“All these major systems in our body have open ears and open minds for the messages that the gut microbiome has to say,” Sharpton (Biochemistry & Biophysics ‘03) said.

Sharpton leads interdisciplinary research to pick apart the microbiome’s impact. His work lays the path for future human health innovations that embrace the relationship with our microscopic roommates. He also helped build the Oregon State University Microbiome Initiative (OMBI), a campus-wide effort that connects researchers studying microbial communities in fields ranging from human health to agriculture and ocean science.

How gut microbes shape health

A major theme across Sharpton’s research is that microbes don’t just correlate with health. They determine how organisms — like us — experience their chemical environment.

“The gut microbiome mediates how we experience our diet, how we experience the drugs we consume and the environmental pollutants that we’re exposed to,” he said.

That principle guides the lab’s experiments on the gut-brain axis, neurodegenerative disease, behavior and cognition.

To test causality at scale, he established a unique partnership between his team’s computational skills and the zebrafish research community at Oregon State, particularly the Sinnhuber Aquatic Research Laboratory. Human microbiomes vary widely, and large, controlled clinical studies are expensive. Zebrafish enable high-replicate tests that isolate microbe-host-environment interactions. In collaboration with OSU colleagues, Sharpton’s group has shown that pollutants can restructure the gut microbiome and alter neurobehavioral development, and that removing the microbiome can flip a chemical’s effect.

“We studied a pollutant that drives a behavioral alteration and makes a fish hyperactive,” he said. “What happens when you take the microbiome away? All of a sudden, that pollutant makes the fish hypoactive.”

These studies reposition the microbiome as an active biochemical gatekeeper between environment and physiology. They also illuminate why two people with similar genetics and exposures can respond differently to the same diet or medication: their microbial communities and the metabolites they produce are not the same.

Sharpton’s computational work pushes the field beyond cataloging species. By integrating genomic information from gut samples and applying rigorous statistics, his lab seeks out functional signatures linked to health and disease. This shift from taxonomy to function has helped the field home in on mechanisms that are more likely to translate between species and into clinical contexts. Recently Sharpton’s team published a study titled “Modeling the zebrafish gut microbiome’s resistance and sensitivity to climate change and parasite infection” in Frontiers in Microbiomes (July 2025).

Equally important to what questions the team asks is how they answer them. The lab builds and releases open-source software and curated data resources so that others can reproduce analyses, train students and extend the findings.

“We publish everything we produce for free. It holds us accountable and helps others reproduce our results,” Sharpton said.

That openness accelerates discovery in a fast-moving field where methods evolve nearly as quickly as the microbes they study.

While zebrafish allow for fast, controlled tests, the lab’s standard of evidence requires asking whether those mechanisms translate to mammals and people. Sharpton’s group works across zebrafish, mouse and human systems (with some nonhuman primate studies) to assess findings.

“At the end of the day, we really want our research to matter to people,” he said. “We always try to swing the bat around and determine if what we’re seeing in these model systems is relevant in human systems as well.”

That translational arc is especially crucial in the lab’s gut-brain axis research. What began for Sharpton as skepticism has turned into sustained investigation. Across fish, mice, children and adults, his team and collaborators repeatedly see robust links between the microbiome and behavior or cognition. Those links raise questions for how we might treat cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders in the future.

“Do we have novel opportunities to prevent or treat these diseases that are frankly terrifying to many people?” Sharpton said. “Efforts to manage, manipulate or someday even engineer microbiomes may be a fundamental transformation in our ability to prevent, diagnose and treat chronic diseases.”

The future of microbiome science

With public interest in the microbiome surging, Sharpton is careful to separate promise from hype. “A lot of people think the microbiome is the key contributor to health, and it isn't. But it is an important component alongside other variables,” he said.

Methods are advancing, individual variation is large and proving cause and effect is challenging.

“It’s almost like you’ve got a ball of yarn that’s been tangled into a knot,” he said. “You’re having to pull apart the right pieces at the right time.”

Still, he argues, scientists have a responsibility to explain what’s known, what isn’t and why it matters. “It’s not enough for us to just publish in journals anymore. Our duty to the taxpayer is to communicate the results in a way that people can understand.”

For pioneering contributions that have advanced microbiome science from description to mechanism, Sharpton recently earned the Milton Harris Award in Basic Research and position as the Burgess and Elizabeth Jamieson Chair in Healthspan Research. These honors recognize a body of work that spans high-impact zebrafish experiments, human-relevant translation, openly shared analytical frameworks and a collaborative research ecosystem that has elevated OSU as a hub for microbiome discovery. Reflecting on the Milton Harris Award, Sharpton called it “a milestone. Validation that I’m on the right track.”

