Robust and Intelligent Optimization of ControAgriculture System for Food Productivity and Nutritional Security
Lead PI:
zhaohui tong
Abstract
In this project, we empass recent advances in wastewater treatment, food security, data analytics, and machine intelligence.We propose to study novel optimized technology-driven controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) systems that can achieve high-areal vegetable productivity to increase food and nutritional security of urban communities with low operating cost and reduced energy consumption.Our project focuses on two core CPS research areas, i.e., control and data analytics, inspired by the design and operation of a Pilot-Testbed at Georgia Tech to couple the water and nutrients in domestic wastewater (DWW) to high-productivity CEAs. Food production in urban CEAs must overcome land acquisition constraints, requiring DWW-CEA operating cost reductions accompanied by increased productivity and nutrition. However, it is highly challenging to control and optimize this complex system of subsystems. In our case, we need to coordinate the Pilot-Plant and Pilot-Farm, examine their inter-correlation, and support dynamic and robust optimal decisions to achieve the highest yield, while simultaneously satisfying various performance specifications, i.e., nutrient composition, operating cost and energy consumption, with the guarantee that food safety requirements are met. Moreover, the profound impact of numerous operating conditions and parameters on vegetable phenotype, yield and nutrient composition during different growth periods needs to be thoroughly understood. We must progress from model-driven CPS fundamentals to an integrated data-driven model-based approach.
zhaohui tong
Dr. Zhaohui Tong is currently an associate professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Changsha University of Science and Technology in China. She earned her first M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, with a concentration in biopolymer synthesis at Tianjin University of Science and Technology in China. Under the guidance of Dr. Yulin Deng, she earned her Ph. D. and second M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in organic-inorganic nanocomposite synthesis, from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2007. She had worked as a consulting engineer in the Energy and Chemical Division of Ch2mHill Engineering Ltd. for two years. In 2010 she joined the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Florida as an Assistant Professor in the Biological Engineering program and was promoted the associate professor in 2017. Tong’s research interests include the conversion of renewable resources to bioproducts (biochemicals, biomaterials, and biofuels), bioprocessing, sustainable process control, and modeling.
Performance Period: 10/01/2022 - 05/31/2024
Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology
Sponsor: USDA
Award Number: 2020-67021-38586