Faculty and Staff
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Sara Kuwahara, Ph.D. |
Dr. Sara Kuwahara is a Full time Lecturer in the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department. Prior to instructing at Cal Poly, she worked on the development of photobioreactors for large scale production of microalgae for nutraceuticals, food and biofuels at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
Dr. Kuwahara’s main areas of interest are in Controlled Environment Agriculture and nutrient recycling systems for agriculture. She took 1 year off from instrtuction to work for an Aeroponic plant factory start up in Santa Clara, CA called OnePointOne and after returning to Cal Poly continues to consult in the area of indoor agriculture. Her most recent research projects have focused on the use of ultrafine bubbles to hyper saturate water with dissolved gases for plant and microbial crop production and is currently in the process of establishing facilities for research on local marco-algae species such as Macrocystis (Giant Kelp).
In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Kuwahara advises the GrowCrew; a student organization that is made up of students interested in sustainable agriculture area such as Hydroponics, Aeroponics, Aquaculture and Controlled Environmental Agriculture. She co-advises the Future Fuels club, a student form organization that is focused on sustainable and renewable energy projects such as biofuels and solar projects.
Specialization:
- BioResource Engineering
- Biosystems Engineering
- Controlled Environmental Agriculture
- Bioreactors
- Wastewater Reuse and Treatment
- Micro and Macro algae