Sudhir Sornapudi profile picture

About Me

Senior Data Scientist II and Leader of Advanced Vision Intelligence at Corteva Agriscience, recognized as a High Potential (HIPO) employee. As a Principal Investigator and Thought Leader, I drive innovative AI initiatives, supervise high-impact portfolio projects, and lead strategic collaborations across biotechnology, seeds, and crop protection divisions. I excel at translating cutting-edge research into production-ready computer vision systems that deliver measurable business value.

Track Record

With a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering and proven track record in both academia and industry, I have:

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Principal Investigator

Driving innovative ideas and supervising high-impact POC projects

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Strategic Leader

Excelling in resource management and cross-functional collaboration

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Team Builder

Built and led data science teams delivering end-to-end computer vision solutions

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2 Patents Filed

Novel imaging solutions for agricultural applications

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20+ Publications

Including Distinguished Paper Award at AMIA 2019

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Industry Board Member

Iowa State's Translational AI Center, leading Corteva-ISU collaboration

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Scalable ML Systems

Deployed using Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, and GCP for large-scale imaging datasets

Expertise

My expertise spans strategic planning, technical leadership, and hands-on ML development—from deep learning architecture design and self-supervised learning to production deployment and organizational growth. I've successfully applied computer vision to diverse domains including digital agriculture, digital pathology, medical imaging, and industrial applications.

Core Competencies

Leadership

Team Management, Cross-functional Collaboration, Technical Mentoring

AI/ML

Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Generative AI, Self-Supervised Learning

Technical

PyTorch, TensorFlow, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, GCP

Domains

Digital Agriculture, Digital Pathology, Medical Imaging

Research

Patent Filing, Publications, Conference Presentations

Publications

Selected publications showcasing research in Computer Vision, Deep Learning, and Digital Agriculture.

Conference Papers

Few-Shot Adaptation of Grounding DINO for Agricultural Domain

Rajhans Singh, Rafael Bidese Puhl, Kshitiz Dhakal, Sudhir Sornapudi

2025 IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Workshops (CVPRW), Nashville, TN, USA, 2025

ArXiv IEEE Xplore

A Generative Adversarial Network-based Method for High Fidelity Synthetic Data Augmentation

Jesse Bier, Srinivas Sridharan, Sudhir Sornapudi, Qiao Hu, Siva P. Kumpatla

Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA), Minneapolis, MN, 2022

Web Link

Development of a Multi-class Deep-learning Algorithm Capable of Diagnosing Many Histopathologic Entities in Digital Pathology

Brown Gregory T., Sudhir Sornapudi, and Paul Fontelo

AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, 2021

Distinguished Paper Award

Comparing Deep Learning Models for Multi-cell Classification in Liquid-based Cervical Cytology Image

Sornapudi, S., Brown, G. T., Xue, Z., Long, R., Allen, L., & Antani, S.

AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, 2019, 820–827. PMID: 32308878; PMCID: PMC7153123

Won the Distinguished Paper Award at AMIA 2019 Annual Symposium, Washington D.C.

Slides ArXiv BibTeX

Assessment of an Ensemble of Machine Learning Models toward Abnormality Detection in Chest Radiographs

S. Rajaraman, S. Sornapudi, M. Kohli and S. Antani

2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Berlin, Germany, 2019, pp. 3689-3692

DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2019.8856715

PDF BibTeX IEEE Xplore

Real-world Pill Segmentation based on Superpixel Merge using Region Adjacency Graph

Sornapudi S., Joe Stanley R., Hagerty J., V. Stoecker W.

Proceedings of the 12th International Joint Conference on Computer Vision, Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications - Volume 4: VISAPP (VISIGRAPP 2017), pages 182-187

DOI: 10.5220/0006135801820187

PDF Poster BibTeX DOI

Journal Articles

Fully Automated End-to-end Cervical Histology Whole Slide Image Diagnosis Toolbox

Sudhir Sornapudi, Ravitej Addanki, R. Joe Stanley, William V. Stoecker, Rodney Long, Sameer Antani, Rosemary Zuna, Shelliane R. Frazier

J Pathol Inform. 2021 Jun 9;12:26. PMID: 34447606; PMCID: PMC8356709

DOI: 10.4103/jpi.jpi_52_20

Journal Link

DeepCIN: Attention-based Cervical Histology Image Classification with Sequential Feature Modelling for Pathologist-Level Accuracy

Sudhir Sornapudi, R. Joe Stanley, William V. Stoecker, Rodney Long, Sameer Antani, Zhiyun Xue, Rosemary Zuna, Shelliane R. Frazier

J Pathol Inform 2020;11:40

PDF BibTeX Journal Link

EpithNet: Deep Regression for Epithelium Segmentation in Cervical Histology Images

Sornapudi S, Hagerty J, Stanley RJ, Stoecker WV, Long R, Antani S, Thoma G, Zuna R, Frazier SR

J Pathol Inform 2020;11:10

DOI: 10.4103/jpi.jpi_53_19

PDF BibTeX Journal Link

Region-Based Automated Localization of Colonoscopy and Wireless Capsule Endoscopy Polyps

Sornapudi, Sudhir; Meng, Frank; Yi, Steven

Appl. Sci. 9, no. 12: 2404, 2019

DOI: 10.3390/app9122404

PDF BibTeX Journal Link

Deep Learning Nuclei Detection in Digitized Histology Images by Superpixel

Sornapudi, S., Stanley, R. J., Stoecker, W. V, Almubarak, H., Long, R., Antani, S., Frazier, S. R.

