Opening remarks
Dr. Patrick Tranel
Dr. Tranel is the associate head of the department of Crop Sciences. Dr. Tranel joined UIUC in the late 1990s and has been teaching undergrad and graduate students about weed science both on campus and more recently through the online Master of Science program. As weeds have evolved over the years, so has the research Dr. Tranel conducts. He uses molecular and genomic approaches to better understand how weeds evolve to the various tools farmers use to control them. A native of Galena, Ill., Dr. Tranel earned his Bachelor of Science in agronomy from Iowa State University, master’s in weed science from Washington State University and doctorate in botany from Michigan State University.
Invited speakers
Dr. Leonardo Bastos
Dr. Leonardo Mendes Bastos obtained a B.Sc. in Agronomy from the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, his M.Sc. degree at Kansas State University in Soil Microbiology, and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Soil Fertility/Precision Agriculture.
Currently, Dr. Bastos is an Assistant Professor in Integrative Precision Agriculture at the University of Georgia-Athens, USA. His research focuses on using proximal and remote sensing, geospatial soils and temporal weather data to inform crop management practices from within-field to regional scales, with a focus on nitrogen fertilizer management and crop quality mapping. He teaches on the topics of precision and digital agriculture, and statistical programming and data science applied to agriculture. He is also the vice-deputy of the Nitrogen Community and the Treasurer of the International Society of Precision Agriculture, and co-host of the Crop Science Podcast Show.
Dr. Rachel (Veenstra) Cott
Dr. Rachel (Veenstra) Cott earned her B.S. in Environmental Plant Science - Agronomy with a minor in Horticulture from Missouri State University (Springfield, Missouri), and her Ph.D. from Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas) in Crop Production and Cropping Systems.
Now, Dr. Cott is an Assistant Professor of Crop Science in the Kansas State University Department of Agronomy. She teaches the introductory crop science and plant identification courses, coaches the K-State Crops Judging Teams, and advises the undergraduate Wheat State Agronomy Club. Her research is field-based and centers on crop ecology and management in Kansas production environments. Her current emphasis is on intercropping systems, particularly wheat-based relay intercropping.
Dr. Diego Jarquin
Diego Jarquin is an Assistant Professor in the Agronomy Department at the University of Florida. He received his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Postgraduate Education in Mexico in 2012 and had postdoctoral training at the University of Alabama - Birmingham and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Later, he was promoted to research assistant professor and research associate professor.
Diego Jarquin is a statistician that merges statistical methodology, AI, computer algorithm development, data science and collaborative work with plant sciences. He brings an active research agenda that is advancing how prediction models are developed for selection purposes in Plant Breeding. As part of his work, Diego Jarquin have established an excellent record of peer-reviewed publications on prediction model developments that contributed to producing improved cultivars in Plant Breeding (90 manuscripts and 4 book chapters for about 5,600 citations).
In 2020, Diego Jarquin received the Early Career Scientist Award from the National Association of Plant Breeders, and recently received the 2024 UF/IFAS Plant Breeding Innovation Award, and the 2025 UF Excellence Award for Assistant Professors.
Corteva speaker
Dr. Piero Barone
Piero Barone earned his PhD from the University of Perugia, Italy, focusing on the cytological and molecular characterization of a female sterility trait in alfalfa and during an exchange program with the University of Georgia, he developed transgenic alfalfa lines for aluminum tolerance. In 2003, he joined the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, working on a novel selection system for nuclear and plastid transformation. In 2008, he became a Research Scientist at Chromatin, designing and validating selection and transgenic event regeneration protocols for corn, sorghum, and sugarcane. In 2014, he joined Dow AgroSciences' Monocot Transformation Team, focusing on maize trait discovery projects and managing transformation programs using the Zinc Finger gene targeting tool. In 2018, Piero joined Corteva Agriscience in Johnston, where he is currently the Capability Leader of the Genome Editing group in the Biotechnology Function of Corteva R&D. He is currently the President of the Society for In Vitro Biology.
Student speakers
Olanrewaju Adeyemi
Olanrewaju E. Adeyemi is a Ph.D. student in Plant Science at Utah State University, where his research focuses on surveying and understanding mechanisms of herbicide resistance in kochia (Bassia scoparia) across Utah. He holds an M.S. in Plant Science from the University of Idaho, where he studied nutrient management in barley, and a B.Agric. in Horticulture from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. His research spans weed science, aquatic plant management, soil health, and sustainable agriculture, with recent projects addressing invasive Eurasian watermilfoil in Bear Lake and the integration of cover crops for weed suppression. Adeyemi has authored peer-reviewed articles, presented at national and international conferences, and serves in leadership roles within professional societies, including Student Chair of the Western Society of Weed Science. He is passionate about bridging science, sustainability, and community impact in agriculture.
Komal Mahajan
Komal is a master’s student, working under the supervision of Dr. Melanie Caffe. She joined South Dakota State University in June 2024, and my research focuses on high-throughput oat biomass estimation using UAV multispectral imagery and data-driven predictive modeling approaches. Her current work involves developing deep learning models—specifically 3D Convolutional Neural Networks (3D-CNN) and Transformer architectures—for predicting biomass across multiple locations. She is also applying transfer learning to leverage pre-trained models for improved accuracy with limited field data, as well as data augmentation strategies to enhance model generalization. This research supports the development of efficient, non-destructive phenotyping tools for plant breeding programs. She earned her bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Punjab Agricultural University, Punjab, India. Outside of research, Komal enjoys reading self-help and suspense books, as well as playing badminton.
Mainak Dutta
Mainak Dutta is pursuing his M.S. in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign under the supervision of Dr. Amit Rai. He holds an M.S. in Bioinformatics from Northeastern University, Boston, and a B.Tech. in Biotechnology from NIIT University, Neemrana, India. His research encompasses bioinformatics, soil and computational metabolomics, and plant–pathogen interactions. Currently, his work focuses on UPLC–QTOF-MS–based metabolite profiling and advanced computational analyses to uncover temporal and spatial biochemical changes in pumpkin fruit tissues during defense against Phytophthora capsici infection. Through this research, he aims to identify metabolic biomarkers linked to disease resistance, supporting sustainable breeding and disease management strategies.