Curriculum Vitae

Eugene Reiss

Greenhouse Manager-Rutgers EcoComplex

Research Greenhouse, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station

School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

phone: (609) 499-2700;  e-mail: reiss@aesop.rutgers.edu

EDUCATION           

M.S.    January 2006, Bioresource Engineering, Rutgers University. Thesis title: ' Modeling greenhouse floor heating using computational fluid dynamics'

B.S.    May 1999, Bioresource Engineering, College of Engineering, Rutgers University. Graduated with highest honors National Collegiate Engineering Award Winner

EMPLOYMENT

Research Greenhouse Manager – Rutgers University EcoComplex January 2006-Present

Manage and/or direct all operations at the Rutgers EcoComplex Research Greenhouse, a one acre research and demonstration greenhouse. Manage all personnel employed at the facility as assistants, interns, and greenhouse workers. Develop and administer budget. Market all products from the facility. Maintain a cooperative and functional working relationship between all parties using the facility.

Manage all research and demonstration projects at the facility and ensure that all projects are properly executed including data collection and analysis. Ensure that all data related to the greenhouse are collected and stored for evaluation and reporting, including collecting and reporting data for the Annual Emission Statement, Semiannual NSPS Reports, Six Month Deviation Report, and Annual Compliance Certification.

Provide information for inquiries relating to agricultural operations and procedures at the greenhouse with special emphasis on hydroponics, aquaculture and aquaponics, use of landfill gas as an alternate energy source, CHP, and biogas production using anaerobic digestion. Conduct tours for visiting scientists, growers, school groups, dignitaries, providing information and narrative appropriate to the group makeup.

Perform routine inspection of all machinery and equipment; ensuring that all regular preventive maintenance, repair, and improvements are completed on all environmental control systems.

Program Associate – Rutgers University January 2000-December 2005

Design, construct, and implement all data collection systems, including evaluation, purchasing, calibration, installation, and maintenance of sensors, for all research projects and Bioresource Engineering research greenhouses.

Data collection, cataloging, analysis, and evaluation. Modeling of the collected data. Preparation of data for presentations at scientific meetings and outreach programs. Co-author of scientific publications.

Construction (including design modifications) of the Open-Roof Greenhouse and high tunnel structures. Installation of data acquisition and control systems. Engineering design and installation of a gas-fired hot-water heating system, including a heated ebb and flood floor irrigation system installed in the Open-Roof Greenhouse. Conduct all maintenance on these systems. Trouble-shoot and remedy any problems with these systems.

Supervise undergraduate students hired to help with above responsibilities.

Help prepare presentations and publications for outreach efforts and make presentations on ongoing research activities.

RESEARCH PROJECTS

2006 to Present Rutgers University EcoComplex Greenhouse

Install and operate a 250 kW combined heat and power microturbine and associated gas cleanup equipment to provide heat and power to the greenhouse and export to grid. Evaluate efficiency and economic viability of this technology. Develop strategies to manage greenhouse electrical usage to maximize income from exported power.

Install and operate a small scale anaerobic digester designed to use food waste for biogas production. Determine net energy production, best feed stocks, economic viability, and practicality of this technology.

Improve the fruit quality and yield in a limited cluster greenhouse tomato production system, focusing on cluster number, plant density, and variety type.

Develop a greenhouse production system to grow strawberry tips that can be rooted and used for field production of strawberry fruit.

Summer 2002 - 2005 Rutgers University

Construction of high tunnels at Fruit and Vegetable Farm 3 and at Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Installing and maintaining environmental data collection system in each of these high tunnels. Conducting tomato growth trials in the high tunnels.

September 2001 - 2005 Rutgers University

Determining the light transmission through a double layer of a new glazing material (EthyleneTetraFluoroEthylene Copolymer), manufactured by the Japanese ASAHI Glass Company. This new film material was simultaneously being compared with conventional polyethylene greenhouse film.

January 2000 - 2005 Rutgers University

Evaluating and quantifying the performance of the Open-Roof Greenhouse and its environment control systems, including a heated ebb and flood floor irrigation system, an additional overhead heating system, and the ventilation system.

Spring 2001 and 2002 Kube Pak Corporation, Allentown, NJ

Cooperated with Dr. Paul Fisher (University of New Hampshire) in evaluating the use of supplemental lighting for plug production.

June 1999 - August 1999 Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

Designed and built a Single Lamp Test Stand with all mechanical systems, hardware, instrumentation, and data collection equipment necessary to fully characterize different types of both water cooled and bare high pressure sodium lamps in terms of radiation output, three dimensional light output, and heat removed under various conditions.

Fall 1999 Rutgers University

Participated in the design of four, one cubic meter plant growth chambers, to be used for whole-canopy photosynthesis measurements resulting in the development of plant growth models for different temperature, light, and nutrient regimes.

EQUIPMENT and SOFTWARE SKILLS

Campbell Scientific data loggers, multiplexers, relay drivers, storage modules, and associated software.

Argus Control Systems, which provide environmental control and data acquisition for plant production systems.

Standard laboratory equipment.

Wide range of sensors including quantum, net radiometer, precision pyranometer, spectroradiometer, flow, CO2, heat dissipation for soil moisture measurement, hot wire anemometer.

