Speaker Spotlight: Chris Williams, Community Aquaponics Track
“Opportunities and Limitations in Sustaining Community-Driven Aquaponics Operations”Chris completed his Master of Science in Environment and Natural Resources Management at the University of Iceland in 2017. His thesis, entitled “A Viability Assessment of Commercial Aquaponics Systems in Iceland”, was completed under Icelandic aquaponics professors and researchers Ragnheidur Thorarinsdottir and Magnus Thor Torfason. Chris’ experience includes both aquaponics and hydroponics, as well as system automation using raspberry pi technology. Chris presented portions of his work at a 2017 COST conference, hosted by the Europeanframework supporting trans-national cooperation among researchers, engineers and scholars across Europe.Chris is from Columbus, OH. He received his undergraduate degree in 2010. Since 2012 he has been working with local startups and small-scale operations designing and fabricating aquaponic, hydroponic, and aeroponic systems. Chris had spent 2013-2015 teaching English in China at Hainan University. He has successfully completed aquaponics training through the European COST Scientific Network and has aquaponics research manuscripts under peer-review for publication. Currently, Chris is working freelance for consultation with regards to aquaponics production.