Head of division crop production, Model Project Plant, Economy, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE). Hans Fink has worked for many years as Head of Division at the Project Management Agency of the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (PT-BLE). He studied general agricultural sciences at the University of Hohenheim and completed his traineeship for the higher agricultural service in Rhineland-Palatinate, specializing in teaching at agricultural vocational and technical schools and farm consultancy. At the project management agency, he was responsible for the development of funding programs such as the Federal Ecological Farming Program and the Animal Welfare Model Project and is currently in charge of funding measures for arable farming strategy (R&D, model projects, farm networks). The latter are currently a focus of the department's work, while the other tasks have been absorbed into new work units. In addition to environmental and climate-relevant topics currently being funded (projects on N-efficiency, climate adaptation), relevant topics are identified in advance for further funding calls, which address foreseeable developments and issues in both research and pilot projects, and practical solutions are sought through the projects generated in this area.
Prof. Dr. Bruno Glaser is Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. After studying food chemistry, he completed his doctorate and habilitation at the University of Bayreuth in the field of soil science and isotope analysis. His research focuses on biochar Terra Preta, the stabilization of carbon and nitrogen in soils and the application of stable isotopes. Prof. Glaser is regarded as one of Germany's leading soil biogeochemists and an internationally recognized expert in sustainable soil management. With over 200 scientific publications, he has earned an outstanding reputation, particularly through his work on Biochar and Terra Preta, which combines analytical excellence with practical solutions for climate and environmental protection.
Head of Division 335 Centre of excellence proteins of the future, Humus at the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE). For almost three years, she has been heading the Division 335 „Centre of excellence proteins of the future, Humus“, which is assigned to the Project Funding Agency (PT-BLE) of the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food. Before taking over as head of Division 335, she held various positions at PT-BLE, including 5.5 years in innovation promotion and 1.5 years in agricultural research with a focus on model and demonstration projects, i.e. with a clear link to agricultural practice. She studied crop science and worked for several years in research at the University of Hohenheim, focusing on plant breeding. She is currently working with her team in the field of alternative proteins, identifying new topics, developing corresponding research calls and supporting the resulting research, networking and knowledge transfer projects from the initial phase to implementation.
Dr. Paul Luu is an agronomist specialised in tropical agronomy, with degrees from AgroParisTech, the Institute of Tropical Zones and the University of Montpellier (PhD). He started out in the field (6 years) in agricultural research projects (Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka and Tonga) before joining the international relations department of the French Ministry of Agriculture. He was in charge (7 years) of relations with the FAO, the WB and the CGIAR, of bilateral relations with Africa and the Mediterranean, and of the management of French food aid (200,000 t of cereals per year). He then spent 9 years developing agriculture in the French overseas territories as Technical Advisor for “Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry” and as Director of ODEADOM. In 2011, Paul LUU was appointed Director of Agropolis International (Montpellier – France) before joining the CGIAR Consortium in September 2013 as Liaison Officer with the French authorities, then as Protocol Officer. Since September 2016, Paul LUU has been seconded by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food as Executive Secretary of the international Initiative “4 per 1000: Soils for Food Security and Climate”, launched at the COP 21 in Paris.
Chris Tolles, CEO and co-founder of Yard Stick PBC, is a Boston-based entrepreneur focused on science commercialization in service of the climate change crisis. Prior to Yard Stick he was CEO and co-founder of Sundaily, an ingestible sun protection product company which he sold to Grove Collaborative in 2020. Previous to his founding roles, Chris worked with HBS Professor Clay Christensen, creator of the theory of disruptive innovation, at Clay's firm Innosight, focused on entrepreneurial innovation efforts at large corporate clients including Bose, Biogen, and Eli Lilly. Before Innosight, Chris worked in various emerging market-focused impact roles in Switzerland, Norway, Liberia, Honduras, and Hong Kong. Chris holds an MBA from Boston University and a BFA in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He's proudly from the great state of New Jersey.
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