World BAENEWS 2024
Engineering a
LETTER FROM THE INTERIM DEPARTMENT HEAD
2024 has been another year of remarkable achievements and growth for the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) at North Carolina State University. As we reflect on this year's milestones, we are immensely proud of the dedication and excellence demonstrated by our students, faculty, and staff, who continue to push the boundaries of innovation and impact.
Our undergraduate and graduate programs have once again earned national recognition. The Biological Engineering undergraduate program is ranked 7th, while our graduate program holds a strong 3rd place in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.
Our Biological and Agricultural Engineering Technology (BAET) program is also thriving, with increased enrollment and exceptional student success. One of the standout moments of the year was our NC State Student Chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological
Engineers (ASABE) hosting the 2024 Southeastern Regional Student Rally. This event brought together over 175 students and faculty from 13 universities, marking the highest turnout to date. The Rally in Raleigh fostered networking, innovation and collaboration through students participating in industry tours, workshops, lab tours and a design challenge.
Our students have once again made us proud, continuing to excel on national and international stages, bringing home numerous awards and honors (details on page 35).
Our staff have not gone unnoticed either. Lacy Parrish, our Business Services Coordinator, received the CALS Award for Excellence, and our IT specialist, Trevor Quick, was recognized with the "Pride of the Wolfpack" award.
We also celebrated the promotions of Drs. Celso Castro-Bolinaga, Chadi Sayde, Mahmoud Sharara and Jason Ward to Associate Professor with tenure—an acknowledgment of their outstanding contributions to research, teaching, and service.
Our alumni continue to make significant contributions to the world. This year, we proudly recognized Devin Carroll, founder of Custom Controls, as our Outstanding Alumnus, and Alysondria Eason, professional engineer and Mid-Atlantic Practice Group Leader at Hazen and Sawyer, as
our Outstanding Young Alumnus.
In 2024, we were excited to welcome two new members to the BAE family: Olivia Rogers, our new Communications Specialist, and Dr. Frank (Geng) Bai, joining us as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Digital Agriculture.
Looking ahead, we are eager to implement our new five-year Strategic Plan which, alongside our comprehensive reviews of the BAET and graduate programs, will guide us as we continue to lead in education, research and outreach in biological and agricultural engineering.
We remain deeply grateful to our advisory board for their invaluable guidance and to the entire BAE community for your continued dedication to building a more sustainable and resilient future.
Thank you for being an integral part of our journey. We look forward to another year of innovation and excellence in 2025.
Sincerely, Lingjuan Wang Li Interim Department Head and William Neal Reynolds Professor
BAE Educational Garden Opens to the Community
By Krystal Lynch
April 2024 was a whirl of activity for horticultural science graduate student Jasmine Gibson. She applied the final touches to a new garden between the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering’s Weaver Laboratories and the Weaver Administration Building on central campus and celebrated its grand opening.
The BAE People Ecologically Engineering a Regenerative (PEER) Garden, Gibson’s vision of an educational outdoor space, has transformed the nondescript grassy patch near the intersection of Western Boulevard and Dan Allen Drive into an inviting landscape.
“Now we have a garden people can stroll through, sit in and enjoy while viewing the pollinators and other plants,” Gibson says." The design I sketched on paper is a reality.
So much effort went into this, and I’m excited to see how the garden progresses.”
From Concept to Living Laboratory
Beginning in April 2023, Gibson led the design and construction of the BAE PEER Garden while pursuing her master’s degree through the Department of Horticultural Science in NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Her fascination with urban agriculture and sustainable farming stemmed from her former BAE graduate studies and involvement with the Graduate Student Association and a permaculture plant design course taught by Anne Spafford, who now heads the Department of Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University.
The garden will supplement the biological and agricultural engineering curriculum and demonstrate the benefits of sustainable urban farming practices.
The original garden plans included pollinator and vegetable gardens, permeable walking paths, relaxing spaces, decorative grasses, and even a fig tree propagated from its predecessor at Kilgore Hall.