Journal of Pathology Informatics, 9(1), 5, 2018

DOI: 10.4103/jpi.jpi_74_17

PDF BibTeX Journal Link

Features Advances to Automatically Find Images for Application to Clinical Decision Support

Guo P, Stanley RJ, De S, Long LR, Antani SK, Thoma GR, Demner-Fushman D, Sornapudi S

Medical Research Archives. 4(7) 2016

DOI: 10.18103/mra.v4i7.761

PDF BibTeX Journal Link

Preprints & ArXiv

Self-Supervised Backbone Framework for Diverse Agricultural Vision Tasks

Sudhir Sornapudi, Rajhans Singh

ArXiv 2024

ArXiv

Self-Supervised Representation Learning for Digital Agriculture

Sudhir Sornapudi

Authorea, Published in NAPPN 2023 Abstracts, February 2023

DOI: 10.22541/au.167573772.22946655/v1

DOI Abstract Poster

Interpreting Deep Ensemble Learning through Radiologist Annotations for COVID-19 Detection in Chest Radiographs

Rajaraman, S., Sornapudi, S., Alderson, P. O., Folio, L. R., & Antani, S. K.

MedRxiv, 2020

DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.15.20154385

PDF BibTeX MedRxiv

Feature based Sequential Classifier with Attention Mechanism

Sornapudi, S., Stanley, R. J., Stoecker, W. V, Long, R., Xue, Z., Zuna, R., Frazier, S. R., Antani, S.

ArXiv, 2020

PDF BibTeX ArXiv

Cervical Whole Slide Histology Image Analysis Toolbox

Sornapudi, S., Addanki, R., Stanley, J., Stoecker, W. V, Long, R., Zuna, R., Frazier, S. R., Antani, S.

MedRxiv, 2020

DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.22.20160366

PDF BibTeX MedRxiv

Theses & Dissertations

Deep Learning for Digitized Histology Image Analysis

Sornapudi, Sudhir

Doctoral Dissertations. 3110, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2020

Scholars' Mine

Nuclei Segmentation of Histology Images based on Deep Learning and Color Quantization and Analysis of Real World Pill Images

Sornapudi, Sudhir

Masters Theses. 7710, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2017

Scholars' Mine

Posters & Presentations

Regression based Deep Neural Networks for Epithelium Segmentation in Histopathology Images

Sudhir Sornapudi, Jason H., R. Joe Stanley, William V. Stoecker, Rodney Long, Sameer Antani, George Thoma, Rosemary Zuna, Shelliane R. Frazier

Poster presentation at 4th Annual Ozark Biomedical Initiative Research Symposium, Rolla, MO, September 2019

Poster

Update on Microscopic Image Processing: Detecting Successively Finer Structures – Architectures, Cells, Nuclei

William V. Stoecker, Haider A. Almubarak, Sudhir Sornapudi, Peng Guo, Jason Hagerty, R. Joe Stanley R.

Poster presentation at Ozark Biomedical Initiative Symposium, Rolla, MO, August 2018

Poster

Real-world Pill Segmentation based on Superpixel Merge using Region Adjacency Graph

Sudhir Sornapudi, Joe Stanley R., Hagerty J., V. Stoecker W.

Oral presentation at Ozark Biomedical Initiative Symposium, Rolla, MO, August 2017

Blog Posts & Technical Writing

Deep Learning-based Text Detection and Recognition in the Research Lab

Sornapudi, S., & Jain, P.

2019

Company Blog Medium

Education

Academic credentials in Computer Engineering with focus on Computer Vision and Deep Learning.

Ph.D. in Computer Engineering

Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla July 2020
GPA: 3.8/4.0

Dissertation: Deep Learning for Digitized Histology Image Analysis

  • Developed novel deep learning architectures for medical image analysis
  • Published 15+ peer-reviewed papers during doctoral research
  • Won Distinguished Paper Award at AMIA 2019

Master of Science in Computer Engineering

Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla April 2017
GPA: 4.0/4.0

Thesis: Nuclei Segmentation of Histology Images based on Deep Learning and Color Quantization and Analysis of Real World Pill Images

  • Focused on computer vision and image processing techniques
  • Developed superpixel-based segmentation methods

B.Tech. in Electronics and Communications Engineering

JNTU Kakinada - University College of Engineering Vizianagaram May 2014
GPA: 3.8/4.0

Final Project: Library Management System Using RFID

  • Co-Founded ESPECTRO, department's monthly technical magazine
  • Strong foundation in electronics, signal processing, and embedded systems

Industry Experience

Professional journey spanning computer vision research, AI leadership, and production system deployment.

