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Southwest Florida Research & Education Center

Southwest Florida Research & Education Center

Dr. Yiannis Ampatzidis

Dr. Yiannis Ampatzidis began as an Assistant Professor in 2017 and leads a research and extension precision agriculture engineering program in the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) in Immokalee.

Dr. Ampatzidis works in the area of mechanization and automation of specialty crop production. He focuses on the design, development and testing of sensors and control systems for optimal management of inputs, resources and products. Dr. Ampatzidis’ current research focuses on mechanical harvest of specialty crops, mechatronics, artificial intelligence, machine vision, precision agriculture, precision irrigation, smart machines, UAVs and machine systems. Dr. Ampatzidis has a special interest in development, implementation and evaluation of agricultural machines and control systems for high value crops (precision agriculture applications, remote sensing, embedded systems developing and programming, UAVs-drones, GIS applications).

Research

  • Simulate crop yield, water and nutrient balances (http://floridanwater.org/modeling/)
  • Apply artificial intelligence to forecast hydrologic variables
  • Develop programs for an efficient use of water, and evaluation of smart irrigation technologies
  • Implement Best Management Practices (BMP’s) in Southeast Florida

Extension

  • Promote educational programs in water use and scheduling for irrigation.
  • Incentivize freshwater systems conservation using BMP’s
  • Increase public awareness of water issues.
  • Education
    • Ph.D. Agricultural Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (AUTH), 2010
    • M.S. Agricultural Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (AUTH), 2005
    • B.S. Agricultural Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (AUTH), 2008
    • B.S. Agricultural Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (AUTH), 2002
  • Professional Experience
    • July 2017 - Present
      Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida
    • June 2017 - July 2017
      Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Engineering, California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB)
    • September 2013 - June 2017
      Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Engineering, California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB)
    • January 2011 - August 2013
      Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems (CPAAS), Washington State University
    • July 2006 - December 2010
      Researcher, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)
    • December 2009 - March 2010
      Researcher, National Agricultural Research Foundation, Institute of Soil Science, Thessaloniki, Greece
    • May 2007 - May 2008
      Agronomist-manager, “Agios Georgios E.P.E.”, Greece
  • Awards and Honors
    • ASABE AE50 winner for the Agroview technology (2020 top innovative new product); Recognized in the January/February issue of Resource magazine.
    • UF Invention of the Year for the “Agroview: Cloud-based and Artificial Intelligence-based Software to Analyze and Visualize UAV Collected Data”, 2020
    • Florida Venture Forum Aerospace & Technology Competition, 1st Runner Up for the Agroview technology, 2020
    • Cade Prize finalist for the Agroview technology, 2020
    • Silver Award for Excellence in CSUB Research, 2015-2016
    • Bronze Award for Excellence in CSUB Research, 2014-2015
    • USDA E. Kika De La Garza Science Fellow, 2014
    • Bronze Award for Excellence in CSUB Research, 2013-2014
    • Certificate of Reviewing Excellence, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Journal, 2013
    • ASHS Extension Publication Award winner for the paper: "Training System Affects Sweet Cherry Harvest Efficiency" [HortScience 48(5):547-555]., 2013
    • Full scholarship from “State Scholarships Foundation”, Greece. Competition 2005 in the specialty “Automations in Precision Agriculture” (Duration: 42 months), 2005-2009
    • Erasmus Program, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL), Copenhagen, Denmark (Duration: 6 months), 2004-2005
  • Publications
  • Other Professional Activities
    • Editorial Advisory Board Member of Computer and Electronics in Agriculture Journal.
    • Editorial Board of Agricultural Science Journal.
    • American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).
    • Florida ASABE
    • American Society of Horticultural Science
    • Florida State Horticultural Society
    • Hellenic and European Society of Agricultural Engineers (ΕΓΜΕ, EurAgEng).
    • European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (EFITA).
    • Vice Chair, ASABE California-Nevada Section
    • Chair, ASABEITSC-318 Mechatronics and Biorobotics Committee