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Food. We all need it, and most of us love it. It keeps our bodies moving, sometimes encourages us to learn new skills, and brings us together. But what about the food that goes uneaten? Well, there is hardly a person today who is not aware to some extent that food waste, especially in the United States, is a problem. But at SESYNC, we are focused on finding solutions—solutions to complex environmental problems—and food waste is no exception. But how do we do it? The answer is interdisciplinary science.
In this audio interview, SESYNC's Erin Duffy talks to Dr. Quentin Read about his research to find real-world solutions to this intractable situation and how these efforts are one piece of a larger puzzle to create a more sustainable food system.
Quentin is a data scientist at SESYNC who helps international teams of researchers process, analyze, and manage big, complex datasets. Starting out at SESYNC as a postdoctoral research fellow, Quentin and his research team focused on modeling the impacts of the food system on human and natural communities by using techniques from ecology, environmental science, and economics.
For a full transcript of this interview, click the PDF below.
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About the Presenters
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Quentin D. Read
Postdoctoral Fellow; Data ScientistDr. Quentin Read first arrived at SESYNC in 2018 as a postdoctoral research fellow working with the Food Waste and Environment group, investigating the environmental impacts of food waste throughout the food supply chain. In 2019, he joined SESYNC's data science team, helping SESYNC researchers and working groups with data analysis, visualization, processing, and management. He also developed and taught lessons for SESYNC’s data science curriculum and maintained the rslurm package to lower barriers to access to SESYNC’s high-performance computing cluster.
In his work, Quentin used big open...
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Quentin D. Read
Postdoctoral Fellow; Data ScientistDr. Quentin Read first arrived at SESYNC in 2018 as a postdoctoral research fellow working with the Food Waste and Environment group, investigating the environmental impacts of food waste throughout the food supply chain. In 2019, he joined SESYNC's data science team, helping SESYNC researchers and working groups with data analysis, visualization, processing, and management. He also developed and taught lessons for SESYNC’s data science curriculum and maintained the rslurm package to lower barriers to access to SESYNC’s high-performance computing cluster.
In his work, Quentin used big open data to understand how humans influence the natural world. His SESYNC research involved:
- Identifying the sectors of the U. S. economy that are the most responsible for the food system's environmental impacts
- Assessing the effectiveness of proposed interventions and technologies to reduce food waste
- Incorporating biodiversity into environmental assessments of food production and consumption.
An ecologist by training, Quentin earned his PhD at the University of Tennessee and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in spatial and community ecology at Michigan State University before coming to SESYNC. Please see Quentin's website for more information on his publications and research interests.
External Links:
https://http://quentinread.com
https://github.com/qdread
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nW17_vcAAAAJ&hl=en
https://quentinread.com/files/qread_cv.pdfImage
Erin Duffy
Faculty SpecialistErin Duffy was a Faculty Specialist at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) from 2019 to 2023. In this role, she supported the communications team in the design and development of communication products that disseminated the vast knowledge created by SESYNC researchers around the world. Inspired by the Center’s diverse and interesting projects and participants, Erin developed a podcast called, Succinct Science—Audio Interviews from SESYNC, to help integrate intellectually expansive information into everyday life.
Passionate about community, individual, and environmental...
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Erin Duffy
Faculty SpecialistErin Duffy was a Faculty Specialist at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) from 2019 to 2023. In this role, she supported the communications team in the design and development of communication products that disseminated the vast knowledge created by SESYNC researchers around the world. Inspired by the Center’s diverse and interesting projects and participants, Erin developed a podcast called, Succinct Science—Audio Interviews from SESYNC, to help integrate intellectually expansive information into everyday life.
Passionate about community, individual, and environmental health and well-being, Erin has worked in a variety of roles, including: environmental educator; marketing associate for a social service organization and community garden coordinator for a food bank, both through Americorps; as well as a caregiver for adults with differing physical and intellectual abilities.
Erin earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy and Science, and she has continued to pursue educational opportunities, most recently by becoming a certified yoga instructor and positive psychology practitioner.