Agri Tech Innovation Speakers & Tour

Morning Program

Registration, meals and speakers will take place at the SFU Surrey Campus (13450 102 Ave), Room 5240

8:00 – Breakfast and registration

8:40 – Introductions & Welcome, Shauna MacKinnon, BC Agriculture and Climate Action Research Network and Laila Benkrima, BC Centre for Agritech Innovation

8:50 – Development and application of 3D printed sensors in agriculture, Woo Soo Kim, SFU Mechatronic

9:20 – Soil analysis powered by machine learning and spectroscopy, Austin Rothwell, MirraTerra

9:50 – Cloud-based data analytics platform for agriculture, Jonathan McIntyre, i-Open Technologies

10:20 – Break

10:30 – Application of remote sensing in crop and land management, Bing Lu, SFU

11:00 – Yeast-based biopesticide, Erin Gilchrist, Renaissance

11:30 – Climate-smart fertilizer to deliver micro-nutrients, Farah Nourmohammadian, Lucent Bioscience

12:00 – Lunch

12:45 – Board buses

Afternoon Program

For the afternoon site visits participants will be split into 3 buses. Each bus will rotate through the 3 sites.

1-5:30pm – Agri-tech bus tour

Evening Program

The BC Institute of Agrologists’ networking reception will take place from 6-8pm at the SFU Surrey Campus SRYC 2740 Lecture Room (room finder). Please note that separate registration is required.

WOO SOO KIM

Professor, School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering, Simon Fraser University Scientific Director, BC Centre for Agritech Innovation

Dr. Woo Soo Kim is Professor in the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Scientific Director at B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation. Prior to SFU, he spent two years as a Senior Research Scientist at Xerox Corporation and as a Post-doctoral Associate at MIT. He’s an editorial board member for multiple IEEE journals that focus on printed and flexible electronics and advanced sensor research. Dr. Kim is actively engaged in agricultural networks, serving on the steering committee of B.C. Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Network, and as a member of Surrey’s Agriculture and Food Policy Advisory Committee. His research focuses on the engineering aspect of Advanced 3D printing for diverse sensing applications.

AUSTIN ROTHWELL

Machine Learning Manager, Miraterra

Austin Rothwell is the Machine Learning Manager at Miraterra, a startup focused on revolutionizing soil measurement. Austin brings his expertise in machine learning, signal processing, and software engineering to support the development of a novel sensor capable of delivering accurate, fast, and affordable soil testing results.

JONATHON MCINTYRE

Chief Technology Officer, i-Open Technology

Jonathon is a Geographer and Chief Technology Officer for the i-Open Group and has worked with spatial data and data integration for over 30 years. He has worked across multiple industries including natural resources, utilities, municipal, and real Estate with a focus on spatial data access and integration. Recently, he and his team have been part of the Standard Data Platform for Autonomous Agriculture team at the Digital Technology Supercluster. During this time, they have worked with the consortium to provide a data platform (Agrilyze) to industry and academics that allows data collection, access, aggregation, anonymization, mapping, analysis of varied data sources in a simple, secure, and easily accessible way. They continue to look for ways to support growers to leverage existing data or incorporate new data in easier more, cost effective ways while focusing on data security, ethical use, and interoperability.

BING LU

Assistant Professor, Geography, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Bing Lu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University. His research is focused on remote sensing (e.g., drone- and satellite-based imaging) and its applications in ecosystem monitoring. He has been trying to use remote sensing as an Agritech for evaluating crop health and soil health and investigating the impacts of climate change and extreme events (e.g., heatwave, flooding).

ERIN GILCHRIST

Manager, Scientific Affairs, Renaissance BioScience

Erin Gilchrist is the Manager of Scientific Affairs at Renaissance BioScience, a biotechnology company that specializes in creating yeast-based solutions to agricultural challenges. She has a Ph. D. in Biology from UBC, and over 20 years’ experience developing and advising on projects related to biotechnology, genetics, and crop genomics. At Renaissance BioScience, she coordinates cross-functional projects in R&D, operations, and commercial areas, assisting with the innovation pipeline of their RNAi-based biopesticides. Prior to her position at Renaissance, Dr. Gilchrist was Senior Scientist at Anandia Labs, where she established their cannabis cultivation operation and laboratory testing facilities.

FARAH NOUR

Chief Science Officer, Lucent Bioscience

Farah is a motivated, determined, and innovative scientist working towards creating a more sustainable future in the agricultural sector. Farah is an AgriTech Expert, leading research groups for 20+ years with a successful history of competitive, grant-winning, multimillion-dollar research projects and fruitful development of novel patented clean technologies. She has had a long-tenured career as a professor and faculty member and has a Ph.D. in chemistry and material science.