John Vincent Nate

Project Title: Ground-Up: Process development for diversifying the portfolio of indigenous feedstock materials utilised in manufacturing peat-alternative growing media

Overview John Vincent Abenoja Nate is a licensed Agricultural & Biosystems Engineer (ABE) in the Philippines and accredited Professional Engineer by Engineers Australia under Agricultural Engineering (AE). As Walsh scholar pursuing PhD Biosystems & Food Engineering at UCD, John is working on the developments of machinery processed Irish feedstock for improved wood/plant-based growth media. He is investigating the process refinement of industrial hammer-milling and composting to promote the Irish bio-resources portfolio.

Techno-economic analysis is another focus of his works which involves evaluating the cost-benefit and economic performances of Irish feedstocks for industry adoption. This will be beneficial in providing diverse peat-alternatives available to substrates manufacturers in Ireland.

John finished BSc ABE with Latin honour as Cum Laude at Central Luzon State University, Philippines in June 2019 and achieved the 8th place highest grade in the ABE Licensure Exam last October 2019. In January 2020, he started MSc AE funded as visiting scholar at Washington State University, where he gained experience in biomass conversion technologies. Then, he served as college instructor in his alma mater from March 2022 – May 2025. Besides lecturing, he was designated as project staff in several research involving agri-machinery and smart farm planning using 3D Computer-aided Design.

ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3366-4919 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/engr~jvnate/ 

Teagasc Programme: Crops, Environment and Land-Use Programme

Research Location: Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre

University: University College Dublin

Teagasc Supervisor: Dr Eoghan Corbett

Academic Supervisor: Dr Nick Holden

Funding Source: Teagasc