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SCAS Community Speaker Series: Ed Rosenthal

Join us on Dec 3, 2025 at the Selby Library, featuring Honorary Doctorate of Science and Technology collaborator of NASA Space Plant Biology Growing Veggies in Space 2025.

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SCAS Community Speaker Series: Ed Rosenthal

The Sarasota Sister Cities Association invites you to a fascinating evening at Selby Library, featuring Dr. Edward Rosenthal Honorary Doctorate of Science and Technology and collaborator of NASA Space Plant Biology Growing Veggies in Space 2025.
 
 
Event: NASA Space Plant Biology and Artemis Mission
Date & Time: December 3rd, 2025 at 5:00pm
Location: Selby Library, Sarasota
 

Ed Rosenthal is a visionary polymer chemist, biologist and entrepreneur. His enduring commitment to innovation, sustainability, and education has earned him widespread recognition—from NASA collaborations to two hall of fame inductions. Join us as Ed  Rosenthal recounts how his controlled-release fertilizer technologies have reshaped both traditional agriculture and NASA space-based food production. Ed worked with NASA’s Veggie team to supply plant food for astronauts. He will explain the importance of growing fresh produce in space for long missions and how his SNR fertilizer serves both terrestrial agriculture and extraterrestrial food systems. This event is a chance for everyone to learn about space gardening and its challenges!

About Dr. Ed Rosenthal:

Edward (Ed) Rosenthal, D.Sc. (honorary doctorate degree), co-founded Florikan ESA (Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture) in 1982 in Sarasota, Florida, alongside his wife, Betty. Ed remains a driving force behind sustainability in agriculture. With the research assistance of NASA Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, Ed Rosenthal is the inventor of Florikan Controlled Release (CRF) Fertilizer, as well as of Staged Nutrient Release (SNR), which in 2004 received the National Most Innovative New Product Award from the NSPE National Society of Professional Engineers in America.

In 2013, NASA began employing the SNR products in the Veggie plant growth experiments aboard the International Space Station. Upon collaboration with NASA’s space vehicle teams, Florikan’s controlled-release fertilizer became the exclusive fertilizer used in ISS-based crop production systems.

https://www.nasa.gov/science-research/fertilizer-technology-plants-pioneer-in-hall-of-fame

 
After several years of rigorous research, Florikan CRF was selected by the Space Plant Biology program at NASA KSC, as the controlled release fertilizer product to grow vegetables on the International Space Station for our astronauts.
In 2017 for his effort helping NASA successfully grow veggies in space, Ed Rosenthal was nominated by NASA and inducted with NASA into the Space Technology Hall of Fame (STHOF). 

Recent Recognition:

  • Inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in 2025, for developing and inventing the patented Staged Nutrient Release (SNR) system, which aligns nutrient availability with plant growth phases, enhancing efficiency and minimizing environmental runoff.
  • Currently included in a space technology exhibit at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum of growing food in space.

Dr. Ed Rosenthal’s further legacy includes:

  • An advocate for STEM Education: Rosenthal’s influence extends beyond scientific innovation. He holds the title of certified Space Educator and Certified Space Technologist and is a fervent supporter of STEM education, contributing to programs like Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Growing Beyond Earth.
  • The Rosenthal Roots Family Foundation, established by the Rosenthal family, which continues under Ed and Betty Rosenthal’s leadership.

 

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