Dr. Sindhuja Sankaran
Phenomics Lab
Afef Marzougui
Education
- Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering > Washington State University, Pullman, WA
Agriculture Automation Engineering, Fall 2018 – Present - M.S. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering > Washington State University, Pullman, WA
Agriculture Automation Engineering [Fulbright Scholar], Fall 2016 – Summer 2018 - National Engineering Degree > Higher Institute of Agricultural Sciences Chott-Mariam, Sousse, Tunisia
Horticulture, Fall 2011 – Spring 2014 - Preparatory Cycle for the Competitive Exam of Entrance to Engineering Schools > Faculty of Sciences, Mathematics, Physics and Natural, Tunis, Tunisia
Biology-Geology, Fall 2009 – Spring 2011
Professional Experience
- Research Assistant, Phenomics Laboratory — Biological Systems Engineering Department, September 2018 – Present | Washington State University
- Research Assistant, Phenomics Laboratory — Biological Systems Engineering Department, September 2018 – Present | Washington State University
- Agronomist Engineer, Pépinière Nour du Centre —Tree Nursery, May 2015 – February 2016 | Kairouan, Tunisia
- Intern, Technical Center for Organic Agriculture, October 2013 – June 2014 | Sousse, Tunisia
- Intern, Regional Center for Agricultural Professional Training in Vegetable Crops (CSFPA), September 2013 | Sousse, Tunisia
- Intern, Regional Center for Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, March 2013 | Sousse, Tunisia
Awards and Recognition
- Boyd-Scott Graduate Research Award (3rd place in PhD category), American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2020
- BSE Outstanding Graduate Student Award: Alfred and Genevieve Gallucci Scholarship, 2019–2020
- North American Pulse Improvement Association Travel Award, 2019
- BSYSE 512 Poster Competition Award, 2019 (3rd place)
- BSE Travel Award, 2018 and 2019
- WSU Plant Science Symposium Poster Award, 2019 (2nd place)
- Phenome 2019 Travel Award, 2019
- Alaska Airlines Travel Award, 2018
- Fulbright scholarship (U.S. Department of State), 2016 – 2018
Research Grants
- Remotely sensed imagery and machine learning for developing better crop varieties (Lead PI). Funding Agency: Microsoft AI for Earth ($15,000 Microsoft Azure credits)
Book Chapter/Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Ma, Yu., Marzougui, A., Coyne, C.J., Sankaran, S., Main, D., Porter, L.D., Mugabe, D., Smitchger, J.A., Zhang1, C., Amin, M.D., Rasheed, N., Ficklin, S., and McGee, R.J. 2020. Dissecting the genetic architecture of Aphanomyces root rot resistance in lentil by QTL mapping and genome-wide association. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21 (6): 2129.
- Zhang, C., Marzougui, A., and Sankaran, S. 2020. High-resolution satellite imagery applications in crop phenotyping: An overview. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 175, 105584.
- Marzougui, A., Ma, Y., Zhang, C., McGee, R.J., Coyne, C.J., Main, D., and Sankaran, S. 2019. Advanced imaging for quantitative evaluation of Aphanomyces root rot resistance in lentil. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, 383. [2284 views, 341 downloads]
- Jarolmasjed, S., Kostick, S., Si, Y., Quirós, J.J., Marzougui, A., Evans, K., and Sankaran, S. 2019. Multispectral and hyperspectral sensing for high-throughput phenotyping of fire blight disease resistance in apple. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, 576. [2025 views, 439 downloads]
- Sankaran, S., Zhang, C., and Marzougui, A. 2018. Sensing for Stress Detection and High-throughput Phenotyping in Precision Horticulture. In ‘Automation in Tree Fruit Production: Principles and Practice’. Editor: Zhang, Q. CABI, 28 – 42.