Blog #2.5 Meet Ken Prewitt

Bio: I am a Graduate of the University of Alabama, with a BA Majoring in history with a Biology Minor, and from Southern New Hampshire University in Operations Management w/ a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certificate. I have also attended and graduated from the US Army Command General Staff College at Ft Leavenworth KS. Presently I’m at the University of California, Merced for a Ph.D.  in the Engineering division’s  Department of Management of Complex Systems (MCS). My studies involve the cultivation of climate-suitable, drought-tolerant specialty crops (Olives, Coffee, and Saffron). I enjoy the outdoors (hunting, fishing, and hiking) traveling, and history, however, I’m passionate about European football, American College Football, and cooking.

Ken will be coordinating the UC Merced team this year in place of Dr. Naughton since she is on parental leave.

Pre-departure thoughts: What I hope to get from the study is a comparative analysis of the production process of household-level argan-related goods and services and compare them to the process of oil production from olives. From this, determine barriers and mitigation strategies for underserved farmers. Although I have traveled some, I am looking forward to learning about the culture, history, and especially the cuisine, of Morocco, along with the aspects of argan oil production.