Sensing Success

A professorship established by John Amein ’84 and his wife Happy supports Professor Michael Kudenov’s research on sensor development that is growing more success for North Carolina agriculture.

On the benches in Professor Michael Kudenov’s lab, there is an array of highly advanced sensors and lasers — and a dried-out, old sweetpotato.

Kudenov develops polarimeters, spectrometers, optical sensors and other sensing systems that are optimized for specific applications. One of his main research application areas is agriculture, and his sensors range from large-scale camera systems in food packing facilities to breathable, flexible sensors that can be attached to delicate plant leaves.

Paired with algorithms developed by his students, these sensing systems are used in greenhouses, fields and at NC State Extension facilities across the state to gather data that will help farmers grow better crops and maximize their value. 

Sweetpotatoes are especially important. Kudenov is working with colleagues in the Plant Sciences Initiative to improve storage of the crop North Carolina grows more of than any other state — the state provides approximately 60% of the United States’ sweetpotatoes. His team uses a polarimeter to measure density changes.

“As they store sweetpotatoes, the pithiness increases as the sugars and starches start to break down, creating more air voids,” he explained. “Polarization is really good at detecting structural changes in a sample.” 

Kudenov’s sensing systems are also used for peanuts, corn, soy and other crops. His team’s work helps advance North Carolina agriculture, one of the state’s largest economic sectors.

“I like the impact that I can see,” he said. “I work with NC State’s plant breeding programs and agricultural producers, and I see the students, researchers and farmers using the systems we develop. We can help support them as a collaborator and train students in those tools over the years after we developed them, but then they can actually integrate that into their decision-making.”

As the recently appointed John and Catherine Amein Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State University, Kudenov has a new source of support for his important research and the impact it makes. 

“I’m excited to see Dr. Kudenov apply the advanced technology to one of the most fundamental areas that affect humanity — our food supply,” said John Amein ’84. “The core of any university is the faculty, with Dr. Kudenov being a great example. My wife and I established this professorship to help NC State to attract and retain great faculty as a top priority.”

After earning a B.S. from NC State and an M.S. from Stanford in electrical engineering, Amein went on to have a successful career as a technology executive and entrepreneur. He is a member of the NC State Engineering Foundation Board of Directors.

Amein’s parents were both academics. His father was a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NC State for 28 years, and his mother taught chemistry at Louisburg College. But it was his participation on the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s strategic advisory board that truly demonstrated to him the breadth of innovative research happening at NC State.

“I discovered early in my career that I personally was more motivated by the business of technology rather than research,” Amein said. “But I love to see the research that others are doing, and I’m glad that I can support Dr. Kudenov’s work. The Distinguished Professorship lets my wife and me feel part of something special that’s happening at NC State.”

The support from this endowed professorship makes it easier for Kudenov and his students to do their jobs well, from providing funding for paid undergraduate research positions, travel for research presentations and conferences, mileage reimbursement when traveling to farms and research stations across the state, to covering costs for equipment repairs or replacement.

“It helps to fill funding gaps or unexpected lapses in funding,” Kudenov said. Over the summer, he was able to pay a graduate student who lost her funding when the lead professor for her grant left.

“The support also gives a lot of flexibility to provide undergrads meaningful research experience,” he said. 

Kudenov’s goal is for his students to understand both fundamental research and the reasons behind their work.

“It’s nice to have a little bit of both, because then they’re familiar with what it takes, from an engineering and optic standpoint, to build a camera, but then they’re also familiar with why they need that data,” he explained. 

His group’s three camera systems have taken approximately 400 million photos of sweetpotatoes at packing facilities in eastern North Carolina. Students are analyzing photos and validating the data so that one day, an artificial intelligence (AI) model will be able to review the photos and pull out relevant information on the sweetpotatoes’ size or density.

In conjunction with other collaborators across ECE (Dr. Cranos Williams) and Bio and Ag. Engineering (Dr. Daniela Jones), those AI models could eventually help agricultural extension agents, farmers and researchers across North Carolina make more informed decisions more quickly.

“Earlier in my career, you’d develop a sensor that’s kind of new, calibrate it, and maybe it’s two times better,” he said. “But now it’s more about how do you develop a technology that fulfills a specific need? And most importantly, how translatable and adoptable is it for stakeholders?

“It’s highly collaborative. It feels like engagement is so baked in, and because of the land-grant university mission, it’s part of the culture here that I want to see expand more into the College of Engineering.”