The LESA Plant Science team is pursuing research activities on the impacts of improved lighting, sensing and control systems for controlled environment agriculture (CEA) including vertical farms. By blending research in applied engineering and plant physiology, our research is aimed at improving energy efficiency and increasing crop yield while improving plant nutritional content. 

On-going projects include research on the effect of spectral changes on the growth of lettuce, tomato and strawberry in indoor growth environments (GLASE project). We are also interested in how high-frequency pulsed LED lighting can be used to save electricity in vertical farms. On the sensor side, we are studying phytoelectrical signaling and finally, we have started to study the effect of lighting changes on the growth and pigment development of microgreens.

Publications