The practical stakes of his work are high. If the microbiome helps determine how we process a meal, respond to medication or endure a pollutant, then understanding and, one day, managing these microbial communities could transform treatment for chronic disease.

“What microbiome science is telling us is that we are, in effect, symbiotic organisms,” Sharpton said. “We depend on our microbiome to be healthy.”

To understand human health, we have to listen closely to our gut — and the microbes calling from within.

Learn more about how the small but mighty microscopic world is studied at Oregon State here.

F.A. Gilfillan Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science

Davide Lazzati, from the Department of Physics, has received the F.A. Gilfillan Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Science.

Lazzati’s scholarly achievements place him among the most influential astrophysicists of his generation. With more than 190 peer-reviewed publications, over 11,000 citations and an h-index of 57, his work has shaped high-energy astrophysics and multi-messenger astronomy for more than two decades. His research spans theory, computation and observation, and many of his papers are regarded as foundational benchmarks in gamma-ray burst physics, compact-object mergers and the emerging field of gravitational-wave astronomy.

A leader in multi-messenger astrophysics, Lazzati was among the first to predict the electromagnetic signature of a binary neutron star merger — insight that proved essential to interpreting the historic 2017 GW170817 event. His modeling of structured relativistic jets and off-axis emission provided the conceptual framework that allowed scientists to connect gravitational-wave detections with their electromagnetic counterparts. His work continues to guide the field as new detectors expand the frontiers of discovery.

Lazzati’s scholarship is marked by sustained creativity and rigor, supported by a strong record of competitive NASA and NSF funding. He is also a dedicated mentor and leader. Lazzati has advised 10 graduate students, mentored postdoctoral researchers, and guided 28 undergraduate researchers, several of whom have published first-author papers. His early adoption of a formal mentoring compact, now increasingly recognized as a best practice, reflects his commitment to transparency, equity and student success. His leadership as department head further strengthened the inclusivity and effectiveness of the graduate program.

One nominator wrote, "Professor Lazzati’s record of scholarship is nothing short of extraordinary — marked by sustained excellence, transformative impact and remarkable breadth. His work often anticipates new discoveries, redefines longstanding problems and helps set the direction for future studies.”

Milton Harris Award for Basic Research

Thomas Sharpton, professor in the departments of Microbiology and Statistics and the Burgess and Elizabeth Jamieson Chair in Healthspan Research, received the Milton Harris Award for Basic Research.

Sharpton is a pioneering microbiome scientist whose work has fundamentally advanced the basic biological understanding of how host-associated microbial communities function. Since joining Oregon State University in 2013, he has built an interdisciplinary research program that integrates computational biology, statistics and molecular microbiology to uncover the mechanisms by which microbiomes influence health, development and disease. His analytical frameworks, statistical models and experimental systems have become foundational tools used across the field.

His research has produced major insights into how the gut microbiome contributes to inflammatory bowel disease, neurobiological function and parasite infection, among other complex conditions. Sharpton has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, including in Nature, PNAS and Nature Communications, and his work has been cited over 23,000 times. He has secured more than $24 million in research funding from agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense and the Moore Foundation, and has developed widely used open-source software and databases that have accelerated microbiome research worldwide.

Sharpton’s leadership has also strengthened OSU’s research ecosystem. As founding director of OSU Microbiome Initiative and director of the OSU Microbiome Core, he has catalyzed interdisciplinary collaborations and expanded access to cutting-edge microbiome technologies. He is a dedicated mentor and educator, having guided more than 40 trainees and co-developed influential courses in microbial bioinformatics and quantitative genomics. His commitment to equity and inclusivity is reflected in his work on NIH and USDA diversity programs and his efforts to improve departmental monitoring practices.

Nominators emphasized both his scientific impact and his collaborative leadership. As one wrote, “His innovative approaches and unwavering commitment to scientific rigor make him an exceptional scholar and an indispensable collaborator.”

Dean’s Early Career Achievement Award

Katherine McLaughlin from the Department of Statistics, received the Dean’s Early Career Achievement Award.

McLaughlin is an internationally recognized expert in developing statistical methods for studying hard-to-reach and hidden populations, including victims of human trafficking and communities at high risk for HIV. Since joining Oregon State University in 2016, she has published 19 peer-reviewed papers in top journals, delivered talks at venues including the CDC and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and helped bring approximately $3.4 million in research funding to OSU.

Her work has had a major global impact. McLaughlin developed the “Visibility SS-PSE” model, now one of the main methods used to estimate population sizes in the UNAIDS Key Population Atlas, helping guide international HIV prevention and treatment policy. She also serves as an advisor to the U.S. Department of State-funded Prevalence Reduction Innovation Forum, helping shape how human trafficking is statistically measured worldwide.

At OSU, McLaughlin played a critical role in the TRACE and PIPP pandemic response projects, designing and analyzing large-scale community COVID-19 surveys and helping integrate wastewater data into public health decision-making.

“My first reaction upon a careful read through her materials is to wonder whether Prof. McLaughlin lives within the same 24-hour day that the rest of us do,” wrote a colleague who nominated McLaughlin. They added that she is “a rare case of ‘the complete package’” whose contributions are “uncharacteristically comprehensive.”

Xue said her fascination with statistics began almost by accident. As an undergraduate in China, she enrolled in a program that combined finance and statistics, intending to pursue the finance track. But her early exposure to statistical methods quickly won her over.

“It’s a beautiful combination of theory and application. It’s mathematically deep so you feel satisfied, but also you’re going to have interesting applications. You can see its impact and how that method is going to be used in real life,” she said.

Xue’s statistical background is in non-parametric methods, which allow data to reveal its own patterns without assuming a specific model form. She began her work developing methods for dimension reduction and model selection, helping make high-dimensional “big data” more manageable for analysis.

“Non-parametric is the backbone, it’s my hammer. I use it to tackle different kinds of problems,” she said.

Over time, she expanded her research to complex data types, including brain imaging networks and functional data, such as physical activity tracked by wearable devices. These devices don’t take exact measurements, but instead rough estimates. Statisticians like Xue are needed to figure out how to deal with errors to make sure the data is as robust as possible.

Building on this expertise, Xue is contributing to an NIH-funded project aimed at improving the accuracy of self reported diet and activity data in obesity and type 2 diabetes research. The grant, awarded by the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, brings together an interdisciplinary team led by Carmen Tekwe, associate professor at Indiana University.

The researchers are tackling a critical challenge: how to correct the errors that occur when using wearable devices such as fitness trackers and self-reported dietary questionnaires. These tools are widely used in large-scale studies but are prone to recall bias, systematic error and complex correlations that can distort the statistical models used to evaluate health outcomes.

By designing new methods to account for these problems, the team aims to provide a more reliable picture of how diet and physical activity influence obesity and type 2 diabetes. Their work has the potential to improve public health recommendations, strengthen the evidence used for chronic disease prevention and ultimately lead to more effective interventions tailored to diverse populations.

"Statistics a beautiful combination of theory and application"

Her research prowess is matched by her commitment to collaboration. Xue believes statistics is strongest when applied to real-world challenges, and many of her projects are problem-driven, sparked by the needs of collaborators in medicine, biology and agriculture. One applied paper, honored with a Best Paper Award from the Review of Regional Studies, examined how administrative costs vary across U.S. counties depending on governance structure, population, urban versus rural status and natural amenities. Using advanced statistical methods, the study revealed that factors like wages, population size and health outcomes affect operational expenditures differently across counties, underscoring the importance of local context in policy and resource allocation. This research grew from a partnership with faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Looking ahead, Xue is preparing her department to engage with the rise of artificial intelligence. She sees two opportunities: using AI tools like deep learning to tackle longstanding statistical problems, and infusing AI development with rigorous statistical reasoning to improve uncertainty quantification and inference.

“We are ready to adapt and adjust. There are many ways that statistics can contribute to AI,” she said.

Outside of work, Xue enjoys traveling and cheering at her son’s soccer games, moments of joy that balance her busy academic life.

JSM's innovative networking and career tool in action: Career Service Portal

Conferences open doors to job opportunities in industry, research collaborations in academia, mentorships, and even future grant panel members, which are extremely valuable after completing graduate school. When it comes to attending JSM, there’s an additional benefit.

By using JSM’s online Career Service portal, students can click a button that sends their resume to every company attending the conference. Even better, interviews with recruiters can be scheduled in advance. Students can find these invitations by routinely checking the portal’s inbox. For Duan, she received 12 interview requests.

