Urban Food Lab
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A vertical farming research team aimed at exploring our own fields on the platform of an aquaponic vertical farm in the Makerspace.
NYU Urban Food Lab is an aquaponic vertical farming class in which students learn about sustainability and farming by running their own mini-projects connecting their fields to the farm. Vertical farming allows produce to be grown in urban areas in a controlled environment, allowing for year-round growing without the environmentally costly effects of conventional farming. Mini projects range from making cosmetics out of fresh farm grown flowers and model simulation of harvesting scattered light with mirrors to a survey of the different farms within the city.
Current Projects in the Urban Food Lab
- The Mycology Group at NYU: Growing and incorporating edible mushrooms into the farm
- Policy Group: Writing science policy memos on urban farming
- Optical Fiber Daylight System: Redirecting sunlight through optical fibers to reduce LED light use
- Air Quality Analysis: Measuring how plants affect air quality within the farm
- Composting: Developing composting systems for the farm
Methods & Technologies
- Arduino/Raspberry Pi
- Artificial Intelligence
- Aquaponics & Aeroponics
- Plasma Arc Gasification
- Anaerobic Digestion
- Controlled Environment Agriculture
- Combined Heat and Power Generation
- Composting
- Climate Engineering
- Proposal Writing
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Experimental Design
- Plant and fish biology
- Plant and fish upkeep
- Sustainability
- Vertical Farming
Areas of Interest
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Sustainabiilty
- Composting
Partners
- NYU Office of Sustainability
- NYU Dining Halls
- The Association for Vertical Farming
- Urban Futures Lab
- NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability
- NYU Urban Farm Lab
- Food Computer Project
Faculty Advisor
- Molly Ritmiller
- Email: mer497@nyu.edu
Student Leadership
- Email: urbanfoodlab@nyu.edu
Team News & Highlights
- Vertical Farming Takes Root at NYU’s Urban Food Lab (Feb. 20, 2020)
- NYU Tandon welcomes the World Science Academy to its “farm team” (February 13, 2020)
- Tandon’s Newest Crop of High-Tech Farmers Garner NYU Green Grant (April 9, 2019)
