OAC Graduate Student Improving Food Security in Earth's Harshest Climate's
PhD Candidate Ajwal Dsouza Explores Earth’s Toughest Food Challenges
How do you grow fresh, nutritious food where traditional agriculture can’t survive—like in the Arctic, deserts, or even outer space? That’s the challenge Ajwal Dsouza is tackling through his research at the University of Guelph, using advanced science to make food production possible in the harshest environments on Earth.
Dsouza’s journey began in Mangalore, a city along the southwest coast of India. Like many students there, he faced the pressure of choosing a career that was both meaningful and practical.
“In India, there’s a strong emphasis on doing something important with your life,” he says. “Feeding people felt like the most important challenge I could take on.”
Being part of the agriculture research at U of G helped me understand how everything is connected—food, health, and the environment. It showed me the value of looking at problems from different perspectives, and that’s something I now try to bring into my own research.
He studied agriculture during his undergraduate years and was drawn to the science behind sustainable food production. Then, in his third year, a professor mentioned something unexpected: space agriculture. That intersection—growing plants in controlled environments for space missions—captured Dsouza’s imagination. He began searching for graduate programs that explored this futuristic field, which led him to the University of Guelph.
For students considering undergraduate or graduate studies in environmental science or agriculture, Dsouza’s path is a reminder that the field is evolving in exciting directions. “Agriculture is no longer just about fields and tractors,” he says. “It’s about innovation, sustainability, and using science to solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems.”
And for Dsouza, that mission now reaches all the way to space—and back.
Innovating Agriculture for Space and Earth's Toughest Environments
Now in his third year of doctoral research, Dsouza is working on controlled environment agriculture—an approach to growing plants indoors using tightly regulated inputs like light, CO₂, temperature, and humidity. Originally developed through a Canadian collaboration to support deep space food production, this research at Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility is now being adapted for use in places where food is hard to grow—such as deserts, northern communities, or regions affected by climate change.
“Growing food for space forces us to be incredibly resource, energy, and cost efficient,” Dsouza explains. “That mindset helps us think creatively about how to grow food anywhere on Earth, regardless of local climate or season.”
The Role of Community in Research
Dsouza says the University of Guelph provided strong support and community. “My advisor, Dr. Thomas Graham, and the entire research environment at Guelph made it possible for me to stay focused,” he says. “The facilities are exceptional, and the opportunities to collaborate—locally and globally—are incredible.”