Inquiry with impact

AgTech

Emerging technologies have the potential to dramatically reshape the agri-food system. The Ag Tech initiative at UC Santa Cruz applies interdisciplinary expertise to guide engineers, activists, farmers, and others on a path to socially responsible technology for a sustainable future. 

The Institute for Social Transformation and CITRIS led the initial convening of faculty across campus to found the AgTech initiative, under the umbrella of our role in the Public Interest Technology-University Network. 

Initial visioning efforts

In October 2020, we gathered faculty from several departments for a preliminary discussion about what a more coordinated AgTech focus could look like at UCSC. The image below represents those early collective thoughts about our campus’s unique and distinctive strengths.

UCSC AgTech wordcloud

Research coordination

As a next step, we hosted a symposium on April 23, 2021, where faculty, graduate students and researchers from all five divisions of UCSC were invited to share their research and participate in in-depth discussion to better understand each other’s work and identify possible synergies and areas for collaboration. The symposium featured 3-4 minute lightning talks, where researchers shared a relevant aspect of their work and how they believe it relates to AgTech. The event also included small group discussions and a panel discussion about how to work together across fields and disciplines. 

The following participants and research topics from across divisions were involved in early AgTech research coordination efforts: 

Arts Division

  • Melissa Gwyn, Associate Professor of Art: “Rust Belt Solutions: Healing Land and People”
  • Jennifer Parker, Professor of Art: “OpenLab Collaborative Research Center and The Algae Society: Bio Art & Design”

Baskin School of Engineering

  • Aaron Hunter, Ph.D. student in Computer Science and Engineering: “Open Source Autonomous Vehicle Controller” (slide presentation)
  • Mohammad Jafari, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Applied Mathematics: “Towards Sustainable Agriculture Technology by Using Machine Learning Techniques”
  • Steve McGuire, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering: “Multimodal Scene Understanding in Field Robotics”
  • Rebecca DuBois, Associate Professor of Biomolecular Engineering: “New vaccines for agriculture”
  • Ricardo Sanfelice, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director of Cyber-Physical Research Center: “Agriculture Cyber-Physical Systems (ACPS): Opportunities and Challenges”
  • Brian Nguyen, Ph.D. Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering: “The Continuous Monitoring of Nitrate Content in Soil using Time-Domain-Reflectivity”
  • Katia Obraczka, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering: “IoT for Environmental Monitoring: Applications to Wildfire Mitigation and Preparedness”
  • Robert Wilson, Postdoctoral Researcher in Electrical and Computer Engineering: “Psychophysiological Modeling for the Improvement of Human-Robot Interaction”
  • Zouheir Rezki, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering: “Agro Health Monitoring via Wireless Communication Networks”

Physical and Biological Sciences Division

  • Grant Hartzog, Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology (MCD); “Global and Community Health: Opportunities for AgTech” (slide presentation)
  • J. Xavier Prochaska, Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics: “Deep Learning of Sea Surface Temperature Patterns to Identify Ocean Extremes” (slide presentation)
  • Sylvie Childress, Director of UCSC Greenhouses: “Opportunities for AgTech connections at the UCSC Greenhouses” (slide presentation)
  • Ingrid Parker, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Faculty Executive Director of the UCSC Greenhouses: “Cannabis & Hemp Initiative for Interdisciplinary Plant Studies”

Social Sciences Division

  • Jeffrey Bury, Professor of Environmental Studies: “Agtech in the Andes: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Livelihoods in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru” (slide presentation)
  • Shun-Nan Chiang, Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology: “How Contested Agri-Innovations for Nutrition Co-Exist in the Same Infrastructural Environment” (slide presentation)
  • Jon Detka, Ph.D. Student in Environmental Studies: “Developing low-cost leaf wetness and fog event sensors for plant disease monitoring”
  • Gregory Gilbert, Professor of Environmental Studies: “Computerized tomography for tree health and hazard assessment”
  • Julie Guthman, Professor of Community Studies: “The funding pitch as window onto the limitations of Silicon Valley ag tech”
  • Michael Loik, Professor of Environmental Studies: “Trade-offs between glasshouse conditions and plant production” (slide presentation)
  • Chris Benner, Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology and Director of the Institute for Social Transformation and Everett Program: “Delivering Insecurity: E-commerce and the Future of Work in Food Retail” (slide presentation)
  • Stacy Philpott, Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems: “Insects, community gardens, and ag-technology”
  • Maywa Montenegro, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies: “Digital Agriculture & Surveillance Capitalism”
  • Lissa Caldwell, Professor of Anthropology: “What If? Hacktivism and Anticipatory Food Justice”
  • Pallab Sarker, Associate Research Professor in Environmental Studies: “Recycling microalgal co-product to develop ocean-friendly fish-free feed for sustainable aquaculture”
  • Damian Parr, Joji Muramoto, Darryl Wong, and Jan Perez, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS): “Farmer creation, adaptation and adoption of technologies: research, extension and evaluation strategies”
  • Summer Sullivan, Ph.D. Student in Environmental Studies: “Different Fields, Different Farms?: An Investigation into the Synergies and Frictions into Ag-Tech and Agroecology”