Thanks to these interviews, students have a chance to shine. “The interviews are pretty short, so make sure to remember the details on your resume and clearly explain the purpose, motivation, challenges and results of your research to help the hiring managers better understand your work,” Duan said. “That’s how I found my job!”

This streamlined process helps students focus on expressing themselves through public speaking rather than worrying about handing out as many resume copies as possible.

Duan’s advice for students wanting to connect with professionals? Find something in common. It can be as simple as asking to chat over dinner because you graduated from the same university. “Most people are very willing to speak with alumni, and they might introduce you to more people, so that’s a great way to make connections at conferences,” she said. “You can also invite hiring managers to attend your presentation and speak with them there.”

How conferences boost career prospects

In statistics and data science, there is a vibrant community full of opportunities for passionate learners. “Going to conferences helps you do better research, look for better jobs and have a better outcome, no matter what career you choose to have,” said Yuan Jiang, statistics associate professor and co-director of graduate studies.

Jiang co-organized the New Researchers Conference (NRC), which is always held shortly before JSM. Last year, students could attend both conferences in the same summer, meaning a chance to make double the connections without traveling far from home.

Other annual conferences like the Eastern North American Region (ENAR) and the Western North American Region (WNAR) of the International Biometric Society are other options for professional networking and developing, especially in biostatistics.

“There are two ways to look for a job. You can apply by yourself to as many companies as possible or have an internal referral. I would say that if you are being recommended by someone, the success rate of landing a job is probably much higher,” Jiang said.

The College of Science offers various resources to help students expand their network both locally and around the world, even if they’ve never been to a conference before. The College of Science Student Travel Award is available for both undergraduate and graduate students. The Department of Statistics offers professional travel awards up to $1000 each academic year for graduate students who travel to regional, national or international conferences to present a paper or poster.

“Different people have different personalities. But no matter what, networking is important,” Jiang said. “Going to conferences is an integral tool to get to know people, whether you want to go to industry or academia. When people can know you in person, that gives them a more direct impression about who you are.”

Insecticide resistance in spotted-winged drosophila

Geneticist Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer's project addresses the significant agricultural threat posed by spotted-winged drosophila (SWD), an invasive pest species. The research aims to advance understanding of the genetic basis and evolution of insecticide resistance in these pest populations through experimental work, genetic techniques and mechanistic mathematical modeling. The project involves collaboration with experts from UC Davis and focuses on developing sustainable control methods. Directly connected to the needs of the Oregon agricultural community, this project is a prime example of OSU’s strong community engagement initiatives as a land grant institution. By learning more about the mechanisms of insecticide resistance in spotted-winged drosophila, growers will be better able to plan and prioritize their insecticide applications to mitigate resistance.

Oregon State Collaborators
Alysia Vrailas Mortimer, Biochemistry & Biophysics
Swati Patel, Mathematics
Serhan Mermer, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology (College of Agricultural Sciences)

Analytical Tools to Understand Ecological Communities

Statistician Yuan Jiang’s SciRIS project aims to create novel analytical tools for assessing how organisms in complex ecological communities like microbes and parasites interact and affect each other over time. The research will leverage long-term community datasets from wild vertebrate host populations with improved data techniques that allow these large complex data sets to be analyzed more efficiently and with environmental conditions factored in. In addition to improve our ecological understanding of these communities, Jiang's project seeks to extend the accessibility of these analytical tools to diverse scientific audiences through summer camps, workshops and online tutorials. The project will also involve collaboration with colleagues and students at the Universidad of San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador to build capacity in data analytics.

Oregon State Collaborators
Yuan Jiang, Statistics
Lan Xue, Statistics
Anna Jolles, Integrative Biology
Claire Couch, Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences (College of Agricultural Sciences)

Unlocking the potential of seaweed

Algal physiologist James Fox’s project explores the chemical composition and potential applications of Pacific Dulse, a protein-rich seaweed native to the Pacific coastline. The team will create a special growth chamber to cultivate seaweed on land under controlled conditions. This allows researchers to maximize the production of important compounds found in Pacific Dulse, which can be used in nutrition and medicine. The project also emphasizes community outreach and inclusive excellence by engaging diverse student populations and partnering with outreach programs. Additionally, the project will investigate the impact of different processing methods on the nutritional quality of seaweed extracts.

