Balancing Sustainability Between Food and Energy
Eric Buchanan
Director, Renewable Energy Program
Eric Buchanan directs the Renewable Energy Program at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris, MN. He has an aerospace engineering degree and has worked in the aerospace, automotive and medical device industries as a design engineer and program manager. Since 2010, Mr. Buchanan conducts applied research on small-scale renewable energy systems focusing on integration into agricultural systems. His research covers many forms of renewable energy including solar PV, solar thermal, thermal storage, wind, heat pumps, and renewable ammonia production.
Current work is focused on using solar powered robotic vehicles in agricultural weeding applications. His outreach efforts are aimed at making the technical aspects of energy systems easy to understand and available to anyone who is interested.
Jim Dunn
Development Director, Cornerstone Ag Management (consulting nutritionists in animal agriculture)
Director, Field Research North America, ADM 33 years of research and commercialization of new products before early retirement.