Horticulture Industry Mourns Passing of Marc van Iersel
April 25, 2023 
Marc van Iersel
The Greenhouse Grower team joins the greenhouse and horticulture community in mourning the passing of Dr. Marc van Iersel, a professor at the University of Georgia and co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Candidus, who passed away on April 20, 2023.
In a post on its LinkedIn page, the Candidus team said “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our co-founder and Chief Science Officer, Marc van Iersel. Marc’s wife and loved ones were able to spend time with him over the last few days and were at his side when he passed away. True to the end in science, Marc donated his body to the Cornell Medical School where they will use it for cancer research. We send condolences to his family and know that he will rest in peace.”
Marc was known to many in this industry for his research on effective greenhouse lighting solutions, including the development of an online electricity cost calculator for supplemental lighting that is based on real greenhouse conditions.
In 2019, a team of two university lighting researchers and an engineer were looking for a way to help growers improve their lighting system control, reduce energy use, and increase operational profitability. They recognized that while there have been lots of advances in LED lighting technology over the past decade, in the controlled-environment agriculture industry, LED fixtures typically are still used as simple, more efficient replacements for HPS fixtures.
Fast forward to 2021, and early adopters saw the fruits of the system that was ultimately developed by van Iersel and his partners, Erico Mattos, a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, and Dave Hicks, a Georgia Tech engineer with broad experience across several technology sectors. Candidus was Greenhouse Grower’s 2021 Technology of the Year winner.
A full obituary for Dr. van Iersel will be available soon. In the meantime, a Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, May 2 at the Day Chapel at the University of Georgia Botanical Gardens. RSVP for the service at https://forms.office.com/r/rs952sgLwv.
Lord and Stephens Funeral Home, EAST, Athens, GA, is in charge of arrangements. Greenhouse Grower invites any tributes and comments to be made below.
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