Dr. Dongfang “Emily” Zhou is the latest postdoctoral associate of Virginia Tech to be based at IALR as a member of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center (CEAIC). The Center is a partnership between the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech and the Applied Research division at IALR. Dr. Zhou is in charge of the indoor vertical hydroponics component which includes conducting various research projects related to indoor agriculture. She has experience in hydroponics leafy greens, greenhouse and nursery ornamental productions, plant growth regulators, seed germination and seed biology. Dr. Zhou earned her Bachelor of Science degree in HVAC Engineering from China and her Master of Science and Ph.D. in Horticulture from Virginia Tech. Oral presentations of her research work have been featured at several international and national conferences.
Skillsets:
- Plant Biology – Effects of plant growth regulators on ornamental production, seed germination tests.
- Greenhouse Management – Experimental design and operation of greenhouse research for herbaceous and woody floriculture crops, vegetables and herbs.
- Hydroponics and Vertical Farming – Nutrient film technique (NFT), deep water culture, Ebb & Flow systems, HydroStaker systems.
- Data Analysis – Statistical Analysis System (SAS), MS Excel, and SigmaPlot.
Presentations (oral):
- American Society for Horticulture Science 2020 Annual Conference (virtual). August, 2020.
- American Society for Horticulture Science 2019 Annual July, 2019. Las Vegas, NV.
- American Society for Horticulture Science 2018 Annual July-August, 2018. Washington, DC.
- The 12th Triennial Conference of the International Society of Seed Science. September, 2017. Monterey, CA, USA.
