Agriculture and Food Technologies Research Cluster

Institute for Agricultural and Conservation Research and Education (ACRE)

The University of Memphis has launched the Institute for Agricultural and Conservation Research and Education (ACRE) to advance research, education, discovery and innovation in conservation, soil health, climate resilient food systems, and biomanufacturing. ACRE collaborates with scientists, engineers, and other experts across the university from the College of Arts and Sciences, Fogelman College of Business & Economics, Herff College of Engineering, and the College of Health Sciences to conduct cross-disciplinary research with the potential to make significant impacts in agriculture and conservation.

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Cluster Overview

The world population is estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. This raises critical supply issues, along with environmental concerns, and points to the need to engage in fundamental and applied research that will improve innovation and efficiency in food production while protecting our environment.

In addition, agriculture is increasingly going high tech and now using Big Data and rapidly adopting AI, drones, Blockchain technologies and more to increase productivity, profit and sustainability. The food industry (food manufacturing and processing) is a fast-growing staple of the U.S. economy and the food supply chain has become global thus creating challenges for food safety, quality and fraud management, and logistics.

The Agriculture and Food Technologies Research Cluster at the University of Memphis brings together a core group of scientists from Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, and Health to work on theoretical, experimental, and applied approaches to contemporary food and agriculture challenges. Additional areas of inquiry and application in Law and Business are also being explored.

Targeted Areas of Research

Biology - Research plants/crops, animals, microbes and their interactions, as well as forestry, agriculture, bioproducts, biodiversity and sustainability.
Food Safety – Research in microbiology related to food pathogens within the entire food supply chain.
Chemistry – Fundamental and applied research on food contaminants, food processing, food manufacturing and packaging, agricultural inputs and analytical analyses.
Engineering Sciences - Fundamental and applied research to develop efficient high-tech tools for agricultural and food production.
Water Resources: Fundamental and applied research on water management.
Blockchain / Supply Chain / Logistics / Cyber Security - Research to improve efficiencies, understand and address vulnerabilities in the national and global food supply chains.
Business / Economics / Finance – Studies on economic impact and trading.
Law: Studies on the impact of new regulatory frameworks and legislative aspects of the global food supply chain and water rights for agricultural operations.
Nutrition – Fundamental and applied research to understand the complexities of nutrition and health.