The next Virtual Speaker Series from the Penn State Alumni Association will highlight PlantVillage, an AI-enabled "land grant in a phone" that uses data sharing to help farmers adapt to climate change and manage emerging pests and diseases. This free event will be held on Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. on Jan. 21. Registration is open now.
The land-grant system in the United States is a remarkable example of successful knowledge sharing. Penn State was one of the first land-grant universities, and PlantVillage is an example of how the University continues to fulfill its land-grant mission. David Hughes, Huck Chair in Global Food Security at Penn State, will discuss how this innovative effort leverages the power of smartphones, deep learning, artificial intelligence and cloud computing to help millions of farmers across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Hughes is a pioneering researcher known for his international research on how parasites manipulate host behavior. His work on the fungal manipulation of ants - so called "zombie ants" - has taken him across the globe for research in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Australia.
Inspired by Penn State's land-grant mission, Hughes founded PlantVillage in 2012. Today, it's used in more than 60 countries and 35 languages by the United Nations and has secured funding from sources including the United Nations, Google, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Elon Musk XPrize Foundation, Hopper-Dean Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Cisco Foundation, World Bank, Google.org, USAID and the Norwegian government, among others.
In addition to founding PlantVillage at Penn State, Hughes is the founder of PlantVillage+ Inc. and co-founder of the Village Youth fund, which he established with a Penn State student to stop child marriage in the communities where PlantVillage operates.
In 2024, Hughes received Penn State's LaMarr Kopp International Faculty Achievement Award, which recognizes faculty members who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University.
The Virtual Speaker Series is one of several programs offered online by the Penn State Alumni Association. For more events and programs that will inform, educate and inspire, visit the association's PSAA Presents listing.
