Future Focus for Biosystems
The Biosystems Engineering Department maintains a strong tie to the major forces in Alabama's economy, specifically the poultry industry, the forest products industry, fisheries and related aquaculture industries, and other natural resources- and agricultural-based industries. To address engineering needs in these industries, four major focus areas have been identified for the Biosystems Engineering Department. These focus areas encompass all three sectors of our mission: education, research, and outreach. These areas are:
- Biological Engineering
- Ecological Engineering
- Production and Process Engineering
- Off-highway Vehicle Engineering
By focusing faculty efforts and financial resources on these program areas, Auburn's Biosystems Engineering Department can achieve a level of regional and possibly national prominence. Auburn's unique situation allows the department to capitalize on research and outreach areas that are not available to many other institutions (e.g. aquaculture, poultry, food safety, and forest products) while focusing on Alabama's needs in these areas. By developing productive research and outreach programs in these focus areas, the Biosystems Engineering Department will help the Ginn College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture reach their goals for national prominence. Brief descriptions of these focus areas follows:
Biological Engineering
This focus area includes biological process engineering and food engineering. Biological engineering involves applying biosystems engineering principles to the solution of problems involving biological organisms and their environments. Biological engineering combines knowledge of process design with biological principles to develop the processing methods to produce new products from bioresources. Biological engineering develops microbiological processes to produce foods, biochemicals, enzymes, and pharmaceuticals. Biological engineering develops basic processes that occur at the genetic or cellular level and then deploys these processes at industrial scales. Food engineering involves applying engineering principles to basic food science problems and scaling up these processes in a safe, cost-effective manner for efficient manufacture and distribution. This focus area will include work in bio-sensors, food safety, and bio-based products development. New initiatives in this focus area will lead the Ginn College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture into high visibility research and outreach that can make significant impacts on the Alabama economy. After completing one search underway, two faculty will be working in this area.
Ecological Engineering
Since Alabama has so many engineering needs in preserving and enhancing its environment and natural resources, Biosystems Engineering remains focused on ecological engineering. This focus area includes traditional land and water conservation engineering along with watershed and stream protection and restoration. These land and water engineering efforts will encompass agricultural, forestry, and other natural resource problems. This focus area also includes management of agricultural waste products and the application of geospatial technologies to improving management decisions for our environment and natural resources. After completing one search that is underway, four faculty will be working in this area.
Production and Process Engineering
The mainstay industries (poultry, aquaculture, and forest products) have many basic engineering needs that occur in their production and processing phases. Engineering solutions are needed for many problems that occur in the production of the raw commodities. For example, engineering expertise is needed to improve the life support systems (feeding, aeration, waste management) for aquaculture systems while also providing engineering solutions to optimize handling and harvesting systems. Similar needs exist in the poultry industry and in the forest products industry. Once the commodity products are taken to processing plants, additional engineering expertise is needed to improve efficiency, reduce energy use, manage waste products, improve food or fiber quality, etc. Currently, one faculty member is working in this area.
Off-Highway Vehicle Engineering
While other units in the Ginn College of Engineering are focused on automotive and transportation needs, Biosystems Engineering will complement those efforts by focusing on engineering for off-highway vehicles. These vehicles include machines and systems used in agriculture, forestry, construction, and recreation. By working in this area, Biosystems Engineering will bring to bear its unique relationships with the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, the USDA Forest Service, and Caterpillar Corporation to address contemporary problems in safety, performance, and productivity of off-highway vehicle systems. This work will include continued development and deployment of geospatial tools and sensors for precision agriculture/precision forestry techniques, improved sensors and controls for machine optimization, management and processing of vehicle performance information, design improvements for greater vehicle safety and performance, and reduced environmental impacts from vehicle operation. Two faculty are currently working in this area.
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