“Optimizing Air Distribution to Achieve Environmental Uniformity Enhances Resource Use Efficiency in Vertical Farming”

Murat Kacira
Professor, Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, The University of Arizona

Dr. Murat Kacira is the director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center and professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Arizona. He received his PhD (2000) and MS (1996) degrees in Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering from The Ohio State University. Murat’s primary focus is on resource-use efficiency of controlled environment agriculture systems through integrated crop and production system sensing, monitoring, alternative energy, and environmental control applications. He interacts with stake holders through technical consultations, organizing and presenting in crop production and engineering short courses with hands-on educational workshops and grower conferences, and presenting at national and international conferences. He teaches engineering courses on sensors and instrumentation for controlled environment agriculture and engineering thermodynamics and biosystems thermal engineering. He is a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), American Society of Horticultural Sciences (ASHS) and the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS).