Academic Experience
Professor, Oklahoma State University, 2023-present
Professor, Iowa State University, 2021-2023
Associate Professor, Iowa State University, 2013-2021
Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, 2007-2013
PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
BE and BS, University of Science and Technology of China, 2003
Entrepreneurship
Co-founder of Crop Convergence <lizhi.wang@cropconvergence.com>
Recent honors and awards
The Ken & Lynn Case Endowed Chair, Oklahoma State University, 2023
Outstanding papers in crop breeding and genetics award (with Saba Moeinizade, Megan Wellner, and Guiping Hu), 2021
First place winner (with Javad Ansarifar and Faezeh Akhavizadegan), Syngenta Crop Challenge, 2020
Research excellence award, IMSE, 2020
Best paper award (with Saeed Khaki), second international workshops on machine learning for cyber-agricultural systems, 2019
Teaching excellence award, OR division at IISE, 2018
Third place winner (with Saeed Khaki and Hans Mueller), Syngenta Crop Challenge, 2018
Faculty scholar, Plant Sciences Institute, 2015-2023
Recent grants
PI: Lizhi Wang, "Physiology-based and data-driven models for animal growth," NSF Special Creativity Extensions, 2/2025-2/2027. Total $400,000.
PI: Guiping Hu. Co-PI: Lizhi Wang, "Systematic Integration of Data Sets for Identifying Environmental and Management Factors that Affect the Health and Productivity of Dairy Cows," Bovita Labs, 7/2024-5/2025.
PI: Tarin Paz-Kagan. Co-PI: Lizhi Wang and Shahar Baram, "Creation and Validation of a Digital Twin Model for Improving Almond Production," BARD, 9/2024-9/2027. Total $600,000.
PI: Guowen Song. Co-PI: Lizhi Wang, Travis Sippel, and Zhengyuan Zhu, "Developing a systematic tool for contaminant protection and reducing exposure to contaminated PPE," FEMA, 9/2022 - 9/2025. Total $1,574,802.
PI: Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, "AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture," NSF and USDA-NIFA, 9/2021 - 9/2026. Total $20,000,000. I serve as the lead of Thrust 2 (model deployment).
PI: Soumik Sarkar. Co-PI: Lizhi Wang and many others, "Center for translational AI," PIRI, 7/2021 - 6/2024. Total $450,000.
PI: Sotirios Archontoulis. Co-PI: Michael Castellano, Kendall Lamkey, Patrick Schnable, Lizhi Wang, and others, "Evaluating the relative influence of maize breeding, field management, and environmental setting on crop production and sustainability targets," FFAR, 1/2021-1/2025. Total $4,089,857.
PI: Shan Jiang. Co-PI: Keunsub Lee and Lizhi Wang, "A new platform for improving biolistic delivery using multi-barrel device and machine learning algorithm," CBC seed grant, 2/2021 - 12/2021. Total $35,000.
PI: James McCalley. Co-PI: Jacob Mays and Lizhi Wang, "Integrating RTO and utility processes in planning and cost allocation," PSERC, 8/2021-6/2023. Total $171,164.
PI: Guowen Song. Co-PI: Lizhi Wang and many others, "Interdisciplinary research for next generation high performance personal protective equipment," PIRI, 6/2020 - 6/2026. Total $600,000.
PI: Lizhi Wang. Co-PI: Saeed Khaki, "Yield prediction," GEF, 6/2020-7/2020.
PI: Lizhi Wang. Co-PI: Sotirios Archontoulis, William Beavis, Guiping Hu, "Prediction and mitigation of crop yield reduction in the corn belt under different scenarios of the Covid-19 pandemic," NSF, 4/2020-4/2021. Total $98,233.
PI: Lizhi Wang. "Genomic selection algorithms," BASF, 9/2019-9/2021.
PI: Guowen Song. Co-PI: Warren Franke, James Lang, Ellen McKinney, James Rothmanith, Dan Russell, Lizhi Wang, Xinwei Wang, and Chunwei Xiang, "Development of hand-specific model and systematic tool for next generation gloves used for firefighters and other emergency responders," DHS FEMA, 9/2019 - 8/2022. Total $1,574,989.
PI: Lizhi Wang. Co-PI: Sotirios Archontoulis, Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, Guiping Hu, and Patrick Schnable. "BTT EAGER: Improving crop yield prediction by integrating machine learning with process-based crop models," NSF, 3/2019 - 2/2021. Total $300,000.
