Author: Maury WrightCarrie Meadows
Erico Mattos, PhD, directs the operation of the Greenhouse Lighting Systems & Engineering (GLASE) consortium that is a public-private organization led by Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The consortium is focused on improving controlled environment agriculture (CEA) energy-use efficiency and increasing greenhouse and indoor farms profitability.
Mattos’ work at GLASE brings together growers, manufacturers, and other CEA industry stakeholders to close the gaps between the different segments of the CEA industry and facilitate new and emerging energy-efficient technology transfer and implementation. Mattos earned a degree in agronomic engineering from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) in 2009, and subsequently earned his PhD from the University of Georgia in 2013 in crop and soils sciences. During his dissertation, he co-authored two technology patents on the biological feedback control of LED lights to optimize plants’ photosynthetic efficiency.
Mattos was recognized as the 2014 Emerging Leader of the Year Award by Georgia Bio — a nonprofit organization focused on advancing the growth of Georgia’s life sciences industries. In 2015 and 2017, Mattos co-authored two technology patents on the Phase Synchronizing Pulse Amplitude Modulation Fluorometer, a technology developed to monitor plant photosynthetic efficiency. Mattos is also co-founder and CEO of Candidus, a horticultural-lighting controls company developing smart lighting control systems for crop production in greenhouses.