David Slaughter, Kenneth Sudduth, and Paul Weckler were recently honored by ASABE with Gold Medal awards, among the highest honors bestowed by the organization. The awards were presented at a luncheon ceremony held during the 2019 ASABE Annual International Meeting, in Boston.
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David Slaughter, PE, ASABE Fellow, is the recipient of the 2019 Cyrus Hall McCormick - Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal for exceptional contributions to agricultural automation and development of sensing technologies for agricultural product quality and precision agriculture. Slaughter is a professor of biological and agricultural engineering and director of the Smart Farm Initiative at the University of California-Davis. Slaughter conducts research and educates undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of smart machines, non-invasive sensors, and robotics for agriculture. More here
Kenneth Sudduth, PE, ASABE Fellow, is the 2019 recipient of the John Deere Gold Medal for his innovative sensor applications in the measurement of spatially variable soil resources, allowing improved conservation and production efficiency through precision agriculture. Sudduth is a research agricultural engineer with the USDA Agricultural Research Service Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit in Columbia, Missouri. He is the leader of a multidisciplinary team conducting precision agriculture research on topics including field-scale implementation of precision agriculture systems and evaluation of their economic and environmental effects. Throughout his career, his research has focused on sensors, instrumentation, and data management and interpretation for soil and crop properties important in precision agriculture. More here
Paul Weckler, PE, is the 2019 recipient of the Massey-Ferguson Educational Gold Medal for his dedication in teaching and student development through academic and culturally diverse learning. Weckler is a professor in the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate engineering courses, and conducts interdisciplinary research and development in sensors, instrumentation, automation, water system engineering, and food and crop processing. He also consults on engineering projects in agriculture, energy, food, and aerospace, which include airborne remote sensing, patent litigation, energy efficiency analysis, product liability and safety reviews, and new product development. More here
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) is an international scientific and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems.