Dr. Fernanda Krupek

I grew up in Sao Paulo, a metropolitan center benefiting from several urban agricultural projects, while spending vacation on family members’ farming operations in rural areas of Brazil. Experiencing agriculture along the urban-rural gradient sparked my interest in a central question that to date, I continue to ponder on: “what does the future of our food system look like?”. While I attribute to my father – who has always been drawn to gardening – my early memories of experiential learning on growing vegetables, the pursuit of graduate degrees in inter and transdisciplinary programs in horticulture (Florida) and agronomy (Nebraska) solidified my interest in urban food system horticulture.

More details will come soon!

Dr. Krupek recently completed her Ph.D. in Crop Physiology and Production at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under the advisement of Drs. Andrea Basche and Daren Redfearn. Her Dissertation focused on Experimentation on Nebraska Farms for Sustaining Soil Health Management (2023). Prior to completing her Ph.D., Dr. Krupek received her M.S. (Thesis: Vine Defoliation Management for Improved Harvest and Storage Quality of Early-Season Fresh-Market Potato) from the University of Florida (2019) and B.S. (Agronomy) from the University of Sao Paulo (2016).!

Agro Connection is an international outreach initiative that I used to co-lead and aimed to connect US and Central/South American agricultural stakeholders through leadership and extension events, farm-to-farm tours, podcast episodes, and YouTube videos. I look forward to working with domestic and international scholars as well as connecting my program with international organizations such as the International Society for Horticultural Science.

My two favorite industry conferences are the American Society for Horticultural Science and the Agronomy-Crop-Soil Science Societies of America Annual Meeting.

I’m truly excited to join the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science this August. The Urban Food Systems Horticulturalist position has great potential for accelerating existing and emerging models of urban, indoor, and innovative agricultural practices that serve multiple stakeholders. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues to expand and develop programs in horticultural food production, making long-term meaningful impacts across Ohio and beyond. I am confident this will be a fun and satisfying journey and I am grateful for the opportunity to join the collective college theme: “We sustain life.”

Personal and professional fulfillment to me comes from balancing work, community, family, and faith. I enjoy spending time reading books, in particular leadership and history/theology-related ones. Time and resources permitting, my next hobby is traveling to discover and learn new places and food systems. Volunteering in community efforts and going out for bicycle rides have been my favorite pastime since graduate school. By the way, I look forward to exploring bicycle trails in Ohio and the Great Lakes Region. Last but not least, I like learning new skills; recently I have been interested in playing guitar – a childhood gift from my father that I brought to the US from my last trip to Brazil.