The Food Systems Research Center is excited to welcome five post-doctoral research associates for the one-of-a-kind research project “Measuring Sustainability of Food Systems.” Five project teams will work to define sustainability metrics in consumer-facing agriculture, farmer social values and decision-making, soil health, maple syrup production, and plant-based proteins.
The postdocs will play an important role not only on their team projects, but also will coordinate across the teams to develop a common framework that can measure food system sustainability in other local and regional scales. Read on to meet the newest team members.
Dr. Emmanuel Owoicho Abah: Maple Sustainability Indicators
Dr. Emmanuel Owoicho Abah joins ̽̽ originally from Benue state (the "food basket" of Nigeria). After completing his undergraduate degree in Agricultural and Environmental Engineering from the University of Agriculture Makurdi in 2011, he worked at the federal ministry of agriculture and food security in Abuja Nigeria. Abah was awarded a master’s degree and internship program in 2015, under the African Business Education Initiative, organized and funded by the Japanese government and obtained his master’s degree in Bioresource engineering at the University of Tsukuba Japan. He was awarded scholarship to continue his PhD in appropriate technology and science for sustainable development. During his PhD, he got additional grant such as the MEXT, and the Hanabatake grants. He successfully completed his PhD in Bioresource engineering, having extensive research experience in agricultural food systems, biomass/bioenergy systems, emission control techniques and environmental sustainability.
Abah will work directly in the Maple Sustainability Indicators project, creating a framework to oversee and examine the economic, social, environmental, and management indicators related to the production of maple syrup.
Outside of academia, Abah is attracted to the realm of literature and the art of crafting imaginative written works. He engage in reading a diverse range of genres, including classic literature, modern fiction, and non-fiction during his leisure time.
Dr. Barituka Bekee: Farmer social values and decision-making
Barituka Bekee is a postdoctoral associate with the Food Systems Research Center and the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics. He will be working with a diverse team led by Dr. Joe Ament on a project that is focused on measuring the social dimensions of agricultural production.
Barituka joins ̽̽ from the University of Missouri where he co-directed the Deaton Scholars Program and obtained his PhD in agricultural and applied economics (with an emphasis in environmental and development economics), as well as a certificate in society and sustainability. He studies decision-making in contexts of change and uncertainty and is interested in understanding the drivers and impacts of those decisions.
Specifically, Barituka conducts interdisciplinary research on issues relating to agricultural and rural development, such as farmers’ adoption of digital agricultural technologies and the livelihood resilience of rural households. His research spans different geographical locations including Midwestern United States, the Altiplano region of Bolivia, and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Barituka holds bachelor's and master’s degrees in economics. Prior to graduate studies, he worked at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria where he helped design novel initiatives that aimed at productively engaging young people along agricultural value-chains in SSA. Outside of work, Barituka enjoys playing soccer and connecting with people from various cultures.
Dr. Cari Ritzenthaler: Sustainability Starts with Soil
Cari is a Postdoctoral Associate with the Food Systems Research Center and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. With ̽̽, she will be exploring how farmers perceive soil health and their capacity to improve it through management practices.
Cari’s interested in research that combines social science and ecology to understand how humans can live more sustainably, how scientists can communicate more effectively with non-scientists, and what influences the adoption of environmentally protective behaviors. Her PhD research focused on the factors that influence people to adopt sustainable behaviors in the Lake Erie region. Prior to that, her MS research examined the effect of soil nutrient availability on litter dwelling invertebrate community ecology in a wet montane forest. In her free time, Cari enjoys reading fiction, hiking, and kayaking.
Dr. Josh Taylor: Consumer-Facing Agriculture
Josiah (Josh) Taylor is an FSRC Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the Consumer Facing Agriculture and Sustainability Metrics project with David Conner. He has farmed and worked for ̽̽ Agriculture Extension services and thrives talking with farmers and hearing their experiences, knowledge, and how society can better support them. His work also concerns developing agriculture support services to help address issues of farmer wellbeing. Outside of work he enjoys gardening, home food projects, and wild foraging with friends. Since moving to Vermont several years ago he’s found both excitement and serenity exploring the mountains by ski and bike with his partner, friends, and dog Peavey.
Taylor recently completed a Ph.D. in Food Systems at ̽̽ composed of three distinct projects including study of universal free school meal programs, immigrant and refugee farmer quality of life, and holistic farm sustainability analysis. He also holds a graduate certificate in Ecological Economics from ̽̽, an M.Ed. in Critical Studies (with a concentration in Wolastoq First Nation Elder Traditional Ecological Knowledge) from the University of New Brunswick – Fredericton (Canada), and a B.A. in Anthropology and Environment from Colby College. Josiah also holds a certificate in organic farming from New Brunswick Community College. He is thrilled to bring his passion for applied and collaborative community-based food systems research to the FSRC at ̽̽.
Dr. Emma Tracy: Plant Based Proteins
Emma Tracy is a plant scientist who is passionate about the intersection of crop genetic improvement and consumer needs/end use quality. She is joining Dr. Anaka Aiyar's team and the Food Systems Research Center to investigate the sustainability of Plant Based Protein production in the Northeast. Prior to ̽̽ Emma was an extension specialist in plant pathology and 4-H at Montana State University and worked as a post-doctoral associate focused on computational biology at Cornell University.
Beyond academia, Emma enjoys travelling, running, and spending time with her family. She especially enjoys combining these hobbies and has run over a dozen half marathons at Disney parks.
About the FSRC:
The ̽̽ Food Systems Research Center (FSRC) is the first USDA-funded research center to study the interconnectedness of all parts of a regional food system, from farm practices to food access. They work to uncover solutions to pressing issues through the lens of food and farming. As pioneers in USDA-funded research, the FSRC is at the forefront of discovering how what’s on our plate affects our society and the planet.
