Southwest Florida Research & Education Center

SWFREC supports thirteen faculty programs and a staff of more than 90 people. Active research programs in citrus horticulture, vegetable horticulture, irrigation and water resource management, precision agricultural engineering, pest management, plant pathology, citrus pathology, agricultural and natural resource economics, soil microbiology, plant physiology, weed science, soil science, and agricultural economics occur on 320 acres of land at SWFREC. The faculty and staff of SWFREC serve a vibrant commercial agricultural region.

SWFREC Directory

Michael Burton

Center Director, Ph.D.

burton.m@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee

2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3413
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Ute Albrecht

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Plant Physiology

ualbrecht@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3422
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Ozgur Batuman

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Citrus Pathology

obatuman@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3408
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Jawwad Qureshi

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Entomology

JawwadQ@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3458

Sarah L Strauss

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Soil Microbiology

strauss@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3468
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Fernando Alferez

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Citrus Horticulture

alferez@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3426
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Ramdas Kanissery

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Weed Science

rkanissery@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3455

Pamela D Roberts

Professor, Ph.D.

Plant Pathology

pdr@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3430

Tara R Wade

Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Agricultural Natural Resources Economics

Tara.Wade@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3444
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Yiannis Ampatzidis

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Precision Agriculture

i.ampatzidis@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3451
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Kimberly Morgan

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Agricultural Economics

kimorgan@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3428
Fax:(239) 658-3403

Sanjay Shukla

Professor, Ph.D.

Water Resources Engineering

sshukla@ufl.edu

UF / IFAS SWFREC - Immokalee
2685 SR 29 N | Immokalee, FL 34142
Tel:(239) 658-3425
Fax:(239) 658-3403

2015_Arnold_C_465x581

Dr. Calvin Arnold
Professor Emeritus
Horticultural Sciences
cearnold@ufl.edu

Dr. Edward A. Hanlon
Professor Emeritus
Soil and Water Science
eahanlon@ufl.edu

ADMINISTRATION

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Dr. Michael Burton	Center Director	(239) 658-3413	burton.m@ufl.edu

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Alicia Antone	Research Administrator	(352) 660-4316	aantone@ufl.edu
Denise Bates	Administrative Support AST II	(239) 658-3424	ddbates@ufl.edu
Rebecca Decker	Human Resources Generalist I	(239) 658-3420	rdecker54@ufl.edu
Angelina Gonzales	Accountant	(239) 658-3450	a.gonzales@ufl.edu
Janice Hill	OPS Administrative	(239) 658-3400	jthill@ufl.edu
Allison Walton	Administrative Support Assistant	(239) 658-3400	awalton3@ufl.edu

FARM FLEET AND FACILITIES OPERATIONS

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Zoe Watson	Farm Manager	(239) 658-3434	zshobert@ufl.edu
Perfecto Aragus	Agricultural Assistant	(239) 658-3400	pgaragus@ufl.edu
Cindy Cortright	Custodial Worker II	(239) 658-3400	c.wilder@ufl.edu
Paul Gagnon	Mechanic	(239) 658-3400	paulgagnon@ufl.edu
Lenel Jones	Agricultural Assistant I	(239) 658-3400	lejones@ufl.edu
Frank Macander	Maintenance	(239) 658-3400	frank.macander@ufl.edu
Roger McGill	Maintenance Generalist II	(239) 658-3400	frmc@ufl.edu
Jorge Ocanas	Agricultural Assistant	(239) 658-3400	ocanasrj@ufl.edu
Jose Rosas	Agricultural Assistant I	(239) 658-3400	josegrosas@ufl.edu
Ivan Rua	Agricultural Assistant I	(239) 658-3400	irua@ufl.edu

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Kevin Hill	IT Professional II	(239) 658-3439	kuh@ufl.edu
Marisol Sanchez Gonzalez	Applic Developer Analyst II	(239) 658-3435	sanchezm@ufl.edu

MEDIA

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Julie Carson	Marketing and Comm Specialist	(239) 658-3462	carsonj@ufl.edu

