Meet the Prize Committee for the 2019 Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics

Now in its fourth year, the Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics has provided members of the analytics community an opportunity to contribute to improving global food security. The competition asks participants to use real-world agriculture data to develop a predictive model to help optimize seed breeding.

Submissions were reviewed by a panel of judges who are professors, data scientists, and even former Crop Challenge competitors. Take a look:

Nicolas Martin, committee chair, is an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, and has been involved in the Crop Challenge since its inception. He is also an INFORMS member.

Greg Doonan, Head of Novel Algorithm Development at Syngenta; INFORMS member

Durai Sundaramoorthi, committee vice-chair, is a senior lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis, and competed in the Challenge in 2017, winning third place. He is an INFORMS member.

INFORMS member and judge Sina Faridimehr is an Operations Research Analyst at Turner Broadcasting Systems.

Alexander Platt is an assistant research professor at Temple University and has been a Crop Challenge judge for three years.

Michael Prokle is a senior data scientist for Fortune Brands Global Plumbing Group and an INFORMS member.

Daniel Jiménez is a data scientist at CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture. In 2018, he led a team from his organization to win top honors in the Crop Challenge.

Lizhi Wang is an associate professor in the departments of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University.

Guiping Hu is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Iowa State University.

The finalists were evaluated on the quality and clarity of their submissions and presentations during a closed session with the panel. The winners will be announced today, April 16, during the awards luncheon, located in Lone Star DE.

If you would like a chance at becoming a finalist next year, sign up to be notified when the 2020 Crop Challenge in Analytics opens: www.ideaconnection.com/syngenta-crop-challenge.