Professor of Horticulture and Product Physiology
Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Prof Leo Marcelis is a distinguished researcher specializing in plant physiology, crop monitoring, computational modeling, and experimentation. He is passionate about exploring the functionality of horticultural crops, focusing on assimilate, water, and nutrient fluxes, as well as sink/source interactions under abiotic constraints. As chair of the Horticulture and Product Physiology group at Wageningen University, Leo exemplifies his commitment to educating others and promoting sustainable high-quality crop production in vertical farms and greenhouses. 

Assistant Professor, Plant Science Group
Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Dr Silvère Vialet-Chabrand has made significant contributions to understanding plant responses to fluctuating light conditions and stomatal behavior including developing dynamic models for predicting stomatal conductance and investigating the role of blue and red light in stomatal dynamics. He has also explored the use of thermal imaging for assessing stomatal behavior, leaf energy balance and the use of LED lighting in horticulture. Other areas of his work focus on plant biology, ecophysiology, and micrometeorology, extending to water use efficiency in plants and the development of low-cost imaging systems for plant health assessments.    

Research Associate Professor, Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
Seoul National University, Republic of Korea 

Dr Elias Kaiser is an expert on leaf-level photosynthesis in greenhouses, vertical farms and the open field. Before moving to South Korea, Elias was Assistant Professor in the Horticulture and Product Physiology group at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. His current research interests include the dynamics of photosynthesis under naturally fluctuating light intensities, new approaches for rapid phenotyping as well as long-term monitoring of plant functional traits, and leaf photosynthesis acclimation and plant growth under different light spectra and under naturally fluctuating light intensities. He is a member of the Ecological Sensing AI Lab at Seoul National University, working on crossing the scales between leaf physiology and planetary carbon and water flows. 

Professor, Horticultural Sciences Department  
University of Florida, USA 

Prof Kevin Folta is an influential research scientist leading a lab focused on plant genomics, development, physiology, and metabolism. His current research interests include flavor control in rosaceous crops and light-mediated plant processes. Kevin is also a prolific science communicator, having delivered over 500 public lectures and authored numerous lay articles on science, food, and farming. He hosts the popular Talking Biotech podcast, which has produced over 250 weekly episodes with 1.3 million downloads. Additionally, Kevin trains professionals in science communication, particularly in the fields of science and agriculture, to raise the profile of these disciplines. His academic leadership experience includes a 5.5-year tenure as Chairman of the Horticultural Sciences Department, managing key areas within the faculty. 

Chair and Founding member 
Association for Vertical Farming EU, Germany 

Christine Zimmerman-Loessl, is a key figure in advancing sustainable agriculture through her leadership of the Association for Vertical Farming. With a background in political science, sinology and philosophy which sparked her interest for international collaboration, Christine founded the Asia Network Information Center – combining her talents for projects, research and innovation. A move to China led Christine to become the representative for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in China, leading the German-Chinese Management Institute and initiating key environmental protection and poverty alleviation projects, as well as leading women’s empowerment through the All China Women’s Federation programs for women. In 2013, inspired by her son’s interests in Vertical Farming she founded the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF), “raising awareness and building a network of like-minded people for the implementation of Vertical Farming around the world.”