Dr. Sandra Guzmán
Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Dr. Guzmán's program focus in the development of technology-based solutions for agricultural water management. Dr. Guzmán leads the smart irrigation and hydrology program at IRREC working in direct contact with citrus-vegetable producers and stakeholders in Southeast Florida. As she defines: one of the major opportunities for real change is to be working hand to hand with producers in the region using a bottom-up approach. Understand the producer's challenges in water management and provide effective solutions that adapt to the current technological developments is Guzmán main goal.
To approach these challenges, Guzmán's research and extension programs emphasize providing solutions that include: the development of practical decision support systems for water management, implementation of smart devices and sensors for irrigation, artificial intelligence for the forecasting of hydrological variables, and monitoring soil-water-plant interactions.
Dr. Guzmán works on solutions to protect East Florida water resources and improve citrus production, from the farm scale to the watershed scale. Her current research involves the simulation of agricultural practices, water quantity, quality, and crop production and their impacts on the upper Floridan aquifer.
Dr. Guzmán is a team member of IRREC research professors who support the University of Florida’s statewide Institute of Food and Agricultural Science’s (IFAS) goal to restore Florida’s legendary grapefruit industry. Her experience with machine learning for groundwater forecasting and precision irrigation brings to the center a new perspective for water management in the region.
Contact
Rm. # 227
Indian River Research and Education Center
2199 South Rock Road
Fort Pierce, FL 34945-3138
Phone 772-577-7342
sandra.guzmangut@ufl.edu