Hailey Summers

My research is focused on quantifying the sustainability of agriculture, bioprocessing and food-related systems through life cycle and techno-economic analyses. I am interested in understanding environmental and economic trade-offs of emerging technologies as well as improving the process efficiency of existing product pathways and supply chains. Specifically, I am looking at quantifying the environmental impact and associated economics of cannabis cultivation, new crop integration to the arid Southwestern United States and local versus distributed food systems for urban cities. With this work, I hope to better inform the general public and policy makers such that future decisions can be approached sustainably.