Speakers

Wei Zhang is the Education Coordinator of The Institute of Soil Genomics for Healthy Community Forests and the VP of R&D at Zynnovation LLC. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Engineering from Virginia Tech. He has been doing research & development for the green industry for 15 years. His research areas include watering solutions for landscape plants, relationship of soil/water/air, plant protection against stresses like drought and road salt. His work also provides novel solutions to green stormwater infrastructures, for which plants are used for the treatment of pollutants in stormwater.  

After working with every segment of the green industry (nurseries/growers, landscapers, landscape architects, civil/transportation engineers, arborists, horticulturalists, landscapers, and municipal foresters) for over ten years, Wei realized something was missing. The soil as the most fundamental aspect of growing trees in built environments is not discussed enough. Even when soil is the topic, it is mainly about NPK and micronutrients. The importance of microbial should be emphasized. Soil Genomics reveals the population and makeup of soil microbes and provides a tool to pinpoint the problems with trees growing in our city landscapes. 

He has more than 40+ peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, one monograph and 200+ conference presentations. He has been a frequent speaker on Arboriculture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Forestry, Stormwater Green Infrastructure, and related conferences and symposiums. He is known as a scientist, educator and public speaker. Dr. Zhang is an ASLA approved LA CES provider.