Oregon State Collaborators
James Fox, Microbiology
Myriam Cotten, Biochemistry and Biophysics
Ford Evans, Hatfield Marine Science Center
Evan Forsythe, Integrative Biology
Scott Geddes, Chemistry Program Coordinator OSU-Cascades
Jung Jwon, Department of Food Science & Technology (College of Agricultural Sciences)
Christopher Suffridge, Microbiology

These projects highlight the innovative and impactful research being conducted by the 2025 SciRIS awardees. Each project not only advances scientific knowledge by also emphasizes collaboration, community engagement and inclusive excellence.

College of Science Inclusive Excellence Award

Hannah Stuwe, graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, received the Inclusive Excellence Award.

Department Head Elisar Barbar, who nominated Stuwe, said she has engaged in a wide-ranging set of service, outreach and training that is truly impressive. First, Stuwe conducted a GFP protein purification activity for middle and high school students from the Chemawa Indian School, Jewell High School (Seaside), and visited groups of black and Latinx students from the Portland area.

She planned, wrote and edited a handbook of science experiments geared towards middle school aged students, their parents, and teachers to fill the void of not having a BB summer camp. This handbook now serves as a free and open access resource for community members.

Stuwe is the founder of the non-profit organization Corvallis Music Collective. They have engaged in community service and activism by providing live music for events and rallies. Recent events include the Basic Needs Center Fall Welcome Party, the Disabled Students Union Disability Justice Rally and Jackson Street Youth Services National Runaway Prevention Month “Skate Park After Dark” Show.

Gladys Valley Award for Exemplary Administrative Support

Amy Timshel, assistant head to the department head in the Department of Microbiology, received the Gladys Valley Award for Exemplary Administrative Support.

Her colleagues describe her as proactive, always seeking ways to improve processes and deeply committed to making the department a better place for everyone. She is highly regarded by students, faculty and staff for her professionalism, broad knowledge and ability to get things done. In fact, Department Head Anne Dunn noted that when she polled faculty on department strengths during strategic planning exercises, Timshel's critical role in the department was consistently highlighted.

She has a deep understanding of university policies and constantly looks for ways to improve them. She listens, advocates for students and colleagues, and takes initiative to make the department more inclusive and equitable. For example, her work on the Core Values Committee led to the addition of gender-neutral restrooms in Nash Hall and improvements to scholarship and travel fund policies.

Beyond her administrative role, Timshel actively fosters a sense of community within the department. She organizes fundraisers and charity events and regularly attends student events to show her support.

Distinguished Service Award

Elaine Cozzi, assistant head and associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, received the Distinguished Service Award for her impactful service to her department, the College and the broader mathematics community.

Cozzi served as interim associate dean of academic and student affairs for the College in Spring of 2024, managing various projects, including the university’s revision of its undergraduate advising system, assessing teaching resources and addressing countless student issues. She was overwhelmingly generous with her time in responding to the many challenges and the needs of her colleagues.

Before and after serving as associate dean, Cozzi served as assistant department head for mathematics, responsible for scheduling upper-level courses and ensuring adequate staffing for the Department’s teaching mission. This affects the hiring of instructors, graduate students, and undergraduate graders.

Jon Kujawa, Department of Mathematics head and Cozzi’s nominator, noted, “It is hard to overestimate the impact of Elaine’s planning on the smooth operation of the teaching side of the department. And she readily pivots when unexpected events disrupt the plans.” Additionally, Elaine led the assessment of the Mathematics undergraduate program for several years, playing a crucial role in student success, he shared.

Cozzi also contributes significantly to the mathematics profession as Associate Editor for the American Mathematical Monthly – the most widely read mathematics journal in the world. She is also an active member of SIAM, a professional society for applied mathematics, where she helps organize meetings and contributes to administrative efforts and regularly serves as a grant evaluator for the NSF and the Simons Foundation, helping to shape the future of mathematical research.

Virginia Lesser, Department of Statistics Head, received the Champion of Science award for her significant contributions to the field of statistics and to Oregon State University throughout her distinguished career. After earning her PhD in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she joined OSU’s Department of Statistics in 1992.

A year later, she became Director of the Survey Research Center, a role she held until her retirement in December 2024. Lesser's expertise in probability sampling, survey design, and data collection methods ensured that the center upheld the highest standards. Under her leadership, the center became a premier institution, offering expertise in survey methodology, sampling and data analysis – supporting projects that inform policy, environmental monitoring, economic studies and public opinion research. Its work has helped agencies such as the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Oregon State Marine Board, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife make data-driven decisions, not to mention numerous initiatives within the University.