PI: Lizhi Wang. Co-PI: Sotirios Archontoulis (ISU), William Beavis (ISU), Guiping Hu (ISU), and Jack Kloeber (Kromite). Senior personnel: Greg Doonan (Syngenta) and Charlie Messina (DuPont Pioneer). "LEAP HI GOALI: Engineering crops for genetic adaptation to changing environments," NSF, 9/2018 - 8/2023. Total $1,999,999.
 Recent publications
Zahra Khalilzadeh, Motahareh Kashanian, Saeed Khaki, and Lizhi Wang, "A hybrid deep learning-based approach for optimal genotype by environment selection," Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 2024
Yanhua Huang, Zheng Ni, Yanbin Chang, and Lizhi Wang, "Hydroponic Lettuce in-situ Water Circulation Evaluation via Non-destructive Mass Measurement in Controlled Environment," Frontiers in Plant Science, 2024.
Yanhua Huang, Yanbin Chang, Zheng Ni, and Lizhi Wang, "Environmental Parameters Factors Exploration on Lettuce Seed Germination with Hydrogel," Frontiers in Plant Science, 2024.
Zerui Zhang and Lizhi Wang, "A simulation framework for reciprocal recurrent selection-based hybrid breeding under transparent and opaque simulators," Frontiers in Plant Science 14 (2023): 1174168.
Yanbin Chang, Jeremy Latham, Mark Licht, and Lizhi Wang, "A data-driven crop model for maize yield prediction," Communications Biology, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04833-y
Zheng Ni, Saba Moeinizade, Aaron Kusmec, Guiping Hu, Lizhi Wang, and Patrick S. Schnable, "New insights into trait introgression with the look-ahead intercrossing strategy," G3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkad042
Isaiah Huber, Lizhi Wang, Jerry L. Hatfield, Mark Hanna, and Sotirios V. Archontoulis, "Modeling days suitable for fieldwork using machine learning, process-based, and rule-based models," to appear in Agricultural Systems, 2023.
Zhang Dali, Lingyun Ji, Sixiang Zhao, and Lizhi Wang, "Variable-sample method for the computation of stochastic Nash equilibrium," to appear in IISE Transactions, 2023.
Zahra Khalilzadeh and Lizhi Wang, "Corn planting and harvest scheduling under storage capacity and growing degree units uncertainty," Scientific Reports, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25797-9
Saeed Khaki, Hieu Pham, Zahra Khalilzadeh, Arezoo Masoud, Nima Safaei, Ye Han, Wade Kent, Lizhi Wang, "High-throughput image-based plant stand count estimation using convolutional neural networks," PLOS ONE, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268762
Lizhi Wang, "The leave-worst-k-out criterion for cross validation," to appear in Optimization Letters, 2022. [link]
Zerui Zhang and Lizhi Wang, "A look-ahead approach to maximizing present value of genetic gains in genomic selection," G3, vol. 12(8), 2022. [link] https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkac136
Saba Moeinizade, Guiping Hu, and Lizhi Wang, "A reinforcement learning approach to resource allocation in genomic selection," Intelligent Systems with Applications, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswa.2022.200076
Fatemeh Amini, Guiping Hu, Lizhi Wang, and Ruoyu Wu, "The L-shaped selection algorithm for multi-trait genomic selection," Genetics, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyac069
Saeed Khaki, Nima Safaei, Hieu Pham, and Lizhi Wang, "WheatNet: a lightweight convolutional neural network for high-throughput image-based wheat head detection and counting," Neurocomputing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neucom.2022.03.017
Mohammad Rahdar, Lizhi Wang, Jing Dong, and Guiping Hu, "Resilient transportation network design under uncertain link capacity using a tri-level optimization model," to appear in Journal of Advanced Transportation, 2021.
Rui Li, Mengying Zhang, Yulin Wu, Peixin Tang, Gang Sun, Liwen Wang, Sumit Mandal, Lizhi Wang, James Lang, Alberto Passalacqua, Shankar Subramaniam, and Guowen Song, "What we are learning from COVID-19 for respiratory protection: contemporary and emerging issues," Polymers 13, no. 23: 4165, 2021.
Javad Ansarifar, Lizhi Wang, and Sotirios V. Archontoulis, "An interaction regression model for crop yield prediction," Scientific Reports, vol. 11(1), p. 1-4, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97221-7
Lizhi Wang, "Data driven explanation of temporal and spatial variability of maize yield in the United States," Frontiers in Plant Science, p. 1877, 2021.
