Elena Pelech is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Steve Long at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Elena's research focuses on exploring both ecological and technological methods to increase plant productivity on a land area basis. Elena earned her bachelor's degree in genetics from the University of Essex and she later went on to earn her doctorate in plant physiology from the University of Illinois. Her PhD project's work was focused on plant growth and architecture using both field experiments and three-dimensional model simulations to elucidate the ecophysiological complexities of intercropping systems to improve ecosystem services.