PULLMAN, Wash. – Qin Zhang, professor and director of WSU’s Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems, has won the John Deere Gold Medal Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
The award honors achievement in engineering for improved manipulation, use and conservation of soil and water, and application of a new concept or product that advances the development of agriculture. Zhang will receive the award at the society’s annual international meeting, Wednesday, July 19, in Spokane, Wash.
Zhang has pioneered technologies, such as tractor auto-steering and targeted sprayer technologies, that have transformed the agriculture industry. Auto-steering, for example, has been praised as the most effective precision technology by many farmers for reducing overlap and eliminating skips, cutting costs on labor, fertilizer, and fuel.