Nassim Saneie is an Electronic Engineer turned entrepreneur with extensive experience in the electronics and power industries. With over 15 years of experience, She now specializes in project management, leading projects that integrate advanced technology with practical applications. Nassim is skilled in managing teams, driving projects to completion, and innovating within the fields of electronic systems, renewable and power solutions. Her approach combines technical expertise with a strategic vision, ensuring projects are efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective. [He/She] is passionate about advancing the industry and sharing her knowledge

Nassim’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: How BDC supports the Tech Ecosystem

Dr. Fadi Al-Daoud is the greenhouse vegetable specialist at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). His portfolio includes vegetables, fruits, and cannabis grown in controlled environments, such as greenhouses, warehouses and vertical farms. After earning his doctorate from the Department of Biology at McMaster University with a specialization in molecular plant pathology, Fadi worked at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and in the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph in Ontario. He has over 20 years experience conducting applied and fundamental research on horticultural and field crops, and communicating his research to the scientific community and agricultural producers. Today, he works in collaboration with producers, researchers, and industry partners to advance controlled environment agriculture in Ontario.

Fadi’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: Finding the Right Light Recipe , A review of recent greenhouse vegetable supplemental lighting research at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Harrow Research and Development Centre.

Dr.Saeid Mobini is a Horticulture and Plant Physiology expert with over 20 years of experience in controlled environment agriculture, soilless culture, and plant breeding. He is currently the Phytotron Manager at Queen’s University, Biology Department. Dr. Mobini is an Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University and at the Department of Horticultural Science and Landscape, FUM. He has extensive experience in LED lighting trials, and he has served as a Horticultural Consultant for over 14 years in Canadian greenhouses and vertical farms. Dr. Mobini has practical experience in scaling up R&D results for indoor/vertical farming. He is also AVF North America’s Director of Education & Research, creating bridges between different fields of expertise in soilless culture, lighting, and climate control, AI, IMP, HVAC, business development, automation, and robotics.

Presentation Topic & Description (Please provide an overview of your presentation)
Vertical Farming Onward & upward
Let’s explore the future of farming with Vertical Farming! Discover how agriculture has evolved over time, the challenges it faces, and the solutions that are propelling us onward and upward toward an agricultural revolution.

Dr.Saeid Mobini’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: From Soil to Skyscraper: The Evolution and Future of Farming

Rita Sterne, PhD (Mgmt), is Project Manager at the Greenhouse Technology Network (GTN), a consortium of five research centres led by Niagara College. In this role, Rita acts as a “boundary-spanner”, connecting research and subject matter experts with greenhouse-related technology businesses in southern Ontario and connecting those technology businesses with GTN’s project funding. Rita is a strategy expert and completed her post-doctoral research on value creation with robotics in Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable sector. Rita has a passion for understanding how SMEs can better navigate fluid environments, particularly at a time when our need for technology solutions across agriculture settings is so pressing.

Dr.Rita Sterne’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: Networks and SMEs: Climate and Collaboration Opportunities
What is the Greenhouse Technology Network (GTN) and how is this research network helping Ontario’s greenhouse-related technology businesses? In this short presentation, Rita will share how ag-technology solutions for the greenhouse industry are addressing Sustainable Development Goals and how research centre members of the network are helping SMEs grow their networks, their businesses, and helping to secure funding to support greenhouse-related innovation.

Dr Luke Fountain is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow in the Space Crop Production team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, focusing on understanding candidate space crop nitrogen uptake responses to elevated CO2 space environments and optimizing crop nitrogen uptake for space crop production. He completed his Ph.D. (plant and soil science) and MBiolSci Master’s degree (molecular biology) at The University of Sheffield, UK, and is a member of the Royal Society of Biology. Luke is passionate about human space exploration and is an aspiring astronaut, applying to the latest ESA astronaut call. His research interests include space crop production, plant-microbe interactions, nitrogen cycling, plant nitrogen preference, and stomatal biology, and he has presented at numerous conferences, including the World Congress of Soil Science, the International Horticultural Congress, and the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research Annual Meeting. Luke has also published several papers, with his most recent manuscript published in Nature Food. Presentation Topic & Description
Title: SpaCEA: The next ‘giant leap’ for sustainable agriculture? This presentation will focus on space crop production, why it is important for future human space exploration, and current challenges faced when growing plants in the space environment. While factors such as microgravity are SpaCEA-specific challenges, many are also applicable to terrestrial controlled environment agriculture. Some of these challenges will be discussed along with current research efforts and technologies that could provide solutions to these challenges. Solving these challenges will not only enable sustained exploration of the Moon and Mars but will also move us closer to sustainable agriculture on Earth.

Luke’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: The next ‘giant leap’ for sustainable agriculture?

Davi Souza is a Brazilian greenhouse specialist, researcher in AgTech and Space Farming, and consultant with more than 6 years of technical knowledge and experience in CEA and indoor farming. He is an Electrical Engineering student at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) linked to the Environmental Control Laboratory (LCA) at the School of Agricultural Engineering (FEAGRI/Unicamp). During his career, Davi worked as a researcher and analog astronaut at the first space analog station in South America. He was an intern at a vertical and urban farm in Brazil and also became a visiting student in Saudi Arabia to research advanced technologies for desert agriculture. More recently, Davi has launched Space Farming 101, the first online space farming course for space farmers and terrestrial growers, as well as students and professionals interested in controlled environment agriculture and the future of farming systems on Earth and in space.
Previous speaking experience: Besides his professional experiences, Davi collaborated with international groups and entities such as SEDS Brazil, SALAD Project/Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, INCBAC Institute, and Deep Space Initiative. Together with his contributions to advancing scientific knowledge in modern agriculture and science communication, Davi already had the opportunity to present his research at renowned conferences, such as the International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD), the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), the UNOOSA Workshop, and the International Astronautical Congress (IAC). In February 2021, Davi had the opportunity to be nominated by the Brazilian Space Agency as the Young Space Leader in Brazil, while representing his country in the international Young Space Leader (YSP) award, held by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
Presentation Topic & Description
The presentation titled “Space Farming Technologies: from Space to Earth, from Earth to Space” will introduce the importance of Space Farming to ensure long-term terrestrial sustainability while overcoming the impacts of climate change impacts. With that, the presentation will discuss technological solutions developed for space farming that are benefiting the CEA and AgTech sector on Earth, such as LED lighting, aeroponics, environmental control, and vertical farming systems.

Davi Souza’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: Space Farming Technologies: from Space to Earth, from Earth to Space

Title speech: Hasti’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: Lumesmart Inc ‘s Research partnership with the Niagara College Business and Commercialization Innovation Center

Nirajit Ajai, a Mechanical Engineer with years of automotive industry experience, holds a master’s degree in Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Toronto Metropolitan University . With over 3 years of expertise in SR&ED Tax Credit and grant funding, Nirajit specializes in helping Canadian companies navigate the funding landscape and secure government funding. He actively mentors and conducts webinars for various business organizations and incubators, bridging the gap between engineering and entrepreneurship to foster growth and development.

Nirajit Ajai’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: Grow Ontario Market Initiative AgriInnovate (Federal Loan for large projects) , Agriscience , Government Grants SR&ED Tax Credits, IRAP and R&D

A 2-year employee of Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens
Adelphine Kabedi’s speech topic at the Lumesmart EarthDay Conference 2024 was: AgriMentor: A mentorship program for women farmers