Rita Patle | Agricultural Engineering | Research Excellence Award

Dr. Rita Patle | Agricultural Engineering | Research Excellence Award

ICAR – Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering | India

Dr. Rita Patle is an agricultural engineer specializing in Farm Machinery and Power Engineering with advanced expertise in precision agriculture and automation. She earned her B.Tech in Agricultural Engineering and M.Tech in Farm Machinery & Power, followed by a Ph.D. focusing on the design of an autonomous site-specific variable rate fertilizer applicator. Over her career she has served as Assistant Professor, Senior Research Fellow, and Research Associate at leading agricultural-engineering institutes, and contributed to both teaching and R&D. Her research interests center on precision farming, sensor-based variable-rate fertilizer application, farm mechanization, and integration of AI and embedded systems for smart agriculture. She is recognized for her innovative contributions — she holds a design patent for an autonomous variable-rate fertilizer applicator, and has registered the software program controlling it. Her work has earned national-level awards and best-paper recognitions. Through peer-reviewed journal articles, technical bulletins and conference publications, she has helped advance sustainable mechanization in Indian agriculture. Her commitment to bridging academic research, practical engineering solutions and agricultural productivity underscores her goal to address real-world farming challenges and support agricultural growth for the nation.

Profile: Orcid

Featured Publications

Patle, R., Kavitha, R., Surendrakumar, A., Sahni, R. K., Suthakar, B., Kannan, B., & Maragatham, S. (2025). Development of a sensor-based embedded system for on-the-go variable-rate fertilizer applicator in maize crop. Results in Engineering, 28, 107852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.107852

Patle, R., Kavitha, R., Surendrakumar, A., Balaji, K., Maragatham, S., & Suthakar, B. (2023). Estimation of sensor-based site-specific variable rate fertilizer application for maize (Zea mays L.) crop. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 15(3), 1109–1118. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v15i3.4724

Patle, R. (2024). Variable rate fertilizer applicator (Software registration No. SW-18483/2024).

Patle, R. (2023). Autonomous variable rate fertilizer applicator (Patent filed at The Patent Office, India).

Vinod Kumar S | Agricultural Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Vinod Kumar S | Agricultural Engineering | Best Researcher Award

ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi | India

Dr. Vinod Kumar S is a soil and water conservation engineer whose academic journey has led him through a B.Tech and M.Tech in Agricultural Engineering (with CGPAs of 7.64 and 9.25 respectively), culminating in a Ph.D. in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering (CGPA 8.13) from the ICAR-IARI New Delhi outreach campus. His research portfolio spans sensor-based vertical farming and aquaponic systems, IoT-driven precision drip irrigation and fertigation protocols, remote sensing and GIS for crop monitoring, and greenhouse automation. With published work including smart drip irrigation systems for horticultural crops and indoor aquaponics, his h-index stands at 4 with over 100 citations to date.Dr. Kumar has held positions such as Senior Research Fellow and Research Associate at ICAR-institutes, developing nano-sensors and cloud-based networks for real-time irrigation and innovative aquaponic solutions. His contributions have been recognised with awards including Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster at national conferences. He is passionate about enhancing water-nutrient productivity in sustainable agriculture through technology integration and concludes his research vision by aiming to bridge engineering innovation with agro-ecological resilience for food security.

Profile: Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Kumar, V., Singh, C. D., Rao, K. V. R., Kumar, M., Rajwade, Y. A., Babu, B., & Singh, K. (2023). Evaluation of IoT-based smart drip irrigation and ETc-based system for sweet corn. Smart Agricultural Technology, 5, 100248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2023.100248

Singh, C. D., Rao, K. V., Kumar, M., Rajwade, Y. A., & Kumar, V. (2023). Development of a smart IoT-based drip irrigation system for precision farming. Irrigation and Drainage, 72(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2734

Vinod Kumar, S., Singh, C. D., Rao, K. V. R., Rajwade, Y. A., Kumar, M., & Babu, B. (2025). IoT-based smart drip irrigation scheduling and wireless monitoring of microclimate in sweet corn crop under plastic mulching. Irrigation Science, 43(5), 1107–1126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-024-00945-3

