Dr. Michael B. Farrar is currently a Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Australia. He received his PhD degree from the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia) in 2021. His research expertise is in hyperspectral imaging, machine learning and soil–plant nutrient cycling in intensive and organic agriculture systems. He works in partnership with the industry to solve complex problems and develop novel methods for food production and processing. He aims to develop emerging technologies to make food production more sustainable, reduce waste and improve agricultural practices and management using hyperspectral imaging and biochar. He has developed hyperspectral technology to predict soil carbon in organic farming systems where biochar and biochar-based fertilizers are being applied. His method will have a large impact on the way farmers participating in carbon credit systems can quantify soil carbon. His aim is to make biochar-based fertilizers economically viable for end users by investigating their efficiency within a range of different agriculture/horticultural cropping systems.
Prof. Helen M. Wallace is currently the Executive (VP,
SVP, CFO, CTO, etc.) at the School of Biology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. She has over 35
years of experience in bee and pollination research. She received her doctorate from the University of Queensland in July 1994. She has strong interests in how pollination affects fruit set and fruit quality in horticultural crops and the biology and management of stingless bees. She is also interested in bees and pollination in natural ecosystems, especially trees. In recent years, she has used metabarcoding and other sequencing techniques to understand bee foraging behavior in crops, how bees forage on pollen, nectar and resin in different landscapes, and bee diets.
Prof. Shahla Hosseini Bai is an Associate Professor and
Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Australia. She has extensive experience in agroforestry, soil biochemistry, biochar, hyperspectral imaging and post-harvest food processing. She uses transdisciplinary approaches in her research to address key challenges in environmental and food production systems. Shahla applies innovative technologies to decrease farm inputs and decrease food loss. Shahla currently leads a transdisciplinary research portfolio to develop biochar-based fertilizers with the aim to decrease farming footprints and develop and implement hyperspectral imaging to predict soil fertility and food quality. Her research for international development in the Pacific and Bangladesh aims to improve food and nutrition security. Her research in Papua New Guinea is centered on improving post-harvest practices for canarium nuts and optimizing agroforestry systems. In Bangladesh, her research aims to improve fertilizer use efficiency. She was awarded Researcher of Year by Australia New Zealand
Biochar Industry Group (2022) and Pro Vice-Chancellor Excellence in research impact (2023).
