Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.52
Liaison Andrew D'Amico
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Princeton University
IN-25: Innovation B

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Shana Weber
Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Princeton Vertical Farming Project

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:

The Princeton Vertical Farming Project is using a hydroponic and artificial lighting growing system to investigate the viability of feeding a rapidly growing world population with space-saving methods. The project is investigating the engineering of the hydroponic system through a lens of sustainability and energy efficiency. It will also focus on a marketing approach of vertical farming, looking specifically at maximizing the financial benefit of the program and making the harvests marketable to a larger community.
The Vertical Farm is using an innovative LED lighting system, growing non staple crops such as strawberries and wheat, and is creating a database to collect data from the farm and then use that data to adjust nutrients/light/ph to the plants. Another goal of the system is to make the data easily available to scientists for further analysis. Yet another goal is to apply machine learning to come up with useful models from the data. These models would help us to know which features of the farm contribute to better yields for certain plants.
The Vertical Farming Project Team is multidisciplinary and is comprised of students from all areas of study including computer sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Urban Studies, International Affairs, and Mathematics.


Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
Research
Food & Dining

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.