Won Suk “Daniel” Lee, Ph.D.
Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
Won Suk “Daniel” Lee helps farmers worldwide through precision agriculture. For 25 years, Lee has developed tools and technologies that growers can use to reduce the fertilizer, water, seeds and pesticides they need.
This helps farmers grow more crops and increase profit, all while preserving the environment. In his research and teaching, he studies how different parts of a field vary and tries to manage each part more carefully.
Lee and his team developed a sensing system that uses imaging methods and artificial intelligence to detect and count immature green oranges among the green leaves on orange trees. The system is about 96% accurate.
Lee also works with strawberries. Florida is the second-largest strawberry-producing state in the country. Lee and his team developed an automated AI system to count strawberry flowers and fruits to better predict strawberry yields and guide growers’ hiring and marketing decisions.
His systems have also helped detect two-spotted spider mites, a major pest of strawberries and other crops that cause significant yield losses. To improve spider mite monitoring, Lee and his team developed an easy-to-use method using smartphones and AI.
Greg Kiker, interim chair of the department, emphasized not only Lee’s tremendous and applicable research but also his pay-it-forward approach to students.
“Most notably, Dr. Lee’s students have benefited from exceptional mentorship, leading to highly successful careers,” Kiker wrote.
Of Lee’s Ph.D. graduates, three in a row received the prestigious Giuseppe Pellizzi Award, which recognizes the best Ph.D. dissertation worldwide in agricultural machinery and mechanization. All three are currently assistant professors at land-grant universities, including one who returned to UF.
“Since the launch of the University of Florida’s ambitious AI initiative, Dr. Lee has played a key role in advancing this effort for IFAS through various committees and visitor presentations,” Kiker added. “His dedication to expanding research at UF and fostering national collaborations highlights his commitment to promoting research excellence.”
In the past five years, Lee has published 23 peer- reviewed journal articles and secured $2.3 million in grant funding. Lee’s research leads to practical results in the real world.
“At present, there are limited commercial solutions available for detecting key factors such as nutrient levels, water stress and pest issues,” Lee said. “We hope that our work will lead to practical technologies that can be widely adopted by growers around the world, helping to improve yields and profitability.”