Thai Ha Dang | Computers and Electronics in Agriculture | Best Researcher Award

Mr. Thai Ha Dang | Computers and Electronics in Agriculture | Best Researcher Award

Researcher, University of North Texas, United States

Thai Ha Dang is a passionate graduate student currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University of North Texas. With over 2 years of experience in wearable embedded devices and wireless sensing systems, he specializes in RF energy harvesting and machine learning for signal processing. His research spans human and animal models, and he has worked on projects related to cow behavior classification, energy harvesting systems, and underwater monitoring. Thai’s commitment to research has led him to present at various international conferences and publish in high-impact journals. He has honed his skills in embedded system design, programming, and data analysis, making him a key player in the field of agricultural technology and sensor networks. His strong academic background and innovative contributions have made him a respected researcher among peers and mentors alike.

Profile

Orcid

Education

Thai Ha Dang’s educational journey began at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vietnam, where he earned his Degree of Engineer in Electrical Engineering, ranking in the top 15% of his class. He further advanced his studies by pursuing a Master’s degree in Electrical Computer Engineering at Pukyong National University in South Korea, where he graduated with a GPA of 4.12/4.5. This rigorous academic background provided a strong foundation in embedded systems, machine learning, and wireless sensor networks. Currently, he is enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering at the University of North Texas, where his research focuses on wearable embedded devices and RF energy harvesting. His dedication to academia is reflected in his continued pursuit of knowledge and excellence in his research endeavors, particularly in the application of machine learning techniques for signal processing in embedded systems.

Experience

Thai Ha Dang has built a solid foundation in research and industry through diverse experiences. As a Research Assistant in the Embedded Sensing & Processing Systems (ESPS) Lab at the University of North Texas, he is currently working on developing an underwater monitoring system, combining his interests in wireless sensing and energy harvesting. Before this, he contributed to a wide array of projects at the AIOT Lab, Pukyong National University, where he designed a multi-channel embedded device for monitoring cow behavior. This involved system design, firmware development, and experimentation. He also gained hands-on experience during his tenure as an engineer in Samsung Display Vietnam’s AI group, where he worked on training neural networks for computer vision tasks related to defect detection. His strong technical skills, combined with a practical understanding of industry needs, make him well-equipped to tackle complex research challenges in embedded systems and machine learning applications.

Awards and Honors

Thai Ha Dang has been recognized for his contributions to the research community through several prestigious awards. Notably, he received the Best Paper Award at the Korea Institute of Convergence Signal Processing (KICSP) in December 2021 for his work on deep learning approaches for food quality assessment using hyperspectral sensors. Additionally, he was honored with the Brain Korea 21 Scholarship for the years 2021-2023, further validating his potential as a leader in his field. Thai’s academic excellence has been supported by research assistantships at both Pukyong National University and the University of California Irvine. These honors reflect his continuous pursuit of knowledge and the impact his work has had on advancing technology in agriculture and embedded systems. His recognition through these awards underscores his talent, dedication, and potential to drive innovation in his research.

Research Focus

Thai Ha Dang’s research primarily focuses on developing and applying wearable embedded systems for low-powered monitoring and energy harvesting, with a strong emphasis on machine learning techniques. His work includes creating self-powered systems, such as his wireless sensor network for monitoring cow behavior, which uses 915 MHz radio frequency energy harvesting. Another key area of his research is food quality monitoring, where he explores battery-free systems powered by RF energy harvesting to detect freshness in food products. Additionally, Thai has delved into underwater monitoring and aquaculture, with applications for shrimp larvae counting using multi-scale feature networks. His multidisciplinary research blends electrical engineering, machine learning, and sensor technology to address real-world challenges in agriculture, food safety, and environmental monitoring. Thai is particularly interested in developing sustainable and efficient systems that are capable of operating in challenging and remote environments, offering a glimpse into the future of intelligent, energy-efficient devices.

Publication Top Notes

  • “Self-Powered Cattle Behavior Monitoring System Using 915 MHz Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting,” IEEE Access, 2024.
  • “VAE-LSTM Data Augmentation for Cattle Behavior Classification Using a Wearable Inertial Sensor,” IEEE Sensor Letters, 2024.
  • “Radio-Frequency Energy Harvesting-based Self-Powered Dairy Cow Behavior Classification System,” IEEE Sensors Journal, 2023.
  • “A LoRaWAN-Based Smart Sensor Tag for Cow Behavior Monitoring,” IEEE Sensors Conference, 2022.
  • “B2EH: Batteryless BLE Sensor Network Using RF Energy Harvesting,” IEEE Applied Sensing Conference, 2023.
  • “Shrimp Larvae Counting in Dense Environments Using Size-Adaptive Density Map Estimation and Multi-scale Feature Network,” IEEE Transactions on Agrifood Electronics (accepted).

