Our Commitment
Improving irrigation tools, technologies, and methods
Our goal is to equip a diverse range of stakeholders with new science- and practice-based knowledge they can use today.
Supporting adoption of updated irrigation systems
IIC provides irrigation stakeholders with others with opportunities to evaluate and integrate emerging and existing irrigation technologies.
Convening critical conversations
We bring together diverse stakeholders to address critical challenges and improve irrigation management outcomes.
Dr. Wubengeda “Wub” Yilma CSU-TAPS Precision Irrigation Manager
Raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wubengeda “Wub” Yilma spent summers visiting his family in the agricultural areas of the Amhara region. Through those experiences, he developed an interest in working in agriculture and water management.
In 2009, Wub received his bachelor’s degree in soil and water engineering and management from Haramaya University in Ethiopia. His first job with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research found him conducting irrigation research in the dry season and soil fertility testing in the rainy season—two aspects of agricultural study he has continued to pursue throughout his career.
Continuing his education, he earned a master’s in irrigation water management from the University of Florence, Italy, in 2013, and another in water science and engineering from IHE – Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands, in 2017.
Wub’s interest in remote sensing stemmed out of a desire to upscale the impact of his research to reach more farmers. Working for Geodatics, Inc., in Kenya, he helped to generate tailored fertilizer recommendations using an array of remote sensing tools for approximately 11,000 farmers across Kenya and Tanzania.
In 2020, Wub came to the U.S. to further his studies under the guidance of Raj Khosla, Ph.D., of Kansas State University. In May 2024 he defended his dissertation, earning a Ph.D. in agronomy with a focus on precision agriculture. He came to Fort Collins, Colorado, to join IIC and CSU-TAPS soon after.
“In the U.S., farmers know how to farm. But we also want to optimize resources and save money. We want to understand how to help [farmers] do that with data. ... The future is about farming with data. ”
Omer Izrael, CSU-TAPS Program Manager
Omer Izrael grew up in a small agricultural village in Israel, surrounded by farming. In his teens, he worked in a neighbor’s dairy and milked cows.
He went on to study water and soil sciences as an undergraduate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, under the faculty of agriculture at Rehovot. He also worked as a lab assistant at the Weizmann Institute of Science, which fanned his interest and training in research.
Omer then pursued a master’s degree at Ben-Gurion University’s international Sde Boker Campus where he studied de-salination and water treatment, finishing in 2021.
Returning to the world of soil and crop sciences, he joined Israel’s strong agri-tech industry with Prospera Technology, working on field monitoring using cameras on center pivots, in both production and research.
In 2023, Omer moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, his wife’s hometown. He joined IIC and CSU-TAPS in spring 2024.
“Precision agriculture addresses challenges conventional agriculture faces, including impacts to the environment. Through using technology and data analysis we can make agriculture more efficient.”
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