Thomas Amon is a Professor at the Free University of Berlin and Head of the Department of Sensor Technology and Modeling at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy Potsdam (ATB) . He leads research in livestock-environment interactions , with a focus on reducing greenhouse gases, managing antimicrobial resistance, and optimizing dairy and pig production systems. Current Roles: Department Head (ATB), Professor (Free University Berlin) Research Pillars: Animal husbandry emissions, biogas systems, antibiotic resistance dynamics, climate-resilient farming His research interests span agricultural biotechnology, environmental microbiology, and sustainable systems engineering. Key projects include: LeibnizLabPP - Pandemic preparedness in animal-environment systems SMP4 - Antibiotic use modeling in livestock EmiMod - Emission quantification methods Using process-based models like Dutch Tier 3 and ManureDNDC, he quantifies whole-farm carbon and nitrogen cycles across confinement and pasture-based dairy systems. His work reveals: 63% of GHG emissions from confinement systems come from enteric methane Pasture systems show 18-69% soil organic carbon sequestration 19.9 tCO 2 -eq per cow in confinement vs 2.7-4.0 tCO 2 -eq in pasture systems His scientific contributions include: First mechanistic model linking diet composition to antibiotic resistance gene persistence Novel framework for dairy GHG accounting across barn-manure-soil interfaces Optimized ventilation models for pig housing with outdoor access