During the fall semester of 2023, Gibson and BAE students planted shrubs and grasses, adhering to a design that would resonate with visitors.
The updated plans include two large raised beds to accommodate the electrical systems underneath. Days before the grand opening, students installed pollinator plants and grasses.
Planting in the late fall and mid-spring challenged the garden’s survival, as plants were in danger of withering from the early winter frost or summer heat.
“We’re learning about heat stresses and how often the plants need water,” Gibson says. “I believe the garden will thrive if we tackle these challenges early.”
Creating the garden provided the graduate student with a unique opportunity to deliver a guest lecture for students in the World Population and Food Prospects Exploratory Studies course, taught by Alumni Distinguished Professor of Crop Science Bob Patterson.
“Jasmine’s garden provided my Exploratory Studies students with an opportunity that otherwise would never have happened—a visit to her garden during the fall semester and interactive engagement,” Patterson says.
After her final project and presentation, Gibson anticipates graduating in the summer of 2024. Her project involves creating a maintenance handbook for the BAE PEER Garden with a narrative about the garden’s genesis and its mission to enhance educational opportunities in the BAE department.
It Takes a CALS Village
The BAE PEER Garden wasn’t possible without consistent, dedicated involvement from community members and advisers.
Assistant Teaching Professor Remi Ham’s expertise in community gardens has been invaluable to Gibson. “She’s been my cheerleader, ensuring I stay on track while preparing my final presentation for graduation. Her insights have given me the confidence to discuss my process, plans and design.”
Peer collaborators also proved vital to Gibson’s work. She worked with BAE graduate Carly Graves on the initial garden concepts and with BAE doctoral student Megan Carr throughout the planning, construction and planting phases. Carr also led outreach and began the beginning steps for forming a student club to encourage the BAE community to participate in gardenrelated activities.
Neil Bain, CALS facilities operations manager, and Joseph Blalock, a BAE staff member, led woodworking workshops to create the fence around the garden’s HVAC system and raised garden beds, which drew active participation from many graduate students.
This inclusive approach rallied faculty involvement and inspired them to initiate class projects, such as designing the garden’s irrigation system.
“In the first year, both BAE undergraduate and graduate students were hands-on and engaged,” Gibson says, adding that undergraduates integrated their coursework into the project.
“I could rely on at least one or two students showing up and actively contributing ideas beyond completing tasks. Their interest in the garden was encouraging, and I hope they’ll inspire others among their peers or faculty members.”
To students who want to create a similar garden, she advises: “Just go for it. If you’re passionate, pursue it. Support will follow. Seek guidance, ask questions and fill knowledge gaps with experts. Don’t fear mistakes; they’re a part of learning.”
BAE PEER Garden complete on campus
Thanks to all of the donors who contributed on Day of Giving this year! In 24 hours, the department raised $14,846 which was the highest dollar amount in CALS. The next Day of Giving will be held on March 26, 2025. Donations can be made all year.
Scan to give pack!
BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING PROGRAMS CONTINUE TO SHINE IN RANKINGS
By Amanda Kerr
The undergraduate and graduate programs in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering are running at peak performance, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2024 rankings.
The department’s graduate program in biological and agricultural engineering climbed one spot to No. 3, while the undergraduate program comes in at No. 7.
The College of Engineering, which jointly administers the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, ranked 27th on the publication’s list for Best Engineering Schools.
For more details on Biological and Agricultural Engineering graduate programs contact Student Services Coordinator Heather Austin at hbgordon@ ncsu.edu.
Biological and Agricultural Engineering Students Strive to Impact Local Teens
By Olivia Rogers
A new student-led outreach group has sprung up in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) Department. Naomi Pitts, a graduate student working under William Neal Reynolds Distinguished University Professor Bill Hunt, is the president and founder of STEM Program to Reach Our Underrepresented Teens (SPROUTs).
