Research Areas/Topics
- Controlled Environments for Animal and Plant Production and Commodity Storages
- Mechanical and Structural Systems
- Natural Resources Conservation and Management
- Processing for Adding Value to Biological Materials
- Safety and Systems Engineering
Various research projects are undertaken by faculty, staff and students in these focus areas. Department personnel are very successful in obtaining research support from private, government, and business/manufacturing entities. These grants and awards help support many graduate students and allow considerable advantages for funding research activities and providing real-world engineering and research challenges and accomplishments. Graduate students have the opportunity to select research projects from the wide diversity of research interests of the faculty. Generally, a thesis/dissertation research project will involve both analytical and experimental investigations that rely upon the student's background in engineering, basic physical sciences, and biological/agricultural sciences. Theses/dissertations may range from being almost completely theoretical to almost completely experimental in nature. The research project is selected by the student in consultation with the faculty adviser. The following should provide an idea of the types of graduate research topics that are being (or have been) investigated:
Controlled
Environments for Animal and Plant Production and Commodity Storages
(CEAPS) topics
include:
Drying with dessicants for food processing operations; optimal
sizes and/or environments for grain bins or other commodity storage
facilities; greenhouse irrigation systems; nutrient management
in greenhouses; greenhouse wetland systems; greenhouse heating;
animal housing systems; behavior, safety and comfort of animals
and workers; heat stress relief for animals; air quality/animal
performance interactions; air quality/human respiratory responses;
modeling air quality in buildings; environmental control for plant
systems; mushroom production systems; and use of enthalpy wheels
in ventilation systems.
Faculty most active in this research thrust area are: Drs. Dennis Buffington, Ali Demirci, Robert Graves, Paul Heinemann, Ken Lomax, Virendra Puri, Eileen Wheeler and Roy Young.
Mechanical and Structural Systems (MSS) research
includes:
Pesticide application systems (variable rate, draft control, air-blast); design
of agricultural machinery systems; evaluation and improvement of animal feeding
systems; forage harvesting and storage; feeding systems to optimize animal performance;
optimizing the use of forages and other ruminant feed resources; automation in
existing food processing plants; computer vision systems for non-destructive
evaluation of food products; robotics applications in fruit and vegetable mechanization;
radiotelemetry for predicting damage during mechanical handling; vehicle tracking
systems; sensor development for precision agriculture; remote sensing for crop
assessment; GPS and GIS development and applications in agriculture; fuel cells
and microturbines for on-site electricity generation; wood engineering; analysis/design
of post frame structures; hardwood glue-laminated design; wood bridge design;
bulk solids storage dynamic loads; load deformation behavior of feeds, grains,
fertilizers, and pesticides; finite element and boundary element modeling of
structural systems; interactions between structural materials and granular media;
and alternative structural systems for housing.
Natural Resources Conservation and Management(NRCM) projects
include:
Agricultural mapping systems; sedimentation basin design; tillage system effects
on runoff, erosion, and pollutant transport; erosion processes; hydrology of
quality turfgrass areas; drinking water quality and treatment for domestic and
livestock use; numerical modeling of water and pollutant transport processes;
methods for identifying critical nutrient contributing areas in watersheds; GIS-based
evaluation of non-point pollution from agricultural lands; modeling the physical
and economic aspects of conservation and nutrient management practices; water
quality under greenhouse systems; utilization of sludge on forest and non-agricultural
land; utilization of recyclable materials in agricultural systems; decontamination
of polluted soils; transformation, uptake, and movement of wastes and chemicals
applied to soils; on-site wastewater treatment and management; milking center
wastewater disposal systems; composting and refeeding residues from agricultural
production, food processing, and dining facilities; biogas production from animal
manures and other biological materials; biogas utilization for generation and
vehicle power; and odor control for mushroom and animal production facilities.
Drs. Herschel Elliott, Robert Graves, James Hamlett, Al Jarrett, Tom Richard, and Robert Shannon are most actively involved in the NRCM research area.
Processing for Adding Value to Biological
Materials (PAV) research
includes:
Flow behavior of powder and granular food products; aseptic processing of food
products; food biosensors; on-line computer control of food processing operations;
modeling heat transfer mechanisms during thermal processing of foods; food automation
and control; smart food systems; storage reaction kinetics of biotechnology-derived
products; mechanical properties of food and other biological materials; dielectric
properties of food and other biological materials; new technologies in food processing;
constitutive models for bulk foods; microscopic approach for load response of
granular materials; thermophysical properties of freezing and frozen foods; failure
mechanisms of food and other biological materials; computer models of food products
during microwave heating; numerical modeling of food processing operations; microwave
processing of foods; food safety during minimal and added-value processing; industrial
microbiology/fermentation.
Faculty most actively involved in this research thrust area are: Drs. Ali Demirci, Paul Heinemann, Virendra Puri, Tom Richard, and Paul Walker.
Safety and Systems Engineering (SSE) projects
include:
Expert systems for food process engineering; machine design and systems management;
structural and environmental modification; natural resources engineering and
management; precision agriculture applications; tractor stability information
processing; agricultural accident analysis; simulation of pasture utilization
and other forage-animal systems; human factors engineering for safety; machinery
safety demonstration program development; hazard reduction for youthful and aged
workers; agricultural occupational health; manure storage and handling safety;
animal handling safety; energy management systems; non-destructive evaluation
of quality; strategies for optimal use of energy in food production and processing
systems; and impacts of deregulation of electricity generation on food production
and processing systems.
Drs. Dennis Buffington, Paul Heinemann, Dennis Murphy, C. Alan Rotz, and Paul Walker are most active in this research thrust area.