Learn more about
the overall departmental research efforts on the
BAERESEARCHandEXTENSION
pages.
Our graduate research programs are focused on the research
areas outlined below. 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.
Environmental Engineering
Natural structures
and vegetation can improve stream bank erosion and water quality.
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
For more information on environmental engineering,
visit the Grad
Faculty Page and check out the links to the individual
areas of specialization.
Bioprocessing
Bioprocessing faculty work closely with graduate students researching biomass conversion processes that will enhance the production of useful products from plant and crop residues.
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.
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
For more information on bioprocessing,
visit the Grad
Faculty Page and check out the links to the individual
areas of specialization.
A number of our bioprocessing faculty work
closely with the engineering faculty in Food Science. BAE
students have often co-majored 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
Enhancements
to machinery systems can improve production and reduce machinery
operation times, a benefit to both the
operator and the environment.
Work in the machines systems area involves
the 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.
For more information on machine systems
research, visit the Grad
Faculty Page and check out the links to the individual
areas of specialization.
Controlled Environment Agriculture
Animal Structures: 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.
Controlled environment
agriculture is concerned with many different types of animal
and plant production facilities.
Greenhouses: The focus of this area is
on the development of a rational approach to cooling design
to replace the rules-of-thumb now being used. In addition,
there is a need for general computer models to describe the
internal environment, sensors for monitoring plant responses
to environmental change, models of heat pump usage in greenhouse
operations, and investigation of natural- and forced-ventilation
cooling systems.
For more information on controlled environment
agriculture, visit the Grad
Faculty Page and check out the links to the individual
areas of specialization.
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NCSU / Biological & Agricultural Engr. D. S. Weaver Labs, Campus Box 7625, Raleigh, NC 27695
Department Phone: (919) 515-2694 Webmaster-Disclaimer
Last Update: 01/31/2007
