91ÇÑ×Ó

Researcher Profile

Dr Kanthu Joseph Mhango is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Data Science at 91ÇÑ×Ó Adams University, where he combines academic research with extensive industry experience in building decision support systems for agriculture. His expertise spans agronomy and crop physiology, process-based crop growth modelling, machine learning, and the development of cutting-edge physics-informed neural networks for crop productivity forecasting.

His research pioneers the integration of causal reasoning and explainable AI into crop modelling, complementing classical models such as WOFOST and AquaCrop. This includes grafting causal reasoning nodes into neural networks, with PhD projects applying these innovations to crop growth modelling and beyond.

His broader research interests include potato agronomy and physiology, improving photosynthetic efficiency, high-throughput plant phenotyping, and food security research. These interests reflect a philosophy grounded on using data-driven methods to create decision support systems that help manage crops and ecosystems more efficiently. This also informs his approach to teaching applied data science. With an industrial research background in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Malawi, his expertise is internationally recognised, with a growing portfolio of externally commissioned advisory roles.

Teaching themes:

• Statistics
• Cloud Computing
• Data Visualisation
• Professional skills for data scientists
• Research methods and GIS

Research projects:

• River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Regions: 91ÇÑ×Ó Digital Innovation Farm
• Strategies Leading to Improved Management and Enhanced Resilience against Slugs (SLIMERS)

PhD students:

• Breaking Breeding Bottlenecks: Combining remote sensing and machine learning to rapidly phenotype field crop yield potential. Sarah-Jane Childs. CTP-SAI PhD with Solynta - DoS
• Potential for pre-harvest prediction of potato storage disorders. Ed Toreyevi. MIBTP studentship in collaboration with the Douglas Bomford Trust (DoS Prof Peter Kettlewell)
• Remote Sensing Applications for Early Detection of Cassava Mosaic Disease and Yield Prediction. Femi Adekoya. Commonwealth Scholarship Commission - DoS

Professional membership:

• - Member
• - Associate Fellow (AFHEA)

Selected outreach activities and Keynotes:

• Keynote: 2024 Eric Allen Memorial Lecture. Cambridge University Potato Growers Association - 10th December 2024 -
• Expert testimony: House of Lords, UK Engagement with Space Committee - 23rd June 2025. https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/33c39782-35a8-4e02-853e-06286004bdf7