More than 65% of all nitrogen fertilizers that farmers apply in fields worldwide are not used by crops and wash into our natural ecosystems, leading to 2.6 billion tons of carbon emissions per year, according to a 2023 study from the University of Cambridge—more than global shipping and aviation combined.

Piotr Lazarek, a dual-degree fourth-year student in Penn’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology (M&T), is unflaggingly driven by the question of how farmers can reduce fertilizer application, thereby reducing both costs and the agricultural carbon footprint. Read more about his work in Penn Today.