Xin (Rex) Sun, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and UAS Faculty Fellow
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
North Dakota State University
Email | CV | Google Scholar | LinkedIn
Dr. Xin (Rex) Sun currently serves as an Associate Professor of Precision Agriculture and Uncrewed Autonomous Systems (UAS) Faculty Fellow at North Dakota State University. Before joining the NDSU ABEN faculty team, Dr. Sun worked as a research scientist in the Department of Animal Sciences at NDSU from 2015 to 2018. Prior to that, he held a position as a lecturer in the Agricultural Engineering Department at Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), China, from 2013 to 2015.
Dr. Sun's research primarily focuses on precision agriculture technologies aimed at enhancing livestock, crop, and food production. His areas of expertise include precision livestock and crop production, artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, remote sensing, hyperspectral and multispectral imaging technologies, and food product non-destructive inspection technologies.
Throughout his career, Dr. Sun has successfully led/co-led grants and projects valued at over $20 million and has authored more than 130 publications in various formats. He has established collaborations with numerous academic and industry partners, including Harvard University, Iowa State University, Texas A&M University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu University, USDA, National Pork Board, Hormel Food, JBS, and Charoen Pokphand (CP) China, among others.
Research Interests:
Precision Agriculture
Artificial Intelligence in Food and Agriculture
Precision Crop/Livestock Production
Food Quality Non-destructive Detection Methods
Postdoctoral Research Associates
Current MS/Ph.D. Students
Arjun is a doctoral graduate researcher in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. He has completed his bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Institute of Engineering (IOE), Pulchowk Campus in Nepal. Following his graduation, he worked as an Assistant Lecturer at Himalaya College of Engineering (HCOE). Presently, his research area is focused on designing a machine vision-based smart sprayer system on precision agriculture robotic platform for site-specific weed management. He is always passionate about robotics, machine vision, artificial intelligence, and sensor technology for performing real-time applications.
Current Lab Assistants/Staffs
Lab Alumni
Cengiz Koparan, Ph.D.
Dr. Koparan was a postdoc in the NDSU Sun Lab from 2020-2022. Currently, he is serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology at the University of Arkansas. Learn more about him here.Raju Ahmad, Ph.D.
Dr. Ahmad was a postdoc in the NDSU Sun Lab since 2020-2023. He is currently working as Digital Agronomy and Sustainability Specialist at Black Gold Farm in Grand Forks, ND.DeMetris Reed, Ph.D.
Dr. Reed was a Ph.D. student in the Department of Animal Sciences advised by Dr. Sun. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Animal/Meat Science at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, TX. Learn more about him here.Jeng-Hung Liu, Ph.D.
Dr. Liu was a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Dr. Sun from 2013 - 2017.Austin Eide
Austin was an MS student in NDSU Sun Lab from Jan. 2019 - Dec. 2020. Currently, he is working as Field Application Engineer at Blue River Technology.Cristiano M.B. Costa
Cristiano was an MS student in NDSU Sun Lab from Jan. 2019 - Dec. 2020. Currently, he is a Precision Agriculture Specialist in Brekke Aviation Inc. in ND.William "Billy" Ogdahl
William earned his bachelors in Agricultural economics in 2015 and served as an MS student in the Department of Animal Sciences under Dr. Sun's supervision.Jacob Frandrup
Jacob is originally from Vermillion, Minnesota. He earned his M.S. degree here at NDSU in Animal Sciences with an emphasis on Meat Science under Dr. Sun.Nitin Rai
Nitin Rai was serving as a Postdoctoral Associate in the NDSU Sun Lab. He earned his doctoral degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from North Dakota State University. Nitin is currently working as a postdoctoral associate at University of Florida.