Oliver Körner is a senior scientist and research group leader at the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ), Germany. His research focuses on controlled-environment agriculture, with particular emphasis on greenhouse climate control, crop and production-system modelling, resource-use efficiency, digital twins, and sustainability assessment.
Trained in horticultural science, he has worked at the interface of plant science, engineering, and systems analysis for almost three decades, in both academic and applied research environments. His work has progressed from modelling plant responses and developing model-based greenhouse climate-control strategies to integrated approaches for evaluating complex controlled-environment production systems. Current research combines process-based and data-driven models, sensor-based monitoring, life-cycle assessment, and climate-change scenarios to support the design and management of resource-efficient production systems.
He coordinates and contributes to several European and international research projects and collaborates widely across horticulture, plant science, modelling, engineering, aquaponics, and sustainability research. A central aim of his work is to connect physiological understanding with system-level modelling and decision support for sustainable food production.