Our Team

Directors of the CEA Innovation Center

Scott Lowman, Ph.D.

Co-Director, Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center Vice President, Applied Research, Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Michael Evans, Ph.D.

Co-Director, Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Michael Schwarz, Ph.D.

Associate Director, Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center Director, Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech

VT and IALR Team Leads

Kaylee South, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Chuansheng Mei, Ph.D.

Chief Scientist, Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Sajeewa Amaradasa, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist, Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

John Bovay, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Kohl Junior Faculty Fellow; Dept of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Yun Yin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor; Food Science & Technology at Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Research Associates and Technicians

Amy Turner

Laboratory Research Associate, Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Robert Chretien

Laboratory Research Associate, Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Jacob Haymore

Undergraduate Technician - South Lab; Location: Danville; Supervisor: Dr. Kaylee South

Tiffany Barnhardt

Research Technician - Canon VA Inc Collaborative Project

VT Graduate and Undergraduate Students

Praveen Gajula

PhD Student  Virginia Tech Location: Blacksburg Supervisor: Dr. Kaylee South

Brandan A. Shur

PhD Student  Virginia Tech Location: Blacksburg Supervisor: Dr. Michael Evans

Colin P. Fite

MS Student Virginia Tech Location: Blacksburg Supervisor: Dr. Kaylee South

Ellie Gregorio

VT MS Student; Blacksburg Location; Supervisor: Dr. Michael Evans

Alexander Yurista

Student; Blacksburg Location; Supervisor: Dr. Michael Evans

Abbie Dimaren-Hall

VT Undergraduate Student; Blacksburg Location; Supervisor: Dr. Michael Evans

Past Team Members

Mitchell Doss

Past Graduate Student – M.S. Supervisor: Dr. Michael Evans & Research Technician; Current Position: IALR Value Chain Coordinator

Ekene Tharpe

Past Graduate Student – M.S. Supervisor: Dr. Michael Evans; Current Position: Head Grower at Babylon Micro-Farms