Corteva Agriscience

Indianapolis, IN May 2020 – Present

Senior Data Scientist II

Oct 2024 – Present

Leader, Advanced Vision Intelligence

HIPO (High Potential) Employee
  • Principal Investigator and Thought Leader driving innovative AI initiatives and supervising high-impact portfolio and POC projects
  • Recognized as HIPO employee for leadership initiatives and adaptable performance contributing to organizational growth
  • Excel at strategic planning and resource management, ensuring effective project completion within Data Science and Biotechnology R&D groups

Senior Data Scientist I

Dec 2022 – Sep 2024

Leader, Applied Imaging and Analytics

  • Led team of data scientists delivering high-impact R&D computer vision projects across biotechnology, seeds, and crop protection
  • Industry Board Member at Iowa State's Translational AI Center (TrAC), leading Corteva-ISU collaboration
  • Filed 2 patents: novel canola seed loss estimation and insect bioassay methods
  • Presented self-supervised representation learning research at NAPPN 2023 conference
  • Developed innovative candidate assessment methods adopted by other team leads

Imaging Data Scientist II

Oct 2022 – Dec 2022
  • Delivered results in insect bioassays, plant phenotyping, and biotechnology applications
  • Contributed to Hackathon, LeScientific, and ICPA paper on GANs
  • Pioneered self-supervised learning adoption within the company

Associate Imaging Data Scientist

May 2020 – Oct 2022
  • Proposed and implemented imaging and computer vision solutions for predictive analytics in agriculture
  • Deployed containerized solutions using Docker, Kubernetes, and MaaS
  • Designed scalable systems with Argo workflows processing large datasets on AWS/GCP with GPU/TPU instances
  • Led innovation team applying self-supervised learning to digital agriculture challenges

MilliporeSigma, Merck KGaA

St. Louis, MO

Computer Vision Intern

May 2019 – Aug 2019
  • Designed prototype for automated digital inventory updates via chemical reagent image scanning
  • Implemented deep learning-based text detection and recognition for label information extraction
  • Reduced inventory onboarding time from minutes to seconds for laboratory scientists
  • Contributed to Brightlab hackathon: weight detection from digital balance images

U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH, HHS

Bethesda, MD

Research Scientist Co-op

Aug 2018 – Dec 2018
Distinguished Paper Award Winner
  • Designed pipeline for cervical cytology slide image processing and clean high-resolution patch data generation
  • Implemented novel graph-based approach for nuclei and cell boundary detection in complex overlapping cells
  • Evaluated CNN models for abnormal cell classification from normal cell collections
  • Delivered Brown Bag Lecture at US National Library of Medicine (Abstract)
  • Won Distinguished Paper Award at AMIA 2019 for this research

Xyken LLC

Rolla, MO

Software (Image Processing) Intern

May 2018 – Aug 2018
  • Implemented customized region-based CNN for polyp detection in colonoscopy and wireless capsule endoscopy
  • Designed annotation tool for capsule endoscopy videos
  • Developed skin segmentation system using deep learning and GMM for 3D foot modeling in prosthesis applications
  • Integrated segmentation approach into Xyken's iDr 3D Android mobile application

Naval Science & Technological Laboratory, DRDO

Visakhapatnam, India

Research Intern

Nov 2012 – Dec 2012
  • Modeled Pitch Controller for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV)
  • Implemented transfer function and designed linear controller using MATLAB control system toolbox

Academic Experience

Research and teaching roles in image processing, deep learning, and digital electronics.

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Rolla, MO

Research Assistant, Image Processing Laboratory

Nov 2015 – Jul 2020
  • Performed research in software design and development for image processing and feature extraction in automated nuclei detection using computer vision and computational intelligence
  • Investigated computational intelligence paradigms for automatic cervical cancer image recognition using deep learning and pattern recognition techniques
  • Developed novel hybrid AI algorithms for nuclei identification and epithelium segmentation using CNN, RNN, SVM, and clustering methods
  • Gained hands-on experience with data collection, feature selection, training, and evaluation pipelines

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Digital Electronics Laboratory

Aug 2016 – May 2020
  • Taught Digital Logic (CpE 2211) and Microcontrollers (CpE 3151) laboratory courses
  • Delivered teaching and assessment activities including tutorials for students
  • Provided effective and timely feedback to support student learning
  • Covered AVR microcontroller, assembly language, embedded C programming, and digital logic design using Altera Quartus II, ModelSim, and FPGA

JNTU Kakinada - University College of Engineering Vizianagaram

Vizianagaram, India

Co-Founder and Chief Designer, ESPECTRO Magazine

Apr 2013 – Apr 2014
  • Founded ECE department's monthly magazine 'ESPECTRO' to encourage creative skills and create awareness of technology trends
  • Formed and coordinated various groups to gather valuable content for publication
  • Circulated magazine copies to nearby colleges, expanding reach and impact

Get In Touch

Let's connect and discuss how we can collaborate on innovative AI and computer vision solutions.

Contact Details

Name
Sudhir Sornapudi
Phone
+1 (317) 975-1766
Email
sudhir.sornapudi@outlook.com
Location
Indianapolis, IN