“NYU Urban Food Lab is an aquaponic vertical farming class in which students learn about sustainability and farming by running their own mini-projects connecting their fields to the farm. Mini projects range from making cosmetics out of fresh farm grown flowers and model simulation of harvesting scattered light with mirrors to a survey of the different farms within the city.

“There is room at the farm for students from every discipline,” says Omar Gowayed, the PhD candidate who co-developed the farm. “It’s just a matter of thinking creatively about how their discipline—whether it’s science, public policy, business, or communications—applies to the farm.”

Students in the Urban Food Lab team are navigating issues of global sustainability, environmental justice and farming for the future, while learning applied methodologies in agricultural, power generation, climate engineering and biology. 

“This is my first real go at research work, and now that I’ve had the chance to experience it, I definitely want to continue to focus on it in the future,” Sophomore student Gianna White says." 

Read more about the Urban Food Lab: Nathan Healy’s “Vertical Farming Takes Root at NYU’s Urban Food Lab,”  February 20, 2020.