environmental challenges.

The DAISy Lab is actively developing mobile sensor systems for applications in precision agriculture, hydrology, and aquaculture. Current projects include autonomous water quality monitoring using aerial and surface vehicles, hyperspectral imaging for crop breeding, and low-cost camera networks for operational hydrology.