Join us for "Celebrate Research," a lunchtime event featuring research presentations from two Penn State Great Valley faculty members, Dr. Eric W. Stein and Dr. Joanna F. DeFranco.
Thursday, February 1, 12–1:30 p.m.
Main Building, Room 130-131
Lunch provided
Register in advance
Growing Food Sustainably as if You Lived on Mars: Opportunities, Challenges and Impacts
Dr. Eric W. Stein
Over $500 million of venture capital has been invested in the past 5-7 years in methods of growing food indoors under controlled conditions. In this talk, we examine the reasons why we need to rethink open field farming methods and the opportunities offered by new technologies such as hydroponics, LED lighting, instrumentation and data management methods. We also will explore some of the challenges posed and areas of relevant research. Finally, we will look at the likely impacts of these new business operations on economic development and communities.
Dr. Eric W. Stein, associate professor of management science and information systems at Penn State. Dr. Stein has a Ph.D. in Managerial Science from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Physics from Amherst College. Dr. Stein teaches graduate classes in entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, creativity and management and has been with the university for over twenty years. He has published numerous books, articles and academic papers related to business and served as a consultant to private and public organizations. He runs an indoor vertical R&D farm facility named e3garden to study the operational challenges posed by indoor agriculture. He is currently on sabbatical 2017-2018 to study innovation processes and measurement.
The Internet of Things and its Impact on the Engineering Skill Set
Dr. Joanna F. DeFranco
As the Internet of Things (IoT) infiltrates almost every domain, so will careers in the energy, healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing sectors. Drawing on published projects and business collaborations, this presentation will explore the job market and the skill set needed for engineers to design and implement IoT products.
Dr. Joanna F. DeFranco, assistant professor of software engineering, earned her Ph.D. in computer and information science from New Jersey Institute of Technology, M.S. in computer engineering from Villanova University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Math from Penn State University. She has worked as an Electronics Engineer for the Navy as well as a Software Engineer at Motorola. Her research interests include software engineering teams, effective teamwork, internet of things, and software intensive critical systems.