Introducing two new graduate students in our Precision Agriculture Lab

Aman Mehta (Graduate Research Assistant, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering)
Aman is pursuing an M.S. in precision weed management using spray drones in Dr. Rupak Karn’s lab. He earned his B.S. in Agriculture from Agriculture and Forestry University (Nepal) and joined NDSU this fall. He brings a background in crop and soil science, including work in nutrient management, soil fertility, and post-harvest physiology. He has developed strong skills in data analysis, remote sensing, and precision ag tools, fueling his passion for integrating technology with sustainable farming. Aman is excited about how UAVs and sensors can make crop production more efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. His current research focuses on spray-drone based precision weed management, building high-resolution weed maps, and optimizing spray parameters to improve herbicide efficacy while reducing waste. Outside work, he enjoys traveling, exploring new places, gardening, and meeting new people. Fun fact: He formulated a low-cost, ready-to-spray bio-fertilizer using enriched banana pseudo-stem sap and other natural ingredients that boosted marigold productivity.

Rahul Khanal (Graduate Research Assistant, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering)
Rahul is pursuing his M.S. in precision agriculture in Dr. Rupak Karn’s lab. He completed a B.S. in Computer Engineering at Tribhuvan University (Nepal) and joined NDSU this fall. With a strong foundation in artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and image processing, Rahul has worked on multiple applied projects that sharpened his technical toolkit and problem-solving mindset. He is specifically excited about how AI/ML can transform traditional agriculture, turning raw imagery and sensor data into actionable, field-ready insights that improve timing, efficiency, and sustainability. At NDSU, Rahul’s research centers on UAV-based weed detection, where he is developing and benchmarking robust, high-accuracy vision models to detect and map weeds from drone imagery. His work will integrate model training, validation, and deployment workflows to support data-driven scouting and decision-making across our field plots. Beyond the lab, Rahul enjoys trekking, hiking, and daily fitness; in his downtime, he gravitates to psychological thrillers in books and movies. Fun fact: He loves paddle boating.

We are excited for the innovation Aman and Rahul will bring to weed sensing, mapping, and spray application technologies across our projects. Please help me welcome them to the team!

Rupak Karn, Ph.D.
Rupak.Karn@ndsu.edu
Precision Agriculture Specialist