SPROUTs is a group that operates within BAE’s Graduate Student Association (GSA). The group began to take root when Pitts was enrolled in a masters student research course. “Something we talked about in class was our broader impact,” says Pitts. “After that class, I started thinking about what could be the broader impact of not just my research, but my time here in this department.”
Pitts credits her interest in biological engineering to her love of the environment and her two older
brothers who also studied engineering. Her research with Hunt focuses on four different stormwater control measures in the state. These measures help to mitigate the impacts of flooding in urban areas.
As for her broader impact, Pitts says, “When I look around, I see that we could use some help increasing diversity and inclusion not just in our department, but in the engineering field in general.” That is exactly what SPROUTs is designed to accomplish.
“I just want to expose students to how diverse engineers can look, and to the idea that you don’t have to look or be a certain way to become an engineer.”
The program sets out to close the gap between K-12 learning and college education through science, technology, engineering, agriculture and math based workshops. Once a month, volunteers travel to a school in Wake County to lead an hour-long activity with students. So far, volunteers have led workshops at Mount Vernon Middle, Dillard Drive Magnet Middle and other schools ranging in grade level.
Many of the workshops implement concepts that graduate students are currently working on in BAE. Lillian Lower, SPROUTs secretary and BAE graduate student, says, “My research focuses on lithium-ion batteries, so with the students we made a circuit.”
She explains that they didn’t make graphite. Lower says that process takes a long time. Instead, the group simplified the concept and focused on explaining its basic principles during the workshop.
The group’s most recent workshop took place at Mount Vernon Middle School. During this session, volunteers taught students about waste water management. Volunteers teamed up to led students
through an activity where they had to use a budget to create a model swine waste lagoon. Lower says that during the activity it was fun to see how each group used their budget differently. Every model was unique.
Pitts explains that SPROUTs isn’t going to schools to replace teachers. They are just trying to expose different engineering concepts to underrepresented teens and children.
Students working on their waste management model.
Pitts (left) and Julia Cunniffe (right) give a presentation on waste management.
“It’s not to make every child that participates want to go and work on something like waste management, but it gets them thinking about how diverse the field of engineering can be,” says Pitts. “I’m sure people have a certain idea of what they think an engineer does, but it is such a broad field of study.” She believes there are things students can do that they might not have considered yet.
SPROUTs also participated in 4-H Science Saturday. Group members spent the day leading STEM-based activities for kids. SPROUTs group members used a model of a coastal town to demonstrate water and pollutant run-off into the ocean.
Lower says teaching these concepts is a great way to learn. “I think the best way to learn is to teach,” Lower says. “You don’t really know how well you understand something until you try to explain it to someone.” She explains leading workshops with students who are at a different learning level allows SPROUTs volunteers to be creative when coming up with activities.
The group uses funds they were awarded from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ (ASABE) 2024 KEYS grant. This grant allows them to purchase the supplies necessary for their workshops.
Pitts explains that anyone is welcome to volunteer. Recently, a few BAE undergraduate students have volunteered. Pitts says, “I want this to be something that lasts, so I’ve been trying to get more undergrads involved.” She is preparing to pass the torch once she graduates.
Pitts says, “I just want to expose students to how diverse engineers can look, and to the idea that you don’t have to look or be a certain way to become an engineer.”
Lower demonstrates runoff at 4-H Science Saturday.
DOMESTICATING DUCKWEED, 300 SAMPLES AT A TIME
Written by Sam Jones
If you’re not careful where you step, your foot might just splash through a blanket of duckweed into a shallow pond you thought was solid ground. Duckweed (Lemna) is a small, bright green aquatic plant with round leaves that float on the surface of still water, a single root shooting downward to extract nutrients. It is a fast-growing plant that can survive on wastewater and is only found in the wild. At least for now.