Lesser's groundbreaking research in survey methodology, environmental statistics, applied statistics and ecological monitoring has advanced the field and influenced practice. She has authored over 55 journal articles and conference proceedings, earning national and international recognition – including being named a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.

Lesser's leadership also transformed the statistics department and elevated Oregon State University’s role in the field as department head from 2011 to 2018.

Lesser has also been a dedicated mentor and advocate for students and colleagues. Over the course of her career, she guided more than 220 graduate students and fostered a welcoming, supportive community within the department. Her colleagues regard her as an exceptional mentor and an inspiring leader, someone who consistently goes above and beyond – whether leading major academic initiatives or simply making sure the department potluck had a home-cooked turkey.

Eight years ago, members of Oregon State Seed Services envisioned a modern way to inspect seeds. While training an artificial intelligence model to analyze an image is not new, applying this technology to seed purity is. What sounds like a simple task on the surface, actually involves many intricate steps and disciplines.

Before the tool is even developed, understanding the importance of seed testing and the current limitations is crucial, and that’s where Dan Curry stepped in.

When farmers raise a seed lot, they want to ensure customer satisfaction. If weed seeds start growing on someone's newly planted lawn instead of grass, that wouldn’t be good. Or if the seeds aren’t healthy, it directly impacts yield and productivity. Different agencies including the Oregon Department of Agriculture use testing to issue quality tags for seed lots that meet specific quality standards.

Seed growers use giant machines to clean out most of the weeds. This requires constant stopping and analyzing the system to make sure they are cutting enough. In other words, throwing away enough to remove the bad seeds. Because growers don’t want to cut too hard and throw away profits, they are constantly grabbing a sample, shutting their machines off and driving miles to a lab.

Analyzing seeds by hand is hard work. It takes three to five years of training to identify up to 200 different seed species and hundreds of hours spent uncomfortably staring at tiny images. Employees who look at hundreds of thousands of seeds each day will make mistakes.

If the grass seed growers of Oregon not only had a more accurate method of testing, but also a portable version, they would throw less away and have higher quality seed lots.

Building on this understanding, a cross-disciplinary research group formed, combining five faculty members, three graduate students and three undergraduates from the College of Science, College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Engineering.

The first challenge is capturing high-quality images of seeds to train the computer to see the differences. Next, it’s figuring out how to maintain consistent conditions while they’re training and testing because if those conditions change, what’s used for training may not apply to testing.

Statisticians like Di are needed to calculate levels of uncertainty, while computer scientists will provide feedback on the neural networks used by AI to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. Neural networks are algorithms that mimic the human brain’s structure to recognize patterns and make decisions based on data.

In the 21st century, the boundary between statistics and artificial intelligence has started to blur, with both fields analyzing data and trying to make sense of it.

“I don’t really think too much about which area I’m working on, whether it’s AI or statistics. I believe on this team, we just focus on solving the problem,” Di said.

The goal is to have the entire processes automated, requiring the contributions of robotics engineers. To add to the complexity, the group is developing two different versions, the tabletop lab Ergo Vision and a portable light box.

“The idea is we can send the light box to the farmers so they can analyze seeds onsite so they don’t have to send their sample to the seed lab and wait a couple of hours before they can make a decision,” Di said.

The 3D printed prototype currently sitting in the crop science building was made by Ameyassh Nagarajan, an OSU graduate student in computer science and crop science and Logan Snell, an engineering undergraduate.

“I usually work on a lot of theory and engineering, but this is the first time I’ve been involved in something that’s solving a real-world problem,” Nagarajan said.

In the tabletop version, seeds will rest on a stationary flat platform, whereas the lab model incorporates a conveyor belt to transport seeds through the system seamlessly. The tabletop version is designed for high-throughput analysis in lab settings, while the portable light box provides farmers with an on-site solution.

By the start of this year, the group has trained the AI on five types of common seeds. In reality, the system could see a few hundred different seed types, meaning one of the big tasks is to gather more species and introduce them to the model.

Afterward, Di will be involved in working with the computer science collaborators to improve the AI model itself.

“If the machine has say a one percent error rate, it sounds very low. But in practice, the percentage of true weed seeds is also very low. So that means even if you have only one percent of error, that is still a lot of false positives,” Di said.

By applying cutting-edge science to the needs of local stakeholders, Yanming Di and collaborators are turning a centuries-old challenge into an opportunity for multidisciplinary innovation. This collaborative effort underscores the power of science and highlights the commitment of Oregon State to helping Oregonians thrive.