 

 

Menglu Liang | Bayesian methods | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Menglu Liang | Bayesian methods | Best Researcher Award

Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, United States

Dr. Menglu Liang is an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Maryland, with a strong background in biostatistics, epidemiology, and public health. Her journey into the field of biostatistics began during her studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she first encountered survival analysis in large cohort studies. Dr. Liang’s academic and research career has focused on developing advanced statistical models for real-world health challenges, particularly in the areas of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and public health. She has received extensive training at prestigious institutions, including Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Peking University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Minnesota, and Penn State University. Her work has resulted in numerous impactful publications in top-tier journals, and she is highly regarded for her interdisciplinary collaborations with clinicians, epidemiologists, and statisticians to address pressing health issues.

Profile

Education

Dr. Menglu Liang completed her undergraduate studies in Preventive Medicine at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, graduating in 2011. She further pursued a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from Peking University, Beijing, in 2014. Her passion for applying statistical methods in public health led her to Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a Master of Science in Epidemiology in 2016. Dr. Liang’s academic path continued with a Master of Science in Statistics from the University of Minnesota in 2019, and she earned her PhD in Biostatistics from Penn State University in 2023. Her doctoral research, titled “Modeling and Dynamic Prediction for Recurrent Time-to-event Data with Competing Risks,” focused on advanced Bayesian techniques for survival analysis and statistical modeling. Dr. Liang’s education across multiple disciplines and prestigious institutions has provided her with a comprehensive foundation in biostatistics, epidemiology, and public health.

Experience

Dr. Menglu Liang has built an impressive academic and professional career, culminating in her current position as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Maryland. Prior to this, she gained invaluable experience as a Graduate Assistant at Penn State University (2019–2023) and the University of Minnesota (2018–2019), where she developed advanced statistical models and conducted research on cardiovascular disease and clinical epidemiology. Dr. Liang’s early career included roles at Johns Hopkins University, where she worked as a Data Analyst (2016–2017) and a Graduate Assistant (2015–2016), contributing to significant research in epidemiology and biostatistics. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to collaborative research and statistical consulting, working closely with clinicians and researchers to tackle complex health issues. Dr. Liang has also served as a mentor to students and researchers, providing guidance in statistical modeling, data analysis, and scientific writing.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Menglu Liang has received numerous awards and honors that recognize her outstanding contributions to biostatistics and public health research. In 2022, she was awarded the prestigious Travel Award by the International Chinese Statistical Association, highlighting her commitment to advancing statistical methods in health research. She was also the recipient of the Statistical Significance Award in the JSM Statistical Significance Competition, which acknowledges innovative research in statistical methodology. Dr. Liang’s scholarly achievements have been recognized through her publications in top-tier journals, where her work on dynamic prediction models and Bayesian statistical methods has garnered significant attention. She has presented her research at various national and international conferences, demonstrating her leadership in advancing the application of statistical techniques to public health and clinical research. Her consistent recognition underscores her academic excellence and her ability to contribute to high-impact research in the field.

Research Focus

Dr. Menglu Liang’s research focuses on the application of advanced statistical methods to public health, epidemiology, and clinical research. Her primary areas of interest include survival analysis, Bayesian hierarchical modeling, and the development of dynamic prediction models for recurrent time-to-event data with competing risks. Her work often integrates complex statistical methods with real-world data to address key health challenges, particularly in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and public health policy. Dr. Liang is particularly interested in the intersection of statistical modeling and clinical research, where she collaborates with clinicians and epidemiologists to improve predictive models and decision-making processes. She has also applied Bayesian network meta-analysis techniques in dental research and developed spatial-temporal models to study the effects of extreme heat on health outcomes. Dr. Liang’s research is driven by the goal of making meaningful contributions to public health through the application of innovative statistical techniques to real-world problems.

Publication Top Notes

  1. Association of a Biomarker of Glucose Peaks, 1,5-Anhydroglucitol, With Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease 🩺📊
  2. Tackling Dynamic Prediction of Death in Patients with Recurrent Cardiovascular Events 💓🔍
  3. Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis of Multiple Outcomes in Dental Research 🦷📈
  4. A Spatial-Temporal Bayesian Model for Case-Crossover Design with Application to Extreme Heat and Claims Data 🌡️📉