Program Details

GRAD-AID for Ag is a new NSF and NC State funded graduate training program that will recruit and train two cohorts of highly motivated 1st to 4th year Ph.D. students at the intersection of basic and applied plant science, while helping to ensure a skilled, diverse workforce capable of solving societal grand challenges in global ag sustainability and food security.

Students in fundamental and applied plant sciences will be equipped with the ability to integrate lab-derived multi-omics datasets with field data, leveraging the statistical analyses, ML, artificial neural networks, and other AI methodologies to accelerate translation of basic plant science research to the field using AI, ML and other computational tools.

Selected students will receive a $37,000 annual stipend to support their studies. Upon successfully completing this program, you will also fulfill all requirements for the Ag Data Science Certificate.

Students from each cohort will self-select into teams of 3 for the program. Each team will consist of: one student from a Basic Plant Science graduate program, one student from an Applied Plant Science program, and one student from a Computer Science or Engineering program.

Students from the following programs would have the most relevant backgrounds, however, students from other programs might also be eligible:

• Basic Plant Sciences: Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Forestry and Environmental Resources, Functional Genomics, Genetics, Microbiology, Plant Biology, Plant Pathology
• Applied Plant Sciences: Agricultural and Extension Education, Crop Science, Entomology, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Food Science, Geospatial Analytics, Horticultural Science, Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Natural Resources, Soil Science
• Computer Science or Engineering: Bioinformatics, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Biomathematics, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Networking, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering