Erica Hernandez

erhern@pdx.edu

Education

  • 2023 - present, PhD of Biology, in progress, Portland State University, Portland, OR

  • 2018, Dec Master of Science, Field of Horticulture, minor in Education, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

  • 2016, May Bachelors of Science, Plant Science, School of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Minor in Computer Science, Department of Computer Science, College of Science; University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

  • 2013, Dec Associates Degree in Liberal Arts for Transfer, Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ.

Awards and Publications

  • GPN’s 40 Under 40 Class of ‘22 award recipient

  • e-Gro - Powdery Mildew of Hemp (2022); Fusarium Wilt of Hemp (2022)

  • Greenhouse Grower - multiple articles published for Griffin Greenhouse Supplies (2021, 2022)

  • Hernandez, E.; Timmons, M.B.; Mattson, N.S. Quality, Yield, and Biomass Efficacy of Several Hydroponic Lettuce Cultivars in Response to High Pressure Sodium Lights or Light Emitting Diodes for Greenhouse Supplemental Lighting. Horticulturae 2020, 6(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae6010007. https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/6/1/7

  • Hernandez, E; Giacomelli, G; Lewis, M; An, L. Evaluation of season, cultivar, and aeration on biomass production of greenhouse hydroponic lettuce. Acta Hort 2017, 1170.77. https://www.actahort.org/books/1170/1170_77.htm

  • Patterson, RL; Giacomelli, G; Hernandez, E; Yanes, M; Jensen, T. Poly-culture food production and air revitalization mass and energy balances measured in a semi-closed lunar greenhouse prototype. ICES 2014, conference presentation. http://hdl.handle.net/2346/59615

Experience

  • Spring 2024, Principles of Biology Lab & Lecture TA, PSU. Responsibilities include lab lecture delivery, leading active learning sessions, reading and grading lab reports and lecture assignments.

  • Winter 2024, Plant Anatomy Lab TA, PSU. Responsibilities include lab lecture creation and delivery, quiz creation and delivery, microscope maintenance, knowledge of staining techniques, paper and quiz grading.

  • Fall 2023, Principles of Biology Lab TA. PSU, Portland, OR. Responsibilities included delivering lab lectures, reading and grading lab reports and quizzes, video editing and maintenance.

  • 2020 to 2023, GGSPro CEA Technical Specialist. Griffin Greenhouse Supplies, Portland, Oregon. Responsibilities included answering grower questions via phone and email, developing training materials for internal technical team trainings, article writing and publication in various outlets, and extensive travel to visit customers on-site at greenhouses and nurseries.

  • 2019, July to October, Northwoods Nursery, Molalla, Oregon. Horticulturist. Responsibilities included data collection for several fruit tree variety trial projects, monitoring and caring for critical care plants, watering duties, maintaining an IPM schedule of release and trapping, and gathering and cataloging fruit from several trials

  • 2016 Fall to Winter 2018, Graduate research assistant, Mattson Lab, Cornell University. Researching the effects of different wavebands of light on both lettuce and tomatoes. Maintaining various hydroponic production systems and accompanying sensors. In charge of data collection and analysis for two projects, and the research and design of a third.

  • 2018, Fall, Intro to Plant Science, Graduate Teaching Assistant at Cornell University. Introductory plant science class for undergraduate students, giving a broad overview of plant processes, families, and topics. Responsibilities included grading papers, delivering lectures, keeping track of attendance.

  • 2017 Fall to 2018 Spring, The Art of Teaching, Graduate Teaching Assistant at Cornell University. Class for undergraduates to learn about teaching techniques in a variety of scenarios and levels. Attended classes to assist with lecture delivery, grading paper, leading activities, designing lectures.

  • 2015 to 2016, Student Research Assistant, Palanivelu Lab, Department of Plant Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona. Responsibilities: Learning typical plant sciences laboratory protocols such as seed scoring, GUS staining for pollen tetrad analysis, tissue collection, aniline blue staining to visualize pollen tube growth and reception, and general plant care.

  • 2012 to 2016, Student Research Assistant, Lunar Greenhouse Project, Nasa Steckler Space Grant for Human Space Exploration, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Responsibilities: Caring for plants, managing plant production cycles, data analysis, and tour presentations.