Kumar, S. V., Singh, C. D., & Upendar, K. (2020). Review on IoT-based precision irrigation system in agriculture. Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 39(45), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.9734/cjast/2020/v39i4531148

Bhat, A. G., Hasan, M., Singh, D. K., Sahoo, R. N., Yeasin, M., & Vinod, K. S. (2025). Design, development and testing of an IoT-based smart vertical hydroponic system for optimized nutrient management in a controlled environment. Irrigation and Drainage. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.70105

Vincelet Jobikha A | Glass Ceramics | Research Discovery Award

Ms. Vincelet Jobikha A | Glass Ceramics | Research Discovery Award

Saveetha Engineering College | India

Ms. A. Vincelet Jobikha is a materials science researcher specializing in rare-earth-doped tellurite and borophosphate glass systems with a focus on their structural, optical, and radiation-shielding properties obtained via melt-quenching synthesis. She has co-authored Scopus-indexed work on Tm³⁺-doped zinc tellurite and Ho³⁺-doped zinc borophosphate glasses designed for lead-free gamma-ray attenuation, demonstrating proficiency in XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, photoluminescence, mass-attenuation (MAC), linear-attenuation (LAC), Zeff and HVL analysis. Across her published documents, she has contributed to peer-reviewed research and patent-related inventions in novel glass compositions for radiation protection (including gadolinium-, dysprosium-, and erbium-doped systems), with international conference presentations and multiple patent filings. Her scholarly output reflects substantial citations in recent literature regarding optical and gamma-ray shielding glasses. While her Scopus profile does not publicly display an h-index or total citation count, her contributions have garnered notable attention in the research community studying functional heavy-metal-oxide glasses. Her research interests lie at the intersection of luminescent rare-earth chemistry and radiation attenuation, aimed at developing dual-function transparent shielding materials for dosimetry, medical, and environmental applications. She is recognized for innovation in glass system design and continues to explore practical deployable solutions in radiation protection.

Profile : Scopus

Featured Publication

“Synthesis, structural, and optical properties of lead-free Tm3+ ions doped zinc tellurite glass and Ho3+ ions doped zinc borophosphate glass for radiation shielding application”

Yuvraj Kasal | Biological Sciences | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Yuvraj Kasal | Biological Sciences | Best Researcher Award

Maharana Pratap Horticultural University | India

Dr. Yuvraj G. Kasal is a dedicated agricultural engineer-scholar with extensive experience in farm power and machinery, focusing on the design, development and evaluation of precision implements such as liquid fertilizer applicators and water-attachment seed drills. He holds advanced degrees in agricultural engineering and farm power from top Indian institutions and earned a prestigious research fellowship for his doctoral work. With over five years of teaching and research experience at leading universities, he has led hands-on training programs, demonstrations and student outreach activities. His scholarly contributions include numerous peer-reviewed articles on mechanization of dryland farming, fertigation systems, impact of mechanization on smallholder farmers, and equipment performance evaluation (covering fertilizer placement, irrigation scheduling, hydrogel use, postharvest and protected cultivation). While his exact h-index, total publications and citation counts are not publicly available, his work has appeared in multiple high-impact journals with NAAS ratings above 4. Noteworthy recognitions include national fellowships, radio and newspaper dissemination and active involvement in national conferences. His research interests span farm machinery design, sustainable mechanization, fertigation technology and value addition in protected farming. A consummate professional, he combines policy implementation support with community engagement. His career reflects innovation, teaching excellence and practical solutions for smallholder agriculture.

Profile : Google Scholar

Featured Publications

“Adoption behaviour of dairy farmers about recommended dairy management practices”

“Groundwater Potential Zones Identification Using Geographical Information System”

“Screening of the cotton genotypes against Ramularia areola atk. under field condition”

“Drought stress and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield: A review”

“Productive and reproductive performance of Purnathadi and Ellichpuri strain of Nagpuri buffaloes”