Prof. Ronald Corstanje
Professor of Environmental Data Science and Head of Centre
Cranfield Environment Centre
Cranfield University
H - index: 38
Keynote Title: Technological Innovation Enabling a Step-Change in Engineering Resilience into Our Food and Water Security?
The consequences and implications of the substantive challenges posed by environmental change will require agile and transformative adaptation and mitigation measures in our food and water systems. Key is the transformative nature underpinned by the technology of environmental solutions through a systems approach, spanning sensor and measurement technology, systems modelling, agri-environmental informatics, data and decision science. Over the coming years, the Environmental Sustainability Theme, and Cranfield Environment Centre, will build from significant investments in technology and infrastructure from Cranfield University Urban Observatory established through UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC) funding (1.05£ million investment), to state of the art Agri-Tech sensor systems and a new bespoke Agri-Informatics building (4.7£ million investment) and the recent 69£ million investment in the Cranfield Hydrogen Integration Incubator (CH2i). Our production and consumption systems interact with the environment in complex ways. Within the theme, and across the University, we use and develop state of the art technologies with which to enable sustainable solutions along the chain of economic systems including water resource management, biodiversity, soils, food supply, sustainable aviation, and land use. We underpin technology such as advanced sensing, AI and digital platforms in digital decisionmaking platforms which can handle uncertain and complex situations, taking a transdisciplinary approach to their design, integrating expertise and methods from across different disciplines. The capability of technology to engineer and ensure resilience into our food and water systems is further illustrated through case solutions such as resilient wheat production in semi-arid regions, nature based solutions for the urban environment, circular economy through hydrogen production from waste and in sustainable aviation. We demonstrate how resilience can be engineered into these technological solutions, ensuring its endurance given the changing environmental pressures.
Professor Ron Corstanje holds a chair in Environmental Data Sciences in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Cranfield University. He also leads the Cranfield Environment Centre as Head of Centre. The focus of Cranfield Environment Centre is to transform the science of environmental solutions through a systems approach, spanning sensor and measurement technology, systems modelling, environmental informatics, data and decision science. The Centre covers research on air quality and climate change, soil quality, crop growth and monitoring, agro-ecosystems, natural capital, resilience, ecosystem goods and services. Professor Ron Corstanje holds degrees from Wageningen Agricultural University and the University of Florida. Prior to joining Cranfield, he has worked at Proctor and Gamble in Belgium, and at Rothamsted Research in the UK. His research interests have always centred around the development of data sciences, applied statistics and modelling to achieve a better understanding of how the agri-environment functions in space and time, and use this understanding to provide effective tools for a more sustainable management of the agri-environment. He leads an international research programme with funded research activities in Africa, Asia, the America’s as well as the UK and Europe, leading important research programmes such as the Strategic Priorities Fund ‘Constructing a Digital Environment’; a UK wide research effort to transform digital technologies for environmental science.
