Awards and Honors

2004 Graduate Student Achiever's

This Awards and Honors page highlights notable graduate student achievements in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering

• Helen P. Rollins
• Mike Burchell III
• Heather Lynn Schaetzle
• Johnny M. Grace

BAE is proud to announce that Helen (Paige) P. Rollins has been selected to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) award.

This fellowship provides a maximum tenure of three years that can be used over a period of five years. As a part of this award, NSF offers an opportunity to apply for a startup grant to use the supercomputer facilities at one of our (PACI) Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure facilities.

The entire list of all the award recipients is posted on http://www.nsf.gov/grfp. You can find other information about this year's competition there as well.

A Brief look at Paige's Research
Directed by Dr. Jennings

Paige's research is currently being directed by Dr. Jennings. Many of these projects include channel realignment, in-stream structure installation, streambank stabilization, and tree planting in the riparian corridor.Studies are needed to assess the performance of these projects in meeting restoration goals and providing long-term stream stability.

This project involves evaluation of the performance of rock cross-vanes, engineered structures used to stabilize banks, maintain streambed elevations, and enhance habitat. This project includes quantitative and qualitative analyses, risk assessment, and mathematical modeling. The primary hypothesis is that there are relationships between the design and installation methods of the cross-vane and down stream scour, failure, and risk. These relationships can be assessed quantitatively and qualitatively as well as be described by a mathematical model.

Parameters being assessed are the constriction of flow over the rock-cross vane, angles and slopes of the arms, vertical drop, flow path and volume, distance to scour hole, and bed and bank materials. There is also an expected relationship between the success of the structure to the upstream structures as well as the overall success of the design. This study will attempt to distinguish between structure-specific failure and that which is caused by the external design of the stream.

The Department is very proud of Mike. He was the first PhD student chosen from all the graduate students nominated throughout the university to receive the very first Annual Nancy G. Pollock Thesis and Dissertation Award.

This is a new interdepartmental challenge for graduate students and it is sponsored by the NC State Graduate School. The program is not only designed to reward outstanding scholarly research, but also to demonstrate the positive impact of graduate-level research on both the NC economy and the quality of life for all its citizens.

Each college nominates one recent master's degree recipient and one recent doctoral degree recipient for the thesis and dissertation awards. This was a great honor for Dr. Burchell and for our department and is reflective of Mikel's hard work and his and the BAE's efforts to improve the state of North Carolina with student research. Mike is now employed by the department as an Assistant Professor /Extension Specialist.

For more information about this award contact Dr. David Shafer, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, at 515-4462 or via e-mail at david_shafer@ncsu.edu.

A Brief look at Dr. Burchell's Research
Directed by Dr. Skaggs
Link to Burchell's thesis on-line at the NCSU Libraries

    Dr. Burchell's research was in reducing nitrate losses from drained agricultural fields. Many soils in eastern NC are poorly drained and require drainage systems to increase agricultural production. However, subsurface drainage increases nitrate export from these fields. Excess nitrate from these areas can cause eutrophication in nearby streams and estuaries, and contaminate drinking water wells. Dr. Burchell looked at two methods - installing drainage pipes in poorly drained soils at depths shallower than traditional designs and treating drainage waters from these areas with in-stream constructed wetlands with various wetland soil types. These methods used alone or in tandem could be employed in eastern NC as well as in the Midwestern US to reduce the nitrate loads to surface and groundwater, while maintaining crop production benefits associated with drainage systems.

  Congratulations to Heather Lynn Schaetzle on receiving the Annual Outstanding TA Award given each year by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is a significant award recognition of Heather's value to the department and to our graduate and undergraduate programs. Heather assisted Dr. Boyette and Dr. Abrams with BAE's Senior Design course. Senior design is a two semester course where students develop engineering projects in teams working as units of engineers similar to what they may experience in real-world engineering projects.

A Brief look at Heather in Action
Heather's teaching effort is being directed by Dr. Boyette

Senior Design is the capstone course in the BAE curriculum where student teams produce real-world engineering projects. Dr. Boyette and Dr. Abrams both agree that Heather has been one of the best TA's they or the students have worked with throughout the years. Understanding the importance of this course and experiencing the frustrations and hustle-bustle of students when they desire to create a quality final project is the core of this particular TA position. Heather has intuitively picked up on student needs and proved to be a natural teacher. She has brought both enthusiasm and quality teaching to this TA assignment.

She has been totally committed to the students, and found the delicate balance of firm yet fair in her grading that's needed of a good teacher.  Heather has made herself available to faculty and students all while maintaining a sterling graduate record and an ambitious off campus research project. She has often worked evenings and on weekends to make herself available to the students fitting their tight schedules into hers. Her relationship with the students developed into respect for her knowledge, her experience, her fairness and most of all for her commitment of time.

Heather discovered that teaching with enthusiasm often spills over into other commitments, not part of TA responsibilities, and has been instrumental in helping the NCSU student chapter of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers prepare for the national engineering competition coming this summer. The faculty who have gotten to know Heather believe she is a born teacher and have encouraged her to consider a career where she can use her talents.

BAE was proud to have such an accomplished graduate student of African American background receive recognition as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences outstanding ACAAGS student achiever.

ACAAGS awards are presented to the most academically outstanding graduate student in each college of the university who has extensive experience or excellence in one or the following combination of academic achievement areas: semester GPA, overall GPA, completed degrees, professional memberships, honors received, or other exhibits of academic excellence.

Brief look at Achievements of Johnny (now Dr.) Grace
Research directed by Dr. Skaggs

Dr. Grace's research was focused on evaluating the effect of forest operations on poorly-drained, organic soil forest watersheds in the Tidewater Region of North Carolina. Forest operations are a necessary element in the management of forest resources for ecological, economic, and social viability. Forest management activities such as harvesting and thinning can influence the hydrologic behavior of watersheds resulting in increased water yield. However, a gap exists in our current understanding of the effect of harvesting and thinning operations on forest outflow quantity and quality from watersheds comprised of organic soils.

Dr. Grace evaluated the influence of thinning a pine plantation and clear cut harvesting a mature natural stand on soil properties (bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity), hydrologic components (water yield, peak flow, and water table depths), and water quality from organic surface soil watersheds. DRAINMOD was used to model the effect of thinning these organic soil watersheds on hydrology.

Department Phone: (919) 515-2694
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Last Update: 01/31/2007