News and Photos

Heather Austin, Student Services Coordinator Receives 2009 SPA Award

As the Student Services Coordinator, Heather Austin has had an important and positive impact on student recruitment to the Bio&Ag Engineering Program. The Award was presented at the Annual Department Award Luncheon held on October 15th. Read More

The 2009 Bioenergy was held October 1st. at the Williamsdale Farm Agricultural and Research Facility in Wallace N.C. Highlights included the latest developments in oilseed, sweet sorghum, industrial sweet potato and cellulosic biomass production, harvesting and on-farm processing. Several of our faculty and graduate students were on hand to talk about and demonstrate Bio&Ag's work in this area. 
See more photos

Mr. Justus Ammons, a native of Mars Hill, North Carolina, received his B. S. in Agricultural Engineering Technology from NC State University in 1957. After graduation, he spent four years in the Air Force and five years as an Agricultural Engineer with Carolina Power and Light (CP&L). While an employee of CP&L during the mid 1960’s, he was active in the NC Section of American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), and served one year as Chair. In 1968, he began developing land and building houses. Mr. Ammons has been very successful in developments which have contributed greatly to several communities in North Carolina. Read more about his achievements

The Student Association of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) went going on a canoe trip to Falls Lake was Saturday (October 3rd 2009). Lunch, canoes, paddles and life jackets were provided. Students and Faculty had a great time. Join us next year... More Photos

To kick-off the academic year the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering held its annual ice cream social. A good size crowd enjoyed Chocolate, Butter Almond and Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream. The ice cream  that was served is made on campus at the NCSU Creamery run by the Food Science Department. MORE PHOTOS

Dr. Garry Grabow, PE  and his graduate students brought lawn water use research studies to homeowners in the Town of Cary. Residents were eager participants in test studies to keep lawns greener with less water. They were in the WRAL news see the story at: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5077251/ The groups work was also highlighted in NC States Research Results Magazine http://www.ncsu.edu/research/results/vol9n2/09.html

Congratulations to Dr. Beasley who has accepted a prestigious position as Dean of Engineering at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro this Fall.

Beasley has spent 17+ years on the faculty at NC State and for seven and a half years he served as our Department Head.  Under his leadership, the department had many accomplishments like increasing enrollment (both graduate and undergraduate), increasing research funding, hiring new faculty, and developing and, ultimately spinning off the Biomedical program (BME). 
For the past few years Beasley has been greatly involved in program assessment. He has worked to get the new R&D Building at the Lake Wheeler Field Labs online to raise research capabilities in air quality and waste management. He has taught natural resource engineering courses and been involved in students-oriented campus programs. We wish you future successes.

An Ice Cream Social was held in his honor to say good bye's;

Check it out... The Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department has a new logo. This logo replaces the older logo using the letters BAE in its design. This new logo has been developed by the CALS Agricultural Communications Department to help the general public easily understand what kind of engineering we do.

• NCSU/BAE finished 10th overall out of 23 schools and did very well in the performance component of the event. Finishing 10th or better at this event is outstanding. We finish ahead of schools such as Nebraska, OK-State, and Cal-Poly which are very successful. We are now serious contenders. Although the performance event is the main component, a written design report, team presentation, maneuverability, and static design judging are other aspects of the competition.
  As in the past, AET and BAE students worked together throughout the year to make this happen. A total of 8 (4 AET, 4 BAE) students traveled to Peoria. They are excited about next year and are raising the bar to finish even better. See the tractor team in action on You-Tube.
• 1050lb Class - Hook2:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkqgWmpjEBo
• 1550lb Class - Hook1:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJYkqnmpv34
• 1550lb Class - Hook2:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_TyMJfpLoU

Spring 2009 GRADUATION

• Ceremony Welcome Photos
• Ceremony Undergraduate Photos
• Ceremony Graduate Student Photos
• Ceremony Concludes
• Formal Photos 
• Reception Photos

Graduates now that you are alumni of this department don't forget to visit the BAE Alumni page and stay connected. Once our database is updated you will begin receiving the BAE Alumni newsletter or access it on the web.

 We would like to hear from you in the future... use the BAE update-form or call your favorite professor. If you ever need help finding a job don't neglect the many NCSU resources available to alumni. Remember you are alumni forever. This means no matter how long it has been since your graduation NC State services are always available. The BAE alumni page will direct you to campus alumni career services and other interesting things to do at State.

Our best wishes are for your future success and the one thing we would ask of you is to help us recruit new BAE students. We depend on alumni recruiting efforts since, you are our best emissaries so "Talk-BAE-Up". 

Remember education is a lifelong process... Consider BAE training and credit for continuing education or to earn PDH hours that keep your PE license current. If you are choosing more graduate level studies consider the Graduate Certificate program or earn a MS or PhD in the Graduate Program. At NC State our graduates are always welcome back.

The 2009 Graduate School Rankings from US News and World Report
put Biological and Agricultural Engineering  as ranked 6th.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-
schools/top-engineering-schools/biological-agricultural

2009 has Undergraduate Agricultural Education ranked 10th.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/spec-doct-agricultural

Dr. Matthew Veal, was featured in a NBC 17 news story on March 24th. Dr. Veal is leading the research into using sweet sorghum for ethanol production in North Carolina. A video of the news clip is posted below.

http://johnston.mync.com/site/Johnston/news/story/30431/sweet-sorghum-could- be-ingredient-in-north-carolinas-ethanol-production/

The department celebrated Dr. Whitaker's retirement on 02/26/2009 with an ice cream social held in the Food Science building. Dr. Whitaker officially retired from the USDA after 42 years of federal government service working at Weaver Labs in the area of peanut product food safety.  Dr. Whitaker developed methods to design and evaluate mycotoxin sampling plans and grading methods along with the equipment to assure a safe food and feed supply in domestic and international markets. To learn more about Dr. Whitaker see Dr. Whitaker's Biographical or see  Photos of the Event.