Fresh Faces in CEA Spaces: Chelsea Lee
October 16, 2024 In our 2024 Fresh Faces in CEA Spaces series, we’re talking to young professionals in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) about their work and where they see the industry going in the future. CEAg World recently chatted with Chelsea Lee, a soon-to-be greenhouse climate systems specialist at BrightFarms.
CEAg World: What first interested you in horticulture, then later, CEA?
Chelsea Lee: “Growing up, I always loved plants. Even as a kid, I always felt entranced watching germination and watching things grow. When I was picking a major for college, I didn’t realize there was a career path for that. I ended up choosing the route of environmental science.
“Cornell’s program is called Environment & Sustainability. Starting off, I actually had more of a background in ecology. So, I worked with conservation environments to do stewardship and management. I worked in a monarch butterfly lab for three years in my undergrad. But as I took more classes, I learned about how agriculture contributes to environmental degradation, and that’s what pushed me towards learning more about sustainable agriculture. And particularly through the lens of justice and food security and ensuring that everyone has nutritious and healthy food available.
“That’s when I was introduced to the concept of controlled environment agriculture (CEA). And luckily for me, Dr. Neil Mattson, who is world renowned, was my advisor when I started my master’s program. Through my master’s program and through a lot of my undergraduate classes, I took some CEA-related classes like hydroponics, greenhouse management, and biological statistics that set up a strong foundation for me to move forward in the industry.”
CEAg World: Could you tell us more about the research you did at Cornell University?
Aphid populations from Lee’s capstone project. | Photo: Chelsea Lee
Chelsea Lee: “My capstone project was finding the effects of different light spectrum on aphid populations reared on lettuce. I really love bugs. I minored in entomology, and I wanted to merge those interests a bit in integrated pest management (IPM).
“I wanted to have that combination of CEA, urban agriculture, and hydroponics in my capstone project. I also wanted to tie that in with insects and entomology and pest management specifically. So, I reared different aphid populations on lettuce that was grown under different light spectrums.
“It was an initial test just to see what the results were, and they ended up being really interesting. I found when aphids were reared under white light, the population was much higher than ones that were reared under red-blue LED light ratios.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do too much after that. But it was interesting to see, and the potential applications of it are exciting. Just the potential to be able to manage pest populations based on light spectrum is pretty cool.”
CEAg World: Can you tell us more about your professional career?
Chelsea Lee at work. | Photo: Chelsea Lee
Chelsea Lee: “During my master’s program, I interned at Fifth Season, which was an indoor vertical farm based out of Pittsburgh. This was the summer before my last semester at Cornell. Upon graduation, I was offered a full-time role as an associate plant scientist on the research and development (R&D) team. I ended up working at Fifth Season for a little less than a year, but they unfortunately shut down.
“But prior to that I was managing a lot of trials. I set up different experiments to try and tested different crop recipes to find the most ideal parameters to grow baby greens and leafy greens. I like working with data, doing a lot of analysis with the results and trying to optimize the crop yield as much as possible.
“I’m a grower now, too. And that makes you think about more strategic processes and work towards a system that integrates operations to make growing a little bit more streamlined. But that still means working with data. I work with growing systems and do a lot of the hands-on grower stuff, but a little bit more strategic and longer term.”
CEAg World: Would you say you have a biggest accomplishment in your career so far? If so, what is it?
Chelsea Lee: “When I reflect back on where I was a year ago and where I was a year prior to that, I just see how much growth I’ve experienced in the past three to four years I’ve been in the industry. I’m really proud of how much I’ve been able to learn and all the skills I’ve been able to gain. And it feels like it was in a short amount of time.”
CEAg World: What trends do you expect to see in CEA moving forward?
Chelsea Lee: “I might be biased, but I feel like there’s a lot more emphasis on climate management. There’s a lot of technology coming out now that’s about managing climate, and there’s so much potential in taking that technology and applying it to greenhouse environments.
“It’s also exciting to see how many young people are interested in the industry. They will bring in a lot of new knowledge, new expertise, and a fresh set of eyes, ears, and skills.”
CEAg World: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Chelsea Lee: “It’s awesome to see how many opportunities there are in this industry and how much it continues to grow. I’m glad to be a part of it.”