In labs and greenhouses on North Carolina State University’s campus, hundreds of varieties of Lemna gibba, a species of duckweed, are being analyzed for potential domestication. With a joint appointment in the departments of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry and Biological and Agricultural Engineering, assistant professor Ryan Sartor is the lead researcher behind these duckweed domestication experiments.
“Pretty much all plants and animals that have economic value in our society, especially those used in agriculture, have gone through the process of domestication. We’ve essentially changed their genomes through selective breeding in ways that work better for us,” Sartor explains.
A number of labs around the world study duckweed, but most are interested in using it as a model organism to study basic molecular biology, genetics, evolution or biochemistry, making Sartor one of the few researchers looking at duckweed as a potential new crop. Duckweed possesses several key characteristics that Sartor wants to optimize through selective breeding.
The first characteristic is quality. Duckweed is a high-quality biomass containing roughly 30% protein. It can also be induced to produce more starch content. While duckweed could be used for human consumption, Sartor’s lab is more interested in domesticating duckweed for use as low-carbon animal feed or in bioproducts — everyday items made from biological sources that result in lower greenhouse gas emissions. Bioplastics, biofertilizers and biofuels are some examples.
The second characteristic relates to where duckweed grows. According to Sartor, duckweed can extract all the nutrients it needs directly from water, even wastewater. Sartor is using municipal wastewater in duckweed tests and hopes the plant can be cultivated on or near animal waste like hog lagoons. Duckweed is not a picky eater. It can thrive on a widely variable composition of nutrients, Sartor says.
The third characteristic is yield. Duckweed is a high-yielding plant because it can reproduce clonally. In optimal conditions, it will double its biomass every two to three days and the entire plant could theoretically be harvested as opposed to just the fruit
or grain. Sartor and other researchers have found duckweed yield to be several times greater than the highest-yielding crops. Sartor is trying to identify traits that impact yield stability as well as overall yield.
Another benefit of trying to domesticate duckweed is that it can go through reproductive cycles rapidly — in as little as five weeks, compared to three to four months for most crops. These short cycles enable quicker plant breeding than many other crops. Though his background is in basic molecular biology, Sartor began doing applied work as a postdoctoral researcher. His combined skills allowed him to develop systems from scratch to accurately measure traits of interest for improving duckweed.
For the first phase of his duckweed domestication project, Sartor has created a customized rack that grows duckweed specimens in upright tubes, which are analyzed by imaging systems at a 45-degree angle. The system tracks growth rates under different conditions. Sartor’s current project aims to develop a duckweed variety that grows well on municipal wastewater.
Sartor created a customized system for analyzing duckweed samples.
Tapping his interdisciplinary expertise in biological and agricultural engineering, Sartor is now developing a new, more sophisticated imaging software using machine learning to better measure the growth in the hundreds (or sometimes over a thousand) of tubes of duckweed. Right now, if the tubes are foggy or too reflective due to a dense growth of duckweed, for example, the system doesn’t always assess the tubes correctly.
“We are in the process of developing a new pipeline that uses deep learning with convolutional neural networks to automatically find and quantify duckweed in the images,” he says. “For this technique, we can go through and annotate a set of training images by labeling what is duckweed and what is not. By including images with some of the issues we’ve encountered, we are able to teach the computer exactly what is duckweed and what is an image artifact.”
Sartor has also developed a hydroponic greenhouse system that tests 100 duckweed varieties in triplicate, producing 300 samples. These duckweed samples are grown in baskets suspended in water
that can be automatically weighed several times per day. Each basket is mounted on a digital scale and can be raised out of the water to record its mass after water drains off. In these artificial conditions, Sartor is selecting for the most promising 10% of the samples to move on to the next phase.
Eventually, Sartor will build outdoor ponds to test the duckweed in real conditions. After that, he envisions duckweed being grown in shallow ponds installed in spray fields near hog lagoons to make the most of that land and the excess nutrients from hog production. If and when duckweed is grown on a farm like any other crop, it could be a boon for farmers’ margins and sustainable agