Biography

Paul PG Gauthier joined QAAFI as Professor Protected Cropping from July 2022. Dr Gauthier is one of the world's leading experts in vertical farming and protected cropping, with many years of experience in academia and in industry, managing research teams. Most recently he has been leading the R&D New Product and System Innovation Group at Bower Farming in the USA, delivering new products including the first strawberry grown at scale indoors. Prior to that, his research at Princeton University focused on the understanding of the sustainability of vertical farms both economically and environmentally. Dr Gauthier obtained his PHD in plant physiology from the University of Paris Sud in France and studied the environmental control of plant carbon balance at the leaf plant and ecosystem levels at ANU. For many years, he's advised start-ups and universities on the development and opportunities vertical farming provides. At QAAFI, Dr Gauthier intends to shape the future of farming in Queensland, as well as accelerating development of technologies and knowledge for the protected cropping industry.