Ye Han, John N Cameron, Lizhi Wang, Hieu Pham, William D Beavis, "Dynamic programming for resource allocation in multi-allelic trait introgression," Frontiers in Plant Science, 12(1181), 2021.
Faezeh Akhavizadegan, Javad Ansarifar, Lizhi Wang, Isaiah Huber, and Sotirios V. Archontoulis, "A time-dependent parameter estimation framework for crop modeling," Scientific Reports, 11(1), p. 1-15, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90835-x
Saeed Khaki, Hieu Pham, and Lizhi Wang, "Simultaneous corn and soybean yield prediction from remote sensing data using deep transfer learning," Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-14, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89779-z
Aaron Kusmec, Zihao Zheng, Sotirios Archontoulis, Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, Guiping Hu, Lizhi Wang, Jianming Yu, and Patrick S. Schnable, "Interdisciplinary strategies to enable data-driven plant breeding in a changing climate," One Earth, vol. 4(3), p. 372-383, 2021.
Saeed Khaki, Hieu Pham, Ye Han, Andy Kuhl, Wade Kent, and Lizhi Wang, "DeepCorn: a semi-supervised deep learning method for high-throughput image-based corn kernel counting and yield estimation," Knowledge-Based Systems, 218, 106874, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knosys.2021.106874
Fatemeh Amini, Felipe Restrepo Franco, Guiping Hu, and Lizhi Wang, "The look ahead trace back optimizer for genomic selection under transparent and opaque simulators," Scientific Reports, 1(1), 1-13, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83567-5
Saba Moeinizade, Ye Han, Hieu Pham, Guiping Hu, and Lizhi Wang, "A look-ahead Monte Carlo simulation method for improving parental selection in trait introgression," Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-12, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83634-x
Preetam Kulkarni, Vahid Azizi, Guiping Hu, Lizhi Wang, "Analysis of decision making and information sharing strategies in a two-echelon supply chain," International Journal of Supply Chain and Inventory Management, 4(1), 81-106, 2020.
Javad Ansarifar, Faezeh Akhavizadegan, and Lizhi Wang, "Performance prediction of crosses in plant breeding through genotype by environment interactions," Scientific Reports, vol. 10(1), p. 1-11, 2020.
Saba Moeinizade, Aaron Kusmec, Guiping Hu, Lizhi Wang, and Patrick S. Schnable, "Multi-trait genomic selection methods for crop improvement," Genetics, vol. 215(4), p. 931-945, 2020.
Saeed Khaki, Hieu Pham, Ye Han, Andy Kuhl, Wade Kent, and Lizhi Wang, "Convolutional neural networks for image-based corn kernel detection and counting," Sensors, vol. 20(9), 2020.
Saeed Khaki, Zahra Khalilzadeh, and Lizhi Wang, "Predicting yield performance of parents in plant breeding: A neural collaborative filtering approach," PLOS ONE, vol. 15(5), 2020.
Faezeh Akhavizadegan, Lizhi Wang, and James McCalley, "Scenario selection for iterative stochastic transmission expansion planning," Energies, vol. 13(5), p. 1203, 2020.
Saeed Khaki, Lizhi Wang, and Sotirios Archontoulis, "A CNN-RNN framework for crop yield prediction," Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 10, p. 1750, 2019.
Saeed Khaki, Zahra Khalilzadeh, and Lizhi Wang, "Classification of crop tolerance to heat and drought: A deep convolutional neural networks approach," Agronomy, vol. 9(12), p. 833, 2019.
Saba Moeinizade, Megan Wellner, Guiping Hu, and Lizhi Wang, "Complementarity-based selection strategy for genomic selection,'' Crop Science, vol. 60(1), p. 149-156, 2019. Received the Outstanding papers in crop breeding and genetics award in 2021.
Javad Ansarifar and Lizhi Wang, "New algorithms for detecting multi-effect and multi-way epistatic interactions,'' Bioinformatics, vol. 35(24), p. 5078-5085, 2019.
Saeed Khaki and Lizhi Wang, "Crop yield prediction using deep neural networks,'' Frontiers in Plant Science, vol. 10, p. 621, 2019.
Saba Moeinizade, Guiping Hu, Lizhi Wang, and Patrick Schnable, "Optimizing selection and mating in genomic selection with a look-ahead approach: an operations research framework," Genes Genomes Genetics, vol. 9(7), p. 2123-2133, 2019.
Lizhi Wang and Maryam Nikouei Mehr, "An optimization approach to epistasis detection," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 274(3), p. 1069-1076, 2019.