Shafik Kiraga received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering in 2020 from Makerere University, Uganda, his master’s degree in smart agricultural systems in 2022 from Chungnam National University, South Korea, and now is pursuing his PhD in biological systems engineering at Washington State University. His current research focuses on the use of machine learning to improve the estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) — water movement from land and plants back into the atmosphere. As part of the AgAID project, he established a demonstration vineyard with sensors to monitor crop health for irrigation management. During his master’s program, he developed three prototypes: a smart sprayer, a smart seeder, and a yield-monitoring system for radishes. During this same time, he founded a company in Uganda called Tet la’nech, which created an educational tool to teach students the fundamentals of sensor programming and electronics design to address a widespread challenge across many African countries. Serving as secretary of the Agricultural Automation Engineering Club, he and his team organized motivational talks and arranged field trips for students to visit engineering companies related to their fields of study. As a future faculty member, he aims to enhance agricultural irrigation water management practices among stakeholders while improving the instructional techniques used in irrigation education to inspire learners’ engagement in agriculture.

Research Interests

Irrigation Water Management