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Kimberly L Morgan	Associate Professor	(239) 658-3428	kimorgan@ufl.edu
Victor Contreras	OPS	(239) 658-3400	vjosue.contreras@ufl.edu

AGRICULTURAL NATURAL RESOURCES ECONOMICS

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Tara Wade	Assistant Professor	(239) 658-3444	Tara.Wade@ufl.edu
Shourish Chakravarty	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	shourish@ufl.edu

PRECISION AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Yiannis Ampatzidis	Associate Professor	(239) 658-3451	i.ampatzidis@ufl.edu
Lucas Fideles Costa	Engineering and Research Technologist	(239) 658-3400	lfidelescosta@ufl.edu
Vitor Gontijo da Cunha	OPS Technical	(239) 658-3400	vitor.gontijodac@ufl.edu
Christian Lacerda	OPS	(239) 658-3400	christia.lacerda@ufl.edu
Wenhao W. Liu	Graduate Assistant Research	(239) 658-3400	wenhaoliu@ufl.edu
Israel Ojo	Graduate Research Assistant	(239) 658-3400	israelojo@ufl.edu
Vinay Vijayakumar	Graduate Assistant Research	(239) 658-3400	v66vijayakumar@ufl.edu
Zhicheng (Jason) Zhu	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	zhu.zhicheng@ufl.edu

WATER RESOURCES

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Sanjay Shukla	Professor	(239) 658-3425	sshukla@ufl.edu
Miriam Arango	OPS	(239) 658-3400	marango@ufl.edu
Spencer Burkhart	OPS	(239) 658-3400	sburkhart1@ufl.edu
William Donaghyt	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3400	william.donaghy@ufl.edu
Adam Fuerst	Graduate Research Assistant	(239) 658-3400	adam.fuerst@ufl.edu
Pricilla Gutierrez	OPS	(239) 658-3400	gutierrez.p@ufl.edu
Chayse Harrell	OPS	(239) 658-3400	charrell1@ufl.edu
Gregory Hendricks	Engineer	(239) 658-3466	hendrick@ad.ufl.edu
Mehran Homayounfar	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	nkalita@ad.ufl.edu
Neelnayana Kalita	Graduate Assistant Research	(239) 658-3400	homayounfar@ad.ufl.edu
Kamal Mahmoud	Research Coordinator	(239) 658-3419	kaem@ufl.edu
Leo Saltaren Pazmino	Engineering Technician	(239) 658-3400	l.saltarenpazmin@ufl.edu
Vijay Santikari	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3418	vsantikari@ufl.edu
Isacc Soto	OPS	(239) 658-3400	isac.soto@ufl.edu

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP)

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Timothy Ayankojo	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	iayankojo@ufl.edu
Alonzo Rebolledo	OPS	(239) 658-3400	arebolledoduran@ufl.edu

ENTOMOLOGY

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Jawwad Qureshi	Associate Professor	(239) 658-3458	JawwadQ@ufl.edu
Mohamed Ali	Graduate Student	(239) 658-3400	mohamed.ali@ufl.edu
Xuedong Chen	OPS Research Assistant	(239) 658-3400	xuedo1gchen@ufl.edu
Barry Kostyk	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3457	bkostyk@ufl.edu
Benny Pena	Agricultural Assistant	(239) 658-3400	benitopena@ufl.edu
Gabriel Rugno	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	gabrielrugno@ufl.edu
Esmaeil Saberi	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	esaberi@ufl.edu
Monica Triana	Agricultural Assistant	(239) 658-3400	mtriana@ufl.edu
Alfredo Villalobos	OPS	(239) 658-3400	avillalobos96@ufl.edu

