The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has opened the Smart Agriculture Research Center (SARC), a new artificial intelligence enabled research hub developed in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service to address agriculture’s operational challenges, from plant disease prediction to forecasting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu.
The launch comes after a year in which HPAI swept through chicken coops nationwide, killing egg laying hens and contributing to rising egg prices. The outbreaks highlighted the vulnerability of food systems to rapidly spreading biological threats and reinforced the need for predictive tools that enable faster, data informed responses by producers.
Opened in August 2025, SARC is designed to serve the entire UTA campus through four core pillars: providing AI capacity and data discovery tools for agriculture research projects; operating as a resource hub for faculty pursuing agriculture related work; securing major USDA and external training and center grants; and acting as UTA’s institutional gateway for external partners focused on sustainability and global environmental impact. The center is co-directed by Jianzhong Su, professor of mathematics, and Gautam Das, professor of computer science and engineering, working alongside more than 20 faculty members across science and engineering.
Agriculture is essential to society, yet it has historically seen less AI integration than other industries. UTA has tremendous strength in technology and data science, and that positions us to help modernize agriculture in Texas and beyond.
Grand opening underscores interdisciplinary mandate
On Feb. 9, the center hosted its grand opening with UTA and USDA officials in attendance. At the event, Kate Miller, vice president for research and innovation at UTA, said the work undertaken by SARC will convert interdisciplinary research into practical solutions that strengthen the region while contributing to progress worldwide, calling the center a reflection of UTA’s 130-year legacy and future direction.
Backed by growing federal investment, SARC integrates UTA faculty, students and USDA-ARS scientists to apply machine learning to real world agricultural problems, including predicting plant disease, modeling soil health and forecasting HPAI outbreaks.
“This center is UTA’s direct response to the national call for climate-smart agriculture and resilient food systems,” said Scott Miller, associate vice president for research and innovation at UTA, during the opening. He noted that the goal is to ensure innovations developed in Arlington scale to support producers across the country.
Students embedded in federal research pipelines
A USDA supported summer research program forms a central engine of SARC’s delivery model, embedding students directly into federal agricultural research projects. Each year, between 20 and 25 undergraduate and graduate students, primarily from mathematics, computer science, engineering and science, take part in an eight to 10 week research experience.
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Participants are organized into small teams, each paired with a UTA faculty mentor and a USDA-ARS scientist, and work on agricultural data challenges using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Project areas span predicting plant diseases, modeling the effects of weather on crop resilience, assessing the environmental impact of fertilizers and pesticides, and developing data-driven tools for livestock and poultry health monitoring.
One of the newest research tracks centers on predicting HPAI outbreaks. UTA researchers and USDA scientists are building models that automatically collect publicly reported outbreak data and generate short term forecasts. These tools are intended to help poultry producers take preventive measures, including enhancing biosecurity, increasing sanitation and adjusting facility management, to reduce virus transmission risk.
Although research activity is based on UTA’s campus, students collaborate remotely with USDA scientists located across the United States and participate in site visits to observe agricultural research operations firsthand. The structure provides direct exposure to national research networks and supports workforce development in AI enabled agriculture.
Expanding national research capacity
Beyond the summer program, additional collaborative USDA projects linked to UTA faculty and ARS partners account for more than $5.5 million in external research investment.
By connecting North Texas talent with national agricultural research ecosystems, the Smart Agriculture Research Center is positioned to train the next generation of AI enabled agricultural scientists, strengthen food and environmental resilience, and help producers respond to emerging biological and climate-related threats, aligning academic capability with real-world agricultural outcomes at scale.