2025 Winter Food & Agri-Tech Forum

"Emerging AI Solutions in the Food and Agriculture Sectors: Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies"

Discover emerging AI applications in food and agriculture and learn how companies are utilizing these to transform their business operations.

The Huntley College of Agriculture and the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce's Southern California Chapter are collaborating to put on its 3rd Annual Food & Agri-Tech Forum.

Join our panelists from the United States and Switzerland as they discuss challenges, highlight success stories, and explore innovative solutions in agriculture, food processing, and distribution.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn where and how your business can utilize AI to support growth while forging networking connections with food, agribusiness, and technology organizations in the United States and Europe.

The discussion will be led by an international panel comprising senior executives from technology providers, and academics from engineering, computer science, food, and agriculture backgrounds.

Join us for a stimulating dialog on the naturally and artificially intelligent future of agriculture and food!

Discussion Topics

• Overview of Artificial Intelligence technologies and their diffusion
• Early AI applications and latent opportunities for AI in food and agriculture.
• Examples of successful applications of AI in food and agriculture.
• How AI impacts business processes, supply chain relationships, and industry structure.
• The emerging support infrastructure in food and agriculture toward AI adoption
• Strategies to explore AI and overcome financial and technical barriers to adoption
• Implications for small and medium-sized companies
• Ethical, social, regulatory, and security issues
  
  

Panelists

Claude Juriens is a specialist in company creation, strategic business development, sales, and marketing management for innovative companies with a focus on sustainability. Since 2015 he has served as the chief business officer of ecoRobotix S.A., a provider of AI-powered robotic solutions for
agriculture based in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.

Brianna Posadas is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Cal Poly Pomona. Brianna holds a doctorate in computer and information science and engineering and a master's degree in agricultural and biological engineering from the University of Florida. Brianna’s research lies at the intersection of agriculture, data science, remote sensing technology, and user-centered design with a focus on effective configuration and diffusion of solutions.

Arnulf Graf is the co-founder and chief technical officer of Artif Wonder a provider of bespoke AI/machine learning solutions based in Los Angeles. Arnulf earned his doctorate in machine learning from the Max Planck Society. He has delivered numerous AI/ machine learning solutions for cognitive prosthetics, wearables, genomics, finance, process management, and silicon hardware.

Eve Laroche-Pinel is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at Fresno State University. Eve’s doctorate is in remote sensing, combining agricultural engineering and viticulture with the application of innovative technologies. Her research focuses on enhancing vineyard management through AI solutions by leveraging satellites, drones, UTVs, and robots equipped with multi- and hyperspectral sensors.

Jon Detka is a post-doctoral research scientist in the Water, Agriculture, Technology and Remote Sensing (WATRS) Lab, in the Department of Applied Environmental Science at Cal State University at Monterey Bay. He holds a doctorate in environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz. His work at WATRS focuses on drone and satellite remote sensing of agricultural lands to assess plant diseases to support on-farm management and improve crop yield forecasts.

Sara Masoud is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit. She received her doctorate in systems and industrial engineering and master’s in statistics from the University of Arizona. Sara’s research employs mixed, virtual, and augmented realities and dynamic, data-driven systems utilizing applied machine learning, simulation
and optimization modeling for applications in food, agriculture, transport, healthcare, and manufacturing.

John Korah is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at Cal Poly Pomona. John has a doctorate in computer science and a master’s in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech. John’s research interests embrace precision high-performance computing, network analysis, computational social
systems, cybersecurity parallel/distributed information retrieval, modeling, and simulation. His primary focus is on precision agriculture applications.

Gerald Klein Essink is the founder of The Food Connectors, a boutique consultancy company based in Wageningen, the Netherlands. Gerard’s background embraces research, development, marketing, sales, and business management roles. His group of leading agri-food experts assists agri-food
organizations around the world and along the value chain. His special areas of interest include AI in the food industry and plant-based proteins.