CITRUS HORTICULTURE

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Fernando Alferez	Assistant Professor	(239) 658-3426	alferez@ufl.edu
Divya W. Aryale	Graduate Assistant-Research	(239) 658-3400	divyaaryal@ufl.edu
Saoussen Ben Abdallah	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	saoussen.benabda@ufl.edu
Timothy Gast	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3442	tcgast@ufl.edu
Maria Martinez	Agricultural Assistant	(239) 658-3400	martinezmaria@ufl.edu
Murillo Otavio de Sousa	OPS	(239) 658-3400	motaviodesousa@ufl.edu
Osbaldo Vasquez	OPS	(239) 658-3400	o.vasquez@ufl.edu

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Ute Albrecht	Associate Professor	(239) 658-3422	ualbrecht@ufl.edu
Leigh Archer	Graduate Assistant-Research	(239) 658-3400	larcher1@ufl.edu
Gabriel de Castro Marconi Pugina	Graduate Assistant-Research	(239) 658-3420	gabrieldecastro@ufl.edu
Caroline de Favari Tardivo	Graduate Assistant-Research	(239) 658-3400	caroline.defava@ufl.edu
Jasmine de Freitas	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3400	jasminedefreitas@ufl.edu
Anas Fadli	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	a.fadli@ufl.edu
Franco Gustave	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3400	fgustave@ufl.edu
Muhammad Fasih Khalid	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	muhammadf.khalid@ufl.edu
Bryce Meyering	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3416	bbmeyering@ufl.edu
Gerardo Moreno	OPS	(239) 658-3400	morenog@ufl.edu
Larissa Nunes da Silva	OPS	(239) 658-3400	nunesdasilva.la@ufl.edu
Ankit Pokhrel	Graduated Assistant Research	(239) 658-3400	pokhrel.an@ufl.edu

WEED SCIENCE

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Ramdas Kanissery	Assistant Professor	(239) 658-3455	rkanissery@ufl.edu
Mahesh Bashyal	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	maheshbashyal@ufl.edu
Robert Riefer	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3400	reriefer@ufl.edu
Nirmal Timilsina	Graduate Assistant	(239) 324-4744	nirmaltimilsina@ufl.edu
Ruby Tiwari	Graduate Assistant	(239) 658-3400	ruby.tiwari@ufl.edu

CITRUS PATHOLOGY

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Ozgur Batuman	Assistant Professor	(239) 658-3408	obatuman@ufl.edu
Juan Balderas	OPS	(239) 658-3400	jbalderas1@ufl.edu
Jean Yves Berisse	Graduate Research Assistant	(239) 658-3400	jberisse@ufl.edu
Kellee Britt-Ugartemendia	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	kbritt2005@ufl.edu
Fetchina Gereus	OPS	(239) 658-3400	fgereus@ufl.edu
Sanju Kunwar	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3400	sanju.kunwar@ufl.edu
Ana Redondo	Research Coordinator	(239) 658-3400	redondo@ufl.edu
Salih Yilmaz	Graduate Research Assistant	(239) 658-3400	salihyilmaz@ufl.edu

VEGETABLE PATHOLOGY

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Pamela Roberts	Professor	(239) 658-3430	pdr@ufl.edu
Katherine Hendricks	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3445	kemh@ufl.edu
Stephanie Teems	Research Coordinator	(239) 6583400	ssteems@ufl.edu

SOIL SCIENCE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Nikolaos Tziolas	Faculty	(239) 658-3400

SOIL MICROBIOLOGY

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Sarah Strauss	Assistant Professor	(239) 658-3468	strauss@ufl.edu
Emma Dawson	Graduate Assistant Research	(239) 658-3400	emma.dawson@ufl.edu
Elena W. Karlsen-Ayala	Post Doctoral Associate	(239) 658-3420	ekarlsenayala@ufl.edu
Brittney Monus	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3447	bmonus@ufl.edu
Diderot Saintilma	Graduate Assistant	(239) 658-3400	dsaintilma@ufl.edu
Kira Sorochkina	Graduate Assistant-Research	(239) 658-3400	k.sorochkina@ufl.edu

VEGETABLE HORTICULTURE

Name	Title	PHONE	EMAIL
Pavlos Tsouvaltzis	Faculty	(239) 658-3404
Jessie Watson	Biological Scientist	(239) 658-3404	jwatson84@ufl.edu

