Verdia Diagnostics
is developing real-time plant health monitoring tools to help growers revolutionize disease management strategy and outcomes.
We’re building sensor technologies that empower farmers with actionable insights to protect crop yields, reduce chemical use, and improve sustainability.
Team
Zach Hetzler, Ph.D.
CEO and Co-Founder
Zach has led development of field-portable diagnostic devices for humans, agriculture, and biopharma during his PhD at NC State. he’s worked closely with growers since 2020 to better understand their challenges, and brings experience in point-of-care diagnostics, sensor engineering, and user-centered technology development.
Qingshan Wei, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Technical Advisor
Qingshan is a co-founder and technical advisor of Verdia Diagnostics. He is also a University Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State University. His research group focuses on constructing field-deployable tools for plant and human health for rapid detection, monitoring, and disease management.
Yong Zhu, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Technical Advisor
Yong is a co-founder and technical advisor of Verdia Diagnostics. He is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. He leads a lab that focuses on development of flexible and wearable devices with integrated nanomaterial sensors.
Himendra Perera, Ph.D.
Systems and AI Engineer
Himendra is an engineer working on the hardware and software that enables early stress sensing. He is an expert in multimodal sensor development and deployment including building scalable AI and real-time analytics platforms. He can deadlift a Staggering 500 Pounds.
James Savino, M.S.
Software and Cloud Architect
James is a Data and Cloud Systems Engineer at Verdia Diagnostics. He specializes in data architecture, cloud infrastructure, and analytics pipelines, building reliable end-to-end systems from IoT sensors to user dashboards. His work focuses on scalable data ingestion, visualization, and system reliability to enable real-time insights from Verdia’s plant sensing platform.
Hailey Purdom
Business Development Intern
Hailey is a Business Development and Market Strategy Intern, supporting market validation and and go-to-market strategy. She is a Computer Science student at Shaw University with software engineering experience at Red Hat and analytics experience at Schneider Electric. As founder of Shaw University’s NSBE chapter, she brings technical and strategic insight to Verdia.
Alper Bozkurt, Ph.D.
Technical Advisor
Alper is a technical advisor for Verdia Diagnostics and is a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State University. His interdisciplinary lab uses microelectronics and robotics principles to develop wearable biomedical systems for a broad range of biomedical applications.
Jean Ristaino, Ph.D.
Technical Advisor
Jean is Technical Advisor for Verdia Diagnostics and Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology at NC State University. A globally recognized expert in plant disease epidemiology and Phytophthora pathogens, her research transformed work on emerging crop diseases, population genomics, and strategies to protect global food security. She is a Fellow of AAAS and the American Phytopathological Society.
Ricardo Hernandez, Ph.D.
Technical Advisor
Ricardo is Technical Advisor to Verdia Diagnostics and Associate Professor of Horticultural Science at NC State University. An expert in controlled environment agriculture, his research focuses on optimizing light, climate, and nutrition to improve plant growth, yield, and resilience. He also founded Rooted-in-tech, translating indoor agriculture science into practical solutions for growers.
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