Research Team

Dr. Zaman completed B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan.  Soon after graduation he worked as research officer (1985-87) in water management research project in UAF, Pakistan. Later he was employed as lecturer in Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, UAF, Pakistan. An educational leave allowed him to earn a Ph.D. in Precision Agriculture at the University of New Castle upon Tyne in England. He re-entered academic life at UAF in 1999 as an assistant professor.
During his Post-doctoral Fellowship at Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, he developed in Precision Agriculture system for Florida citrus production.
He came to NSAC in December, 2006 from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology where he had been working as JSPS Post-Doctoral Fellow in Precision Agriculture in the Department of Environmental and Agricultural Systems Engineering.
Here at NSAC, Dr. Zaman is working as associate professor and Precision Agriculture Research Chair. Dr. Zaman is investigating precision agriculture technologies to improve wild blueberry productivity while protecting the environment. He is also teaching undergraduate and graduate courses.

Dr. Young Ki Chang

Dr. Young Ki Chang joined the Precision Agriculture Research Program at Nova Scotia Agricultural College in 2009. He completed Ph.D with food/bio process automation project from Seoul National University, South Korea. After Ph.D, he worked as postdoctoral researcher in North Dakota State University and Oklahoma state university with projects related system development, sensors and control, image processing and SPR. Here at NSAC, Dr. Chang is working under the supervision of Dr. Qamar Zaman in his Precision Agriculture Research Program. He is currently working on development of image processing software and control of machine vision system for commercial agrochemical delivery system and yield monitoring. Image processing softwares were/will be incorporated into variable rate applicators for spot specific delivery of agrochemicals.

Gashaw A. Gobizie

Dr. Gashaw Ayalew joined the Precision Agriculture Research Program led by Dr. Qamar Zaman in April 2010. Prior to that, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at University College Dublin, where he also carried out his graduate studies. His background includes: measurement and instrumentation; X-ray, near- infrared, microwave, etc. characterization of biomaterials; shape characterization and measurement; food chain traceability and visibility technologies; and engineering computation, and programming. He has a considerable research and publication experience in the above areas. He is a member of international and national engineering societies. He has years of undergraduate teaching experience in instrumentation and experimental methods, among others. Please refer to his page for further information.
At his current position, he has developed a multiple use wavelet based image analysis program for spot-specific agrochemical application. He has taught a graduate module in Programming in C++, and is teaching an undergraduate course in Data Structures and Numerical Methods.

Travis Esau

Travis Esau has been working in the Precision Agriculture Research Program at the Department of Engineering, Nova Scotia Agricultural College since 2007. He graduated from NSAC in 2008 with an Engineering Diploma, which is a program given in conjunction with Dalhousie University. Travis graduated from Dalhousie University in spring of 2010 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Travis is currently a graduate student under the supervision of Dr. Zaman working on developing and evaluating a prototype variable rate sprayer for spot- application of pesticides in wild blueberry cropping systems to increase profitability and reduce environmental risks. Also, he has been assisting with multiple other precision agriculture research projects and specifically is involved with technology development and implementation.

Aitazaz A. Farooque

Aitazaz Ahsan Farooque completed his B.Sc in Agricultural Engineering from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Soon after the completion of his B.Sc, Aitazaz began work as a lecturer at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. He joined the Precision Agriculture Research Program in the Department of Engineering Nova Scotia Agricultural College as a graduate student in January 2009 and completed his M. Sc in December, 2010. During his M. Sc under Dr. Zaman’s supervision, Aitazaz characterized and quantified the spatial variability in soil properties and wild blueberry fruit yield and delineated management zones for site-specific fertilization. Aitazaz is currently, working as a research assistant in Precision Agriculture Research Program. He assists in the development of variable rate technologies to increase crop productivity and mitigate environmental risks.

Scott Read

Scott Read graduated from NSAC in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture with a major in Agricultural Mechanization (current Bio-Environmental Systems Management major). Soon after graduation, he was involved in a research program to design, fabricate, and test a proof of concept rhubarb harvester. Then he joined the NSAC Engineering department as the Machinery Systems Technician in 2005.
Scott joined Dr. Zaman’s research program in 2007 as part of his position to provide research assistance to faculty projects. He has fabricated many research devices to aide in the team’s precision agriculture research including a mobile platform to real-time test sensors, cameras and DGPS in wild blueberry fields, and a Dual EM mapping sled. Currently, he is assisting the team to develop an automatic spot-specific sprayer. He will also be conducting research on a variable rate spreader for site-specific application of fertilizer in blueberry fields.

Kelsey Laking

Since his graduation from NSAC in the spring of 2000, Kelsey Laking has helped design and build several research projects for the Engineering Department. Kelsey has also worked at multiple natural resource related jobs, most recently as a Conservation Officer in Alberta. With a Biological Engineering degree from Dalhousie and a certificate in Natural Resource Law from Sir Sanford Fleming College, Kelsey has many diverse skills to bring to the Precision Agricultural Research Program. As a technician for the program Kelsey’s current duties include gathering data for various precision agriculture research projects, drafting, fabrication, and problem solving.

Fahad Sarwar Khan

Fahad Sarwar Khan joined the Precision Agriculture Research Program in the Department of Engineering Nova Scotia Agricultural College as a graduate student in May, 2010. He completed his B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. After the completion of his B.Sc., he worked as a lecturer at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. For his graduate studies research at NSAC, Fahad is evaluating DualEM-2 to map soil profiles and water table depths for the development of site-specific technologies in wild blueberry cropping systems.

Shoaib Rashid Saleem

Shoaib Rashid Saleem joined the Precision Agriculture Research Program in the Department of Engineering, Nova Scotia Agricultural College as a graduate student in May, 2010. He completed his B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. For his graduate studies research at NSAC, Shoaib is working on variable rate fertilization in wild blueberry fields to improve crop productivity and reduce environment contamination. 

David Sampson

David Sampson graduated from Dalhousie University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree with a major in electrical engineering.  During that time, he was involved as a supportive role in many research projects such as using smart irrigation technologies with wireless sensors to control moisture levels in blueberry fields, to deploying Labview control systems in various field and laboratory settings.
David joined Dr. Zaman’s research program in 2010 after equipping a tray dryer with digital cameras and sensors and modifying the control system of the dryer to be controlled by Labview.  He is currently taking his Master’s of Science under the supervision of both Dr. Rupasinghe (Environmental Science, NSAC) and Dr. Zaman (Department of Engineering, NSAC).  He is currently studying the effectiveness of using a computer vision system to assess the food quality of apple slices during the drying process.

Muhammad Azhar Inam

Muhammad Azhar Inam did his M. Phil from Center of Excellence in Water Resource Engineeing, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. His area of specialization is water resources management. He worked three years as senior engineer in the hydrology and sedimentation section of Techno Consultant International. Later he joined Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan as Assistant Professor. Currently he is enrolled as a PhD student in Bioresource Engineering, McGill University. For his graduate studies research at McGill University and NSAC, Azhar is working on precision agriculture technologies for water resources management.