Agrivoltaics Innovation – People
CSU Faculty and Staff
Jennifer Bousselot
Assistant Professor of Horticulture + Landscape Architecture
Horticultural Crops & Rooftop Agrivoltaics
Dr. Jennifer Bousselot started studying the synergisms of green roof and solar panel systems in 2007. She recorded a TEDx talk entitled Rooftop Agrivoltaics in 2020. Jen now oversees research on the CSU Spur rooftop agrivoltaics research facility in Denver.
Jesse Burkhardt
Associate Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Environment and Natural Resources Economics, Energy Economics, Air Pollution
Dr. Jesse Burkhardt is an environmental economist in the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. He has experience teaching and publishing in the area of energy economics. His is specifically interested in demand and supply side mechanisms to increase the fraction of renewables on the grid.
Tim Coburn
Professor of Systems Engineering
Systems engineering, data science and data systems, machine learning, energy-water-food nexus, technology deployment, energy justice, stakeholder engagement, community outreach
Timothy Coburn is Professor of Systems Engineering at Colorado State University. His research focuses on energy systems, analytics, data science, informatics, and modeling across the broader energy landscape. Current interests include the energy-water-food nexus, agrivoltaics, energy infrastructure and asset management, technology deployment, energy justice, and related operational and policy issues. He has also worked extensively in earth and environmental systems, as well as the transportation and fuels arenas. Before joining CSU, Dr. Coburn served as the founding director of the School of Energy Economics, Policy and Commerce at The University of Tulsa, and he previously served in various administrative and technical roles in the Center for Transportation Technologies and Systems at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In addition to his work at CSU he holds a joint appointment in the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) at NREL and a faculty research position at Idaho National Laboratory in the Energy and Environment Science & Technology division.
Steve Conrad
Associate Professor of Systems Engineering
Systems engineering, water and energy lifecycle assessment, & human-AV system interactions
Dr. Steve Conrad has conducted research and consulted with the water and energy industry for over 25 years on the feedbacks between human-environmental systems through the coupling of social and engineering sciences to inform decision making and visualization, the quantification and modelling of system function, system optimization and resilience, and policy and planning as applied to energy, water and food systems, sustainable community design, and climate change adaptation.
Lily Edwards-Callaway
Terry Engle
Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University
Animal metabolism
Terry’s teaching responsibilities include Vitamin and Mineral Metabolism and Animal Metabolism. Terry’s research focuses primarily on factors that impact nutrient absorption, retention, and function in ruminants.
James Hale
Research Scientist of Sociology
Social dimensions
James Hale is a Research Scientist in the Department of Sociology at Colorado State University. His research and engagement focuses on social sustainability, sustainability transitions, community food systems, and culture in community and agricultural development efforts.
Dana Hoag
Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics
Research focus: agricultural tradeoffs with ecosystem services and the environment
Mu Hong
Research Scientist of the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Modeling AV systems for grasslands & grazing lands
Since my postgraduate studies, I have been committed to advancing human prosperity while ensuring environmental sustainability in grassland and agricultural ecosystems. My recent endeavors focus on assessing and forecasting the effects of management practices and global changes on systems such as specialty crops and grassland agrivoltaics. To achieve this, I calibrate and/or update process-based model (DayCent) for different scenarios.
Alan Knapp
Distingushed Professor of Biology and Senior Ecologist for the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
Ecovoltaics, grasslands under PV systems
Alan K. Knapp is a University Distinguished Professor in the Biology Department and the Senior Ecologist for the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Colorado State University. Professor Knapp’s research interests include grassland ecology, global change biology and ecosystem ecology. Currently, Professor Knapp is a lead investigator on the Sustainably Co-locating Agricultural and Photovoltaic Electricity Systems (SCAPES) project funded by the USDA. The goal of SCAPES is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary to design sustainable Agrivoltaic technologies for diverse agricultural practices.
Amit Munshi
Assistant Research Professor of mechanical engineering
Thin film photovoltaics, photovoltaics panel integration, and techno-economic impact analysis
Amit Munshi hails from western region of India and pursued his undergraduate engineering education India in Automobile Engineering. Through a series of life-altering events, he joined CSU in the Mechanical Engineering department for graduate school with focus on Materials and Process Engineering of thin film photovoltaics. Following graduate school, he found home in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at CSU in various roles leading up to his current position as an Assistant Professor. For a brief period during 2021-22, Amit also served in the CdTe solar panel manufacturing industry as the Chief Research & Development Officer for a solar panel manufacturing company with key interest in agrivoltaics. Amit has been exploring opportunities to work closely with his counterparts in Agriculture and Horticulture to expand the scope of photovoltaics. This includes his vision for semitransparent thin film solar panels as well as exploring uncharted territories of flexible photovoltaics produced on polymer sheets that may be able to replace traditionally used shade cloth.
Keith Paustain
Distinguished Professor of Soil and Crop Sciences and Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
I’m interested in how solar panels in grazed pastures affect pasture productivity and ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycling, including greenhouse gas emissions and soil C balance. We are developing custom sampling and measurement protocols appropriate for pasture agrovoltaics and adapting process-based biogeochemical models to simulate these ‘silicon savannas’.
Keith Paustian is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University. His work involves studies of soil organic matter dynamics, modeling and development of assessment tools for greenhouse gas emissions/removals from soils, including development of models and inventory methodology used to estimate US soil emissions for UNFCCC national reporting and web-based tools (e.g., COMET-Farm, CBP) for estimating farm- and project-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Professional service includes Coordinating Lead Author for the IPCC 2006 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Methods and the IPCC 2003 Good Practice Guidance and three National Academy of Science committees related to land use, greenhouse gases and climate change mitigation. He is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, recipient of the Soil Science Society of America’s Outstanding Research Award in 2015, 2019 winner of the Global Foodshot Groundbreaker Award and Reuters Hot List of Climate Scientists.
Gigi Richard
Director, Western Colorado Research Center
Dr. Gigi Richard has been working in water resources in Colorado for over 20 years and is currently the Director of CSU’s Western Colorado Research Center (WCRC), which includes three agricultural research sites. One the first agrivoltaics installations over a vineyard is planned for the WCRC-Orchard Mesa site in Grand Junction in 2024.
Eduardo Gutierrez Rodriguez
Assistant Professor of Horticulture + Landscape Architecture and Produce Safety Systems
Food Safety, Water Quality and Treatments, Soil Bioremediation, Fruit and Vegetable Postharvest Quality
Dr. Gutierrez-Rodriguez brings over two decades of expertise in research, extension, and business within the realm of food safety systems, particularly focusing on fresh produce and minimally processed food environments. His research is dedicated to understanding the microbial ecology of human pathogens in both farm and food processing settings looking to ag industry in the implementation of state, federal and international regulations.
Mark Uchanski
Associate Professor of Horticulture, Agrivoltaics & irrigated crops
Dr. Mark Uchanski has been working in field-based agrivoltaics demonstration and research since 2019. His specific area of interest is photovoltaic modules of varying transparencies to balance electrical output and crop needs.
Bryan Willson
Executive Director of the CSU Engineering Institute
Jane Zelikova
Executive Director of the Soil Carbon Solutions Center
Soil carbon & soil health
Dr. Jane Zelikova’s work focuses on advancing the science of carbon removal and she is currently the executive director of the Soil Carbon Solutions Center at Colorado State University, where she works with leading scientists to build the tools and approaches needed to accelerate the deployment of credible soil-based climate solutions, measure their impacts, and bring them to scale.
Agrivoltaics Partners
Anna Clare Monlezun
Rangeland Ecosystem Scientist
Ecosystem services, multifunctional working lands
Dr. Anna Clare Monlezun is a rangeland ecosystem scientist, synthesizer, and collaborative facilitator. She considers herself a life-long student of nature who thrives in interdisciplinary work environments, assisting stakeholders in the discovery of common-ground paths for learning, management planning, and long-term thrivability in the interface of ranching and conservation. She offers state-of-the-science knowledge and practical engagement in environmental market solutions, ecosystem services valuation, plant-soil-water-carbon dynamics, and agroecological stewardship. A published writer, musician, and poet, Anna Clare enjoys bridging the worlds of science, art, and land management. A Colorado rancher herself, she brings her unique skillset to natural resource and grazing management in both her for-profit company, Graze LLC, and non-profit organization, Rangeland Living Laboratory Inc. In the world of agrivoltaics, Anna Clare has experience working as the Research Lead for a U.S. Department of Energy project funded to Silicon Ranch and as the Grants Leader for an Agrivoltaic Analytical Studies project funded to the American Solar Grazing Association by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. She is also honored to serve on the Agrivoltaics World Conference 2024 Scientific Committee and continues to serve as a consultant for budding agrivoltaics projects across the country. She brings to the field of agrivoltaics and the solar industry a “systems” perspective, where ecosystem stewardship is equally paramount to the production of clean energy. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Humanities, an M.A. in Community Counseling, an international Post-Graduate Certificate in Expressive Arts: Therapy, Consultation, and Social Change, an M.S. in Animal Sciences, and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability.
Byron Kominek
Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center Executive Director
State and local policy and community engagement
Byron Kominek is the Executive Director of the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center and founder of Jack’s Solar Garden. Byron is a former US diplomat having served with the US Agency for International Development in Zambia and Mozambique working on forestry and wildlife conservation. Through his work in Africa with USAID as a Peace Corps Volunteer and serving with Doctors Without Borders, Byron has a long-standing interest in natural resource management and governance. Byron recently was honored as a 2024 US Ashoka Fellow to continue educating and inspiring Americans with his work in agrivoltaics. Other recent fellowships Byron has participated in include the CiviCO Colorado Governor’s Fellowship and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Energy Executive program. He is on the Board of Visit Longmont to encourage agritourism in the greater Longmont area and works on his family’s farm just south of town where Jack’s Solar Garden is located. Byron speaks French and Portuguese and through-hiked the Appalachian Trail with his old dog Mosi in 2016.
James McCall
Researcher IV Mechanical Engineer at NREL
Energy-Water-Food Nexus, Renewable Energy Siting and Land Use Change, Technoeconomic Analysis
James is a senior analyst who specializes in modeling the economic and environmental tradeoffs of agrivoltaics and renewable energy projects. His areas of interest include dual-land use solar configurations, energy-water-food nexus, land use change impacts, and renewable energy siting and economic modeling.
Ian Skor
Owner/CEO of Sandbox Solar
I am an Engineering and Entrepreneurial Professional with 10+ years of experience in the energy efficiency and solar energy industry. I bootstrapped Sandbox Solar at the age of 24 with nothing but a Subaru and a toolbox. Sandbox Solar is now a market leader in Colorado for residential, commercial, battery storage development, sales, design, installation, and service. Sandbox Solar is nationally known for its quality of work, technical knowledge, projects involving customized racking design & microgrids, and advancement of agrivoltaics through installations and software (SPADE). Through this venture, I have learned how to become a thoughtful CEO through servant leadership and leading by example. I value company culture over anything else. I have gained experience in all aspects of the industry, including but not limited to Technology Evaluation, Sales Process Development, Salesmanship, Marketing Strategy & Implementation, HTML Coding & Website Development, Land Acquisition Negotiation, Project Development, Project Permitting of all sizes and complexity, Engineering, Installation (mechanical & electrical), Project Management, Procurement Negotiation and Logistics, Financial Controlling, Setting KPIs, Cash Flow Analysis, Pro-forma development and analysis, Developing SOPs, New Product Development, Business Acquisitions, Leadership, and Mentoring. I value self-sufficiency through renewable energy technology, ancestral & primitive survival skills, skiing, tracking and hunting, camping, scuba diving, and natural building architecture & construction. I love networking and connecting with other brilliant professionals.