Maximum Yield USA 2012 September | Page 155

An astute reader will notice that the four STEM categories are, by definition, not mutually exclusive. We will ignore this ambiguity in this column and focus instead on accomplishing our primary goals: to bring readers updates on cuttingedge progress in these fields, propose innovative suggestions for tinkering with your set-ups and do a little abstract mind walking as we ponder the future of the hydroponics industry. Now don’t roll your eyes and think that Maximum Yield has gone off the proverbial deep end, adding a ridiculously boring column that will be filled with unreadable blather and messy equations that look like hieroglyphics. No, the aim of this column is to communicate STEM research in a popular science format, easily readable so you can increase your knowledge and hydroponics skills. As with most things in life, hydroponics is both an art and a science. In addition to reporting on current research that can be translated into applicable techniques, I will Engineering use this column to offer novel designs and principles for creating growing systems that can get you closer to the ultimate goal of getting maximum yields with the greatest efficiency of effort, money and time. In future columns, we’ll analyze the efficiency of hybrid systems like this and compare grow results against simpler systems. Perhaps we will even design the ul ѥ