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Graduate Research Areas

photo colage of three photos one shows a hand with a vile the next a student pointing to a part on a tractor and the third a student sitting on the grass mat he just finished installing on the side of a stream.

About our graduate research programs

The programs are designed to be flexible and we try to give students a great deal of leeway in selecting a project; however, sometimes funding limitations restrict the projects available within a given area. If you see an area that interests you, follow up by contacting one or more of the faculty working in that area to see what options are available. Subject areas are Environmental Engineering, Bioprocess, Machine Systems and Controlled Environment Agriculture.

Environmental Engineering

Photo of a view from above of a stream
Natural channel design and native
vegetation can improve stream
bank erosion.

Environmental engineering focuses on the development of technology and systems to protect soil, water and air resources from agricultural and other non-point sources of pollution.

Research projects include:

  • Design of constructed wetlands and other water quality practices in urban and rural areas to remove nutrients from surface water.
  • Development of systems to recover nutrients from animal wastewater.
  • Design and evaluation of management practices to reduce environmental impacts and improve crop production on poorly drained soils.
  • Develop methods to evaluate the impact of land development and management on the hydrology of wetlands.
  • Development and evaluation of full scale animal waste treatment systems that will meet new higher performance criteria.
  • Techniques to restore damaged streams and prevent further deterioration.
  • Documentation of the microbial pathways used in nitrogen transformations at work in new and existing treatment systems and the development of systems to encourage and enhance those transformations.
  • Development of a regenerating scrubber for reducing animal house emissions.
  • Development of mitigation and control technologies for particulate matter and pollutant gas emission from agricultural operations.
  • Air quality dispersion modeling

Bioprocess Engineering

Photo of a graduate student holding tow samples.
Bioprocessing faculty involve graduate
students in their latest research projects.

The bioprocessing program focuses on the conversion of biological materials for the production of value-added products. These products include, but are not limited to, biofuels and energy, enzymes, organic acids and food and beverage products, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.

Potential research areas may involve:

  • Development of microbial processes and fermentation
  • Instrumentation and control of processing systems
  • Downstream processing and product separation technology
  • Pretreatment and hydrolysis of plant biomass
  • Food processing and safety

A number of our bioprocessing faculty work closely with the engineering faculty in Food Science. BAE students have often compared in FS. If you are interested in the options available, please visit the pages of Brian Farkas, Chris Daubert, K. P. Sandeep or Kevin Keener, all associate members of the BAE faculty.

Machine Systems

Photo of students working with a faculty member to imput coordinates into a GPS
The latest technologies are tested
in the department and students
get hands-on training.

Work in the machines systems area involves he development and application of mechatronic technology to the production, processing and distribution of economical, safe, and nutritious food and fiber to meet the needs of our growing world population. Machine systems applies engineering to the interface between humans and the environment, including animals, as well as applying technology to enhance productivity, safety, health, and environmental quality.

The program places emphasis on machine systems design, computer-based process control algorithms and sensors, and development of engineering based interventions to improve or eliminate ergonomic stressors in agricultural, forestry, and food processing tasks which currently are manually intensive resulting in acute injuries and cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs). Also broader human factors related work at the machine-human interface is being addressed through active vibration control in off-highway vehicle operator seat suspensions. Engineering and biological sciences are being integrated for the synthesis of innovative concepts; analysis, simulation and modeling of new designs; and the testing and implementation of economically significant advances.

Controlled Environment for Agriculture

view from above of a stream
A student reads data form this air
quality unit..

Animal Structures and Air Quality: Work in this area has been focused on indoor air quality and the emission of air pollutants into the outdoor environment. For this reason, faculty in this area may also work in the environmental area. Research projects might involve the development of technologies for measuring and reducing odor inside and outside livestock facilities, and the development of computer models describing the dispersion of the odor plumes emitted from these facilities.

Aquacultural Systems: The focus of this area is on systems for recirculating aquaculture production systems. Research develops, evaluates new technology for intensive fish farming at the commercial scale.