Christopher Applegate

As a member of the Plant Phenomics Team led by Dr. Ji Zhou at Earlham Institute, I am developing novel high-throughput image processing, machine learning, analytics algorithms and related software solutions for applications in the Agri-Tech industry, as well as crop research. Projects that I am actively involved in include, a collaboration with G’s Growers to develop software to offer a comprehensive crop yield analysis from aerial and in-field images, and a project with Kx to create predictive computational models to understand the dynamics between crop growth and environmental factors.

Prior to joining Earlham Institute, I graduated with a PhD from the School of Computing Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA). My PhD research involved developing 3D computer graphics software to assist with the challenges related to the design and simulation of traffic networks for use in virtual environments. Following graduation, I worked at UEA on a number of diverse projects as a post-doctoral research associate. During this time, I developed software to assist the generation of 3D printable tailored immobilisation shells for patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment, investigated the commercial deployment of bioinformatic tools on cloud computing platforms, and developed bioinformatics software to predict plant microRNAs based on functional and biogenesis data.