Agriculture Victoria PhD Research Scholarship - Integrate and optimize UAV LiDAR system for high throughput crop phenotyping
Background
The PhD candidate will optimise a LiDAR sensor system integrated on UAV platforms for highthroughput field phenotyping in grain crops. The candidate will evaluate the performance of LiDAR sensor system, considering factors such as data sampling rate, field-of-view, sensitivity, and modalities required for sensor operation. This research will identify best practices in data processing and analysis for plant phenotyping, including generation of point cloud metrices, morphological indices, segmentation, voxelization, classification, and 3D reconstruction.
In addition, the candidate will develop analytical workflows to extract traits of interest for grain crops. The performance of the LiDAR system will be validated using in-field ground truth measurements and calibrate sensor outputs to generate crop specific phenotypic traits. It is expected that the optimised LiDAR system will be deployed across breeding research for different grain crops.
Benefits of the scholarship include:
- A $33,000 p.a (tax-free) scholarship for three and a half years
- A fee-relief scholarship for up to four years for eligible candidates
- Training in Australia’s first integrated agricultural systems biology research centre, AgriBio at La Trobe University and Australia’s Grain Innovation Park, Horsham, Victoria
- Professional development programs
Are you eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, applicants must:
- meet the entrance requirements for the proposed course
- not be receiving another scholarship greater than 75 per cent of the stipend rate for the same purpose
- be an Australian and New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident or international applicants must already be in Australia
In selecting successful applicants, we prioritise applications from candidates who:
- will be enrolled full-time and undertaking their research at a La Trobe University campus
- have completed a Masters by Research or other significant body of research, such as an honours research thesis or lead authorship of a peer-reviewed publication, assessed at a La Trobe Masters by research standard of 75 or above
How to apply
If you wish to apply for this scholarship, follow these steps:
- Submit an Expression of Interest by 30 July 2021 to Kendra Whiteman, Visitor and Student Coordinator, Agriculture Victoria Research, kendra.whiteman@agriculture.vic.gov.au
- Include a covering letter, your curriculum vitae (please include evidence of research writing) and academic transcripts
- If you are shortlisted to apply for this scholarship, you will need to submit your application by 31 October 2021 by following Steps 3 and 4 on how to apply for candidature
The University will carefully review your application and consider you for this scholarship. You will be advised of an outcome in November 2021.
Who to contact for further information
Kendra Whiteman, Visitor and Student Coordinator, Agriculture Victoria Research, kendra.whiteman@agriculture.vic.gov.au