CURRENT STUDENTS

Name	Title	Program	Research Topic
Mohamed Ali	PhD student	Entomology	Management of Asian Citrus Psyllid
Leigh Archer	PhD student	Plant Physiology	Tree Physiological Responses to Trunk Injection of Therapeutics for HLB Control
Jean-Yves Berisse		Entomology
Daniel Boakye	PhD Student	Citrus Horticulture	Basis for Understanding Abscission and Managing Pre-harvest Fruit Drop in HLB Affected Citrus Trees
Kellee Britt	PhD Student	Citrus Pathology	Unraveling the Asian Citrus Psyllid Virome and Its Interactions with Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus in FL Citrus
Emma Dawson	PhD Student	Soil Microbiology
Caroline De Favari Tardivo		Plant Physiology
Angelica Engel	PhD Student	Water Resources	Flows in the Northern Everglades Basin Under Current and Future Climate and Sea Levels: Drivers, Modeling, and Management
Adam Fuerst		Water Sciences
Kira Hansen	PhD Student	Water Resources	Improved Food-Water-Energy-Disease-Land Nexus from Compact Bed Plasticulture for Fresh Produce
Israel Ojo		Precision Agricultural Engineering
Diderot Saintilma	MS Student	Vegetable Horticulture	Utilizing Warm Season Cover Crops in Florida Vegetable Production
Moonwon Soh	PhD Student	Ag Economics	Multi-conservation Practice Adoption
Kira Sorochkina	PhD Student	Soil Microbiology	Nitrogen Fixation in Agroecosystem Biological Soil Crusts
Nirmal Timilsina	MS Student	Weed Science	Pre-emergent (residual) herbicide use in citrus - Environmental fate and potential impacts on tree health and productivity.
Ruby Tiwari	PhD Student	Weed Science	Evaluating the strategies to improve pre-emergent herbicide efficacy and crop safety in vegetable plasticulture production.
Vinay Vijayakumar	PhD Student	Precision Agricultural Engineering	Autonomous smart sprayer for precision weed management using machine vision and Artificial Intelligence
Salih Yilmaz	PhD Student	Citrus Pathology	Working on Phloem-limited Pathogens in Economically Important Crops in Florida

FORMER STUDENTS

Name	Title	Program	Research Topic
Timothy Ayankojo	PhD Student	Soil Science	Irrigation and Nitrogen Management in Tomato Production Using SmartIrrigation Scheduling Model
Shahrzad Bodaghi	PhD Student	Plant Physiology	Evaluation of Scion-rootstock Interaction in Response to HLB
Susmita Gaire	MS Student	Plant Physiology	Preventing Young Trees from Psyllids and Infection with Clas through Use of Protective Netting
Biwek Gairhe	MS Student	Weed Science	Glyphosate in Florida Citrus Production System: Environmental Fate and Effects on Citrus Health
Shirin Ghatrehsamani	PhD Student	Precision Ag	Simulation of Heat and Canopy of Disease-infected Trees Inside Mobile Heat Treatment Canopy Cover
Sudip Kunwar	MS Student	Plant Physiology	Evaluation of Different Citrus Rootstocks’ Response to HLB in Large-scale Commercial Field Trial
Clayton Nevins	PhD Student	Soil Microbiology	Investigating Biological Soil Crusts and Nutrient Availability in Citrus Agroecosystems
Sameer Pokhrel	MS Student	Plant Physiology	Comparison of Field Performance of Citrus Trees on Rootstocks Propagated by Seedlings, Cuttings, and Tissue Culture
David Toole	MS Student	Soil Microbiology	Bioinformatic Techniques to Determine Soil Microbial Functions
Jessica Torres Velez	PhD Student	Citrus Pathology	Evaluate transport, dynamics, and efficacy of therapeutic treatments, applied in citrus trees through novel delivery methods, for management of Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus, the bacteria associated with Huanglongbing.