Sumon Datta, Ph.D., E.I.

Grantsmanship

• Total Awarded: $11.52 Million

• Total Awarded as PI: $1.31 Million

• Total Awarded as Co-PI: $10.21 Million

• Dr. Datta's Portion in All Grants: $1.53 Million

Grant Stats at OSU (7/2023 - Present)

• Total Awarded: $10.47 Million

• Total Awarded as PI: $265,321

• Total Awarded as Co-PI: $10.21 Million

• Dr. Datta's Portion in All Grants at OSU: $1,045,818

Research Outputs

• Peer-reviewed Journal Articles: 17

• Conference Oral Presentations: 20

• Conference Poster Presentations: 21

Tools Developed

• Oklahoma Agricultural Scientific Irrigation Scheduler – OASIS Tool (Available to the public in Summer 2026): https://irrigation.okstate.edu

Extension Outputs

• Peer-reviewed Extension Factsheets: 4

• Extension Presentation: 11

Teaching Outputs

• Taught Courses: 2 (4 times)

• Guest Lectures: 7

• Student Recruitment Events: 5

Student Mentoring

• Students Mentored in Total: 15 (8 Ph.D., 5 M.S., and 2 B.S.)

• Students Mentored as Major Advisor: 5 (1 Ph.D., 3 M.S., and 1 B.S.)

Our lab is growing to 5 Ph.D. students by Summer 2026 and we are always looking for more talented, self-motivated individuals with BS and MS (both confered or All-But-Thesis) in Agricultural Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, or Computer Science (needs to do FE Exam before applying) to join our research group at PhD level (we prioritize students joining at PhD level). If you meet the requirements above, feel free to email Dr. Sumon Datta at sumon.datta@okstate.edu with a CV and a cover letter explaining how your expertise specifically fits the priorities of our group. Only those who are shortlisted will be contacted.

Current Graduate Students

1. Jacob Kettner

   

   Program: Ph.D. in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

   Title: Graduate Research & Teaching Assistant

   Starting semester: Fall 2024

   Expected graduation: Fall 2028

   Short summary: Mr. Kettner is working on developing irrigation scheduling strategies for major summer crops in Southern Great Plains using soil water balance models (e.g., pyfao56). He will be evaluating the impact of the variabilities within various input parameters on the model outputs. These inputs include, but not limited to: weather data forecasts and soil data to conduct sensitivity analysis by analyzing the resultant model outputs.

2. Alok Pandit

   

   Program: M.S. in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

   Title: Graduate Research Assistant

   Starting semester: Spring 2024

   Expected graduation semester: Spring 2026

   Short summary: Mr. Pandit is utilizing satellite products (e.g., OpenET) to quantify crop water use, evapotranspiration, using in-situ soil moisture data to advance water metering research in Oklahoma and beyond.

3. Abinava Yeshwanth Kalayambakam Janardhan

   

   Program: M.S. in Computer Science

   Title: Graduate Research Assistant

   Starting semester: Fall 2023 (Funded on Dr. Datta’s program since May, 2023)

   Expected graduation semester: Fall 2025

   Short summary: Mr. Janardhan is investigating how machine/deep learning approaches can accurately estimate multi-depth soil moisture in irrigated fields within Oklahoma. He will use publicly available soil moisture dataset such as Soil Moisture Active Passive from NASA coupled with soil textural data from USDA SSURGO database to increase soil moisture estimation accuracy of state-of-the-art machine learning approaches.

Current Undergraduate Student

1. Tatumn Kennedy

   

   Program: B.S. in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

   Title: Undergraduate Research Assistant[1]

   Starting semester: Fall 2022 (Funded on Dr. Datta’s program since January, 2024)

   Expected graduation semester: Spring 2026

   Short summary: Ms. Kennedy is working on quantifying crop water use among major irrigation systems in Southwest Oklahoma on larger scale. She will be collecting in-situ irrigation systems data for Lugert-Altus Irrigation District and digitize the data into spatial dataset to be integrated into crop water use database from OpenET platform.

Past Team Members

1. Palash Kumar Kundu

   Program: M.S. in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

   Title: Graduate Research Assistant

   Starting semester: Spring 2024

   Graduation semester: Summer 2025

   Short summary: Mr. Kundu is focused on evaluation of machine/deep learning approaches in estimating plant canopy temperature in cotton for build irrigation scheduling tool.
   Currently a Ph.D. Student at Michigan State University

2. Gillian Quellar

   Program: B.S. in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

   Title: Undergraduate Research Assistant

   Starting semester: Fall 2022 (Funded on Dr. Datta’s program since January – May, 2024)

   Expected graduation semester: Spring 2026

   Short summary: Ms. Quellar worked on generating preliminary results on quantifying ET in Southwest Oklahoma using OpenET platform.

Dr. Datta is an Irrigation Engineer with over 10 years of post-bachelor experience in irrigation water management, specializing in both quantity and quality aspects across agricultural systems. His expertise lies in integrating smart sensors, modeling, and AI (ML/DL) to improve irrigation efficiency and decision-making. With a strong background in water resources modernization and planning, he continuously leverages prior knowledge and addresses existing gaps through innovative methods and advanced data analytics.

His overarching goal is to advance sustainable water management by bridging research, innovation, outreach, and education in irrigation engineering. In response to global water scarcity and changing climatic conditions, he is committed to developing science-based, data-driven solutions that enhance irrigation efficiency, conserve natural resources, and sustain long-term agricultural productivity. His research emphasizes precision irrigation scheduling through the integration of in-situ sensing technologies, numerical modeling, and applications of AI (ML/DL) to manage water.

Equally significant is his dedication to teaching and mentorship. He strives to equip future engineers and researchers with strong foundations in sustainable irrigation practices, critical thinking, and ethical responsibility. By fostering an inclusive and engaging learning environment, he prepares students to address complex water management challenges with innovation and integrity.

Collaboration is central to his approach. He actively partners with farmers, policymakers, industry leaders, and academic peers to translate irrigation research into practical applications that benefit local communities and beyond. Through these efforts, he aims to contribute to a resilient agricultural future where water resources are managed wisely to balance environmental, economic, and food security goals.