Biosystem 310

[Janoc Florez]

Welcometo the department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science (BESS) at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA). Whether you are a potential student, research collaborator, alumnus, or just browsing for information, our people, programs, and projects have something to offer you.

Our faculty includes biosystems engineers, soil scientists, and a bio-climatologist, together with a gifted technical support staff. Our programs encompass the full range of the land-grant mission, which includes teaching, outreach and service. Our research projects can be, but are not limited to, sensors and soil testing, spray technology and water quality, precision agriculture and environmental modeling, soil physics and vegetable production systems, agricultural safety and chemical transport, food quality and machinery systems, waste treatment and environmental rehabilitation, electrical systems and subsurface hydrology. Please explore the site to learn more.

Welcome to the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, where we strive to impact the future of agriculture through engineering, precision and technology. The ABE Department focuses on identifying and improving the world's food production systems and available natural resources for an enhanced agricultural future.

We prepare our students to positively affect and lead the future of agriculture. Our undergraduate students can major in three programs - agricultural and biosystems engineering (ABE), precision agriculture (PRAG) and agricultural systems technology (AST) - all of which prepare students for a broad range of careers across the agricultural industry. Our graduate students can pursue degrees in agricultural and biosystems engineering (M.S.), science in engineering (M.Eng.), agricultural, biosystems and mechanical engineering (Ph.D.) and biological sciences with a specialization in agricultural and biosystems engineering (Ph.D.).

We also provide the public and industry with the resources necessary to build healthy communities. Cutting-edge research in our department spans topics that range from food safety and biodiesel fuel to biofilms and biosensors. Our Extension engineers and specialists provide information regarding water management and resources, environmental quality, climatology and youth education outreach. The Mesonet at SDState, South Dakota's live weather network, provides accurate weather updates every five minutes to increase agricultural efficiency and the Water Resources Institute provides leadership on evolving water concerns and problems faced by South Dakota citizens.

Our Biosystems Engineering (BSE) program prepares students for careers involving the application of engineering design and problem-solving in the realm of biological systems including natural resources, the rural environment, and agricultural production and processing. We have a solid base of traditional engineering courses mixed with significant exposure to physics, chemistry, and applied biological sciences. The electives in the BSE program allow students to emphasize the study of natural resources and environment (for example, Non-Point Source Pollution) or autonomous agricultural systems (for example, Robotics for Biological Systems). Upon graduation, our BSE students find employment in commercial engineering firms consulting in sustainable land development and environmental engineering, agricultural machinery manufacturers, government agencies involved in environmental regulatory activities, etc. Some choose to pursue further education in graduate school or even professional schools such as law or business administration.

Biosystems Engineering is the branch of the engineering profession that deals with problems encountered in biological systems including ecology, the rural environment, and agriculture. The responsibilities of the Biosystems Engineer often include designing solutions to problems in the following applications:

The curriculum in Biosystems Engineering is designed to give the student a thorough grounding in the basic sciences of biological systems, mathematics, physics, and chemistry, followed by a series of fundamental and applied courses in engineering. Apart from preparing students to work in natural resources and agriculture, the B.S. in Biosystems Engineering is an excellent foundation for graduate study in biosystems engineering and other engineering disciplines, and preparation for entry into certain professional schools including law school. Biosystems Engineering students can choose to focus their course sequence on one of two emphasis areas:

Natural Resources and Environment. Agricultural activities and climatic changes affect the rural environment. Engineers are needed to design solutions to problems in this area, which can involve improving sustainable land-use practices, developing efficient water-usage strategies, improving water quality, and protecting and conserving soil and water resources. Students in this emphasis will take courses on soil and water management, nonpoint-source pollution, remote sensing, and geospatial computing. This emphasis prepares students for careers in land-use permitting, natural resource management, and conservation.

Autonomous Agricultural Systems. Worldwide trends demand that significantly more food be produced per acre, with less environmental risk, and with significantly less labor. This requirement can be met only with autonomous agricultural systems, which involve sensors, analytical tools like artificial intelligence, and mechatronic and robotic systems. Examples of such technologies include self-driving tractors, agricultural drones, and robotic harvesters. Students in this emphasis will take courses on sensors, imaging, machinery, and robotics. This emphasis prepares students for careers in design of agricultural machinery and systems as well as precision agriculture.

Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status protected by applicable law is prohibited.

Biological systems engineering or biosystems engineering is a broad-based engineering discipline with particular emphasis on non-medical biology. It can be thought of as a subset of the broader notion of biological engineering or bio-technology though not in the respects that pertain to biomedical engineering as biosystems engineering tends to focus less on medical applications than on agriculture, ecosystems, and food science. The discipline focuses broadly on environmentally sound and sustainable engineering solutions to meet societies' ecologically related needs. Biosystems engineering integrates the expertise of fundamental engineering fields with expertise from non-engineering disciplines.

Many college and university biological engineering departments have a history of being grounded in agricultural engineering and have only in the past two decades or so changed their names to reflect the movement towards more diverse biological based engineering programs.[1][2] This major is sometimes called agricultural and biological engineering, biological and environmental engineering, etc., in different universities, generally reflecting interests of local employment opportunities.

Since biological engineering covers a wide spectrum, many departments now offer specialization options. Depending on the department and the specialization options offered within each program, curricula may overlap with other related fields. There are a number of different titles for BSE-related departments at various universities. The professional societies commonly associated with many Biological Engineering programs include the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)[3] and the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE),[4] which generally encompasses BSE. Some program also participate in the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) [5] and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).[6]

Below is a listing of known academic programs that offer bachelor's degrees (B.S. or B.S.E.) in what ABET and/or ASABE terms "agricultural engineering", "biological systems engineering", "biological engineering", or similarly named programs. ABET accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ASABE defines accredited programs within the scope of Ag/Bio Engineering.

Advance fundamental understanding of genome biology and develop the genome-scale engineering technologies needed to design, build, and control plants and microbes for the production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials.

The ability to deliberately manipulate and design biological systems has large implications for Genomic Science Program (GSP) research, including the elucidation of gene function at the organismal level; production of novel, high-value fuels, chemicals, and materials; and manipulation of plant and microbial behavior and interactions for the development of sustainable biofuel and bioproduct production systems. The program seeks to enable a future in which biological systems can be designed for specific purposes in silico and be built and tested using automated procedures, delivering new biosystems for deployment into the bioeconomy. Given the complexity and breadth of the requisite scientific challenges, this goal will require a broad, interdisciplinary, and cross-institutional approach.

Unless otherwise noted, publications and webpages on this site were created for the U.S. Department of Energy Genomic Science program by Biological and Environmental Research Information System (BERIS). Permission to use these documents is not needed, but please credit the U.S. Department of Energy Genomic Science program and provide the URL ( ). Materials provided by third parties are identified as such and not available for free use.

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