Team

Sustainable Agriculture and Clean Energy Technology Demonstrations. Expertise includes identifying and demonstrating technologies and practices that will help the agricultural industry become more sustainable, specializing in agrivoltaics and controlled environment agriculture.

County Extension Dept. Head
Agriculture & Natural Resources County Agent I

Professor Birnie’s work at Rutgers is highly interdisciplinary and encompasses all levels of solar technology, its practical application, and the key optical and electrical measurements necessary to quantify new materials and their properties.

Horticultural Engineering, Energy, Hydroponics

Director and Farm Manager, Animal Farm, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers Cook Campus

Andrew is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Certified Energy Auditor (CEA), and Certified Measurement & Verification Professional (CMVP), as well as a Councilman in Somerville, New Jersey. Andrew brings expertise in energy engineering, policy, planning, and project development to Rutgers to drive progress toward the Rutgers greenhouse gas reduction and energy management goals.

Dr. Florence Dou is a materials scientist with a background in quantum dots for light-driven chemical reactions. She was an Eagleton Science Fellow with Rutgers University from 2024-2025 and is currently a BPU Project Fellow, placed in the Division of Clean Energy at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, working on agrivoltaics and various NJ solar incentive programs.

Dr. Carla Gavilan is a Soil Scientist with a background in Agronomy, Plant sciences, and Pedology, with a particular interest in using geospatial and proximal/remote sensing tools to enhance the understanding of pedogenic processes at different scales.

Daniel Gimenez is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences. He is interested in the movement of water and transport of chemicals in soils at the profile, landscape and continental scales.

Dr. Serpil Guran is the Director of the Rutgers EcoComplex. Her responsibilities include management of the EcoComplex operations, programs, business incubator and facilities, as well as providing vision and leadership in establishing the EcoComplex as a nationally recognized center for the commercialization of environmental and alternative energy technologies.

Peter Nitzsche is an agricultural and natural resources agent for Morris County and supervises field work at Rutgers’ Snyder Research Farm in Pittstown, NJ

Ross Rucker is a graduate of Purdue University and Rutgers University, with degrees in Materials Science & Engineering. He has a background in solar cell materials and module design, and some of the work he has done for the Rutgers Agrivoltaic Program formed the basis for his doctoral thesis. 

Ethan D. Schoolman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Ecology. Prior to coming to Rutgers, Dr. Schoolman was a Dow Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, where he also received his Ph.D. in sociology.

A Rutgers-trained climate scientist and longtime NOAA researcher, based at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Dr. Krasting leads the state climate office to help turn climate data into practical information for communities across New Jersey.

Dr. Ramandeep Sharma focuses on helping farmers adopt sustainable, research-based practices that enhance productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship. His expertise includes nutrient management, soil fertility, sensor-based fertilization, regenerative agriculture, soil amendment, AI-driven agriculture, agroclimatology, and optimizing management practices across diverse cropping systems.

Coordinating a dynamic team that is testing Dual-Use Agrivoltaics in New Jersey. Specialist in business development and business administration as well as Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) operations. Experienced in vertical agriculture R&D project management.
B.S. in Genetics and M.S. in Plant Science From Rutgers University.

Kevin Sullivan, Assistant Director of Statistical Analysis, provides leadership on the analytical aspects of projects, performs statistical analysis and econometric modeling, and performs economic impact modeling. Kevin has more than a decade of experience developing statistical analysis plans and performing statistical analysis. Kevin earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Delaware, and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics and M.S. in Applied Statistics from Rutgers University.

As the director of the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center and an associate research professor in pomology at Rutgers University, my professional mission includes; 1) Creating and distributing information to increase fruit production efficiency, profitability, and quality, and 2) increasing the rigor and appropriateness of experimental designs and statistical analyses. These are underpinned by a devotion to serving others. I attempt to combine my pomological training and my statistical experience to serve the science of agriculture, the fruit industries, the extension faculty, the university, and the state.

I facilitate and coordinate educational programs for the equine industry in NJ as well as multi-state and multidisciplinary programs in whole farm management. Many of these educational programs have focused on not only horse nutrition but also making horse farms environmentally friendly by using proper Best Management Practices.

Dr. Andy Wyenandt is an Extension Specialist in Vegetable Pathology located at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC) near Bridgeton, NJ. Recent research by the vegetable pathology lab includes examining the effects of various fungicide programs on Phytophthora blight (Phytophthora capsici) and Anthracnose fruit rot (Collectotrichum spp.) control in bell pepper. Our lab also evaluates fungicides for the control of basil downy mildew (Peronospora belbahrii), a new and important disease of basil in the United States as well as working with colleagues to breed resistance to P. belbahrii in sweet basil.