The Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility is looking for a research assistant with knowledge of strawberry production and/or Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). The technician will assist in a research project that will investigate and optimize strawberry production, both in the greenhouse and under full indoor production scenarios. As part of the Weston Foundation’s Homegrown Innovation Challenge, this project will be researching strawberry plant physiological growth responses that will (i) investigate light quality and quantity and their effect on strawberry production and shelf life, (ii) test growing media alternatives that can improve production sustainability, and (iii) evaluate technologies that can improve energy efficiency in CEA systems. The desired outcomes for this program include: (i) establishment of a lighting profile that provides improved strawberry quality and shelf stability in an indoor production environment, as well as in the greenhouse in the form of supplemental lighting for improved off-season production; (ii) development of an indoor runner production strategy to free up valuable greenhouse production space; (iii) development/testing of eco- friendly growing media for strawberry production; (iv) elucidation of the engineering criteria needed to design a scale strawberry production facility which includes energy requirements and inputs to HVAC design considerations; and (v) an ongoing assessment of energy use in the systems being proposed to determine the most energy efficient approach moving forward.

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