Irrigation

Derek Heeren, a professor and irrigation engineer, teaches students to be wise managers of irrigation, water resources and agricultural systems. His students get hands-on experience with irrigation technology while working with industry partners. He teaches courses in agricultural systems technology and agricultural engineering. He is the author of “Irrigations Systems Management,” a textbook published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. He is coordinator of irrigation and agricultural water management education for the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. (Updated November 2024)

Wei-zhen Liang is a research assistant professor at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center near Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Her focus is on precision agriculture and custom-designed camera systems for crop monitoring. Her expertise includes image analysis, advanced modeling for crop and livestock management, the Internet of Things and precision agriculture. Her current studies involve developing artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques for digital agriculture, plant phenotyping technologies, and precision engineering systems for water management, disease detection and weed detection across vineyards, dry beans and sugar beats. She actively contributes to STEM education through hands-on experiential learning and training programs. Liang's published research includes innovation in irrigation water management and monitoring crop health in dry edible bean, soybean and corn crops. (Updated November 2024.)

Abia Katimbo, an assistant professor and irrigation management specialist, specializes in precision irrigation. His research interests include sensor-based irrigation management, smart irrigation scheduling using dense wireless sensor networks, developing irrigation decision support tools and modeling soil water and crop water dynamics. He is affiliated with the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute and the West Central Research, Education and Extension Center in North Platte.

Saleh Taghvaeian, an associate professor of biological systems engineering and an irrigation engineer, teaches irrigation and drainage systems engineering. He has conducted a number of studies analyzing water stress in major agricultural crops, sensors-based approaches to smart irrigation scheduling and performance assessment of surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation systems. (Updated November 2024)