Triston Hooks joined CEAC in 2021 as an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Biosystems Engineering Department at the University of Arizona. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Plant and Environmental Sciences from New Mexico State University in 2020, where he researched rangeland ecology and plant salinity tolerance. Since 2019, he has worked as a Research Associate at Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in Dallas, where his research focused on Urban Agriculture and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology, including hydroponic systems and LED lighting. He has conducted research on Organic hydroponic production of lettuce and the application of ultra-violet (UV) light to enhance plant quality in greenhouse production systems.