On November 18, 2025, researchers from across the Asia-Pacific region gathered at the APFITA 2025 conference in Bogor, Indonesia, to officially launch the Pan Asia Pacific Phenomics Network (PAPPN).
The event was jointly organized by the University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), and IPB University, with support from APFITA, MLCAS, and the IPPN Science of Phenomics Working Group.
Highlights
This session highlighted the diversity of expertise shaping phenomics across the Asia-Pacific. Eight speakers from different scientific backgrounds shared how their disciplines contribute to understanding plants through data, engineering, AI, and field science.
Opening Remarks
- Prof. Seishi Ninomiya (Emeritus Professor of UTokyo, Editor-in-Chief of Plant Phenomics)
- Prof. Yanfeng Ding (Vice President and Professor of NAU, Editor-in-Chief of Plant Phenomics)
Key Presentations
- Prof. Wei Guo (University of Tokyo): Introduced the science of phenomics, global contexts, and the vision of PAPPN.
- Dr. Haruka Tomobe (Saitama Univ.): Estimating Young’s modulus of maize stalks.
- Dr. Soumyashree Kar (IITH): AI-driven phenomics with ontologies and LLMs.
- Dr. Masayuki Hirafuji (UTokyo): AI-friendly IoT systems for phenotyping.
- Dr. Miguel Raul Pebes Trujillo (NTU): Bayesian adaptive intelligence for crop trait steering.
- Dr. Yuankai Tu (TARI): Recent progress of plant phenomics at TARI.
- Dr. Sutan Muhamad Sadam Awal (Kyushu Univ.): Plant phenotyping for data-driven agriculture.
- Dr. Yangmingrui Gao (NAU): 3D crop model–supervised field sensing.
One key highlight was the strong contributions of early-career researchers. PAPPN is committed to supporting and empowering these emerging talents across the region.