Woodworking, electrical, plumbing, and farming equipment.

Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Fluent and Gambit (Fluent, Inc.) for computational fluid dynamics modeling, AutoCAD, SAS (statistical analysis software).

PUBLICATIONS

Both, A.J. and E. Reiss. 2007. Consider design with a new floor heating system. Greenhouse Management and Production (GMPro). December issue. pp. 35-37.

Both, A.J., E. Reiss, J.F. Sudal, K.E. Holmstrom, C.A. Wyenandt, W.L. Kline, and S.A. Garrison. 2007. Evaluation of a Manual Energy Curtain for Tomato Production in High Tunnels. HortTechnology 17(4): 467-472.

Reiss, E., D.R. Mears, T.O. Manning, G.J. Wulster, and A.J. Both. 2007. Numerical Modeling of Greenhouse Floor Heating. Transactions of the ASABE 50(1): 275-284.

Both, A.J., D.R Mears, T.O. Manning, E. Reiss, and P. Ling. 2007. Evaluating Energy Saving Strategies Using Heat Pumps and Energy Storage for Greenhouses. ASABE paper No. 07-4011. ASABE, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. 16 pp.

Both, A.J., E. Reiss, J. Sudal, K. Holmstrom, W. Kline, S. Garrison. 2006. Rutgers high tunnel research update. Proceedings of the Annual NJ Vegetable Growers’ Association Meeting. January 10-12. Atlantic City, NJ. pp. 121-124 (abstract).

Reiss, E. 2006. Modeling greenhouse floor heating using computational fluid dynamics. M.S. thesis. Rutgers University Libraries.

Kline, W.L., A.J. Both, S.A. Garrison, J.F. Sudal, E. Reiss. 2005. High tunnel tomato production in New Jersey. Proceedings of the 32rd National Agricultural Plastics Congress. March 5-8. Charleston, SC (abstract).

Reiss, E., A.J. Both, and D.R. Mears. 2005. Comparing Greenhouse Floor Heating Designs Using CFD. ASAE paper No. 05-4136. ASABE, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. 13 pp.

Both, A.J., E. Reiss, D.R. Mears, and W. Fang. 2005. Designing environmental control for greenhouses: Orchid production as example. Acta Horticulturae 691(2): 807-813.

Reiss, E., A.J. Both, and D.R. Mears. 2004. Greenhouse floor heating. ASAE paper No. 04-4040. ASAE, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. 13 pp.

Reiss, E., A.J. Both, S. Garrison, W. Kline, and J. Sudal. 2004. Season extension for tomato production using high tunnels. Acta Horticulturae 659: 153-160.

Reiss, E., D.R. Mears, and A.J. Both. 2003. Greenhouse floor heating. ASAE paper No. 03-4039. ASAE, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. 14 pp.

Sase, S., E. Reiss, A.J. Both, and W.J. Roberts. 2002. A natural ventilation model for open-roof greenhouses. ASAE paper No. 02-4010. ASAE, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. NJAES Paper No. P-12232-04-02. 9 pp.

Both, A.J., D.R. Mears, E. Reiss, W.J. Roberts. 2002. Floor heating in greenhouses. GMPRO. August issue. pp. 60-63.

Reiss, E., W.J. Roberts, and A.J. Both. 2001. Design and construction of an open-roof greenhouse with heated ebb and flood floor irrigation system. Presented at the CSAE/SCGR-NABEC Meeting in Guelph, Ontario, July 8-11, 2001. NABEC Paper No. 01-916. NJAES Paper No. P-03232-14-01. 13 pp.

Both, A.J., E. Reiss, D.R. Mears, and W.J. Roberts. 2001. Open-roof greenhouse design with heated ebb and flood floor. ASAE paper No. 01-4058. ASAE, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. NJAES Paper No. P-03232-15-01. 13 pp.

PRESENTATIONS

Greenhouse Engineering Short Course (OCPE). January 6, 2005 Title: ‘Open-roof greenhouses’.

ASAE Annual Meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, August 1-4, 2004. Title: ‘Greenhouse floor heating’.

Mid Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Hershey, PA. January 27, 2004 Title: ‘Updating high tunnel research at Rutgers University’.

NJ Annual Vegetable Growers’ Association Meeting, Atlantic City, NJ. January 13, 2004 Titles: ‘Rutgers high tunnel research’, and ‘Greenhouse environment control’.

Greenhouse Engineering Short Course (OCPE). January 8, 2004 Title: ‘Open-roof greenhouses’.

ASAE Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV, July 28-31, 2003 Title: ‘Greenhouse floor heating’.

Greenhouse Engineering Short Course (OCPE). January 13, 2003 Title: ‘Open-roof greenhouses’.

Greenhouse Engineering Short Course (OCPE). January 14, 2002 Title: ‘Open-roof greenhouses’.

CSAE/SCGR-NABEC Meeting in Guelph, Ontario, July 8-11, 2001 Title: ‘Design and construction of an open-roof greenhouse with heated ebb and flood floor irrigation system’.

Greenhouse Engineering Short Course (OCPE). January 8, 2001 Title: ‘Building an Open-Roof Greenhouse’.

MEMBERSHIPS

ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers)

AERGC (Association of Education and Research Greenhouse Curators)