Kathy Steppe, Ghent University, Belgium

Kathy Steppe is Bio-engineer, Doctor in Applied Biological Sciences and Full Professor at Ghent University. Since 2008, she guides and manages the UGent Laboratory of Plant Ecology (http://www.plantecology.ugent.be) of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, which is specialized in plant ecophysiology. Kathy uses an array of plant sensors and plant models, along with medical imaging techniques, to study the dynamic responses of trees and crops to their environment. Plant water relations and carbon metabolism are jointly investigated to better understand the dynamic plant-environment interplay, with a special emphasis on drought in a changing climate. She is active in several scientific advisory boards and committees, including the UGent endowed chair Agrotopia. In her papers, she reports on new discoveries and high-tech developments within the ecophysiological plant research.