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Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Human Health and Safety

UK researcher developing robot to grow healthier tomatoes

Computing, Networks, and AI, Human Health and Safety

As greenhouse agriculture continues to expand to meet growing food demands, researchers at the University of Kentucky are developing new technologies to produce healthier crops more efficiently, while also reducing the time and labor required to grow them. Biyun Xie, Ph.D., associate professor in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the principal investigator on a nearly $1.2 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant to develop an autonomous robotic system that could transform how greenhouse-grown tomatoes are monitored and evaluated.

2026 Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Scholars announced

Human Health and Safety, Materials and Manufacturing, Energy and Infrastructure, Computing, Networks, and AI

Thanks to the generous support of Stanley and Karen Pigman and Kentucky’s Research Challenge Trust Fund (RCTF), engineering researchers are receiving additional annual funding to enhance the research priorities and programs of the Pigman College of Engineering. Established in 2024, the Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Endowment supports faculty, research, graduate students, facilities and research infrastructure in the Pigman College of Engineering. This year, the endowment made $235,000 in funds available for distribution. 

NSF CAREER Award fuels UK researcher’s breakthroughs in robotics

Human Health and Safety, Computing, Networks, and AI

Biyun Xie, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, has received a prestigious U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to advance research in human-robot shared control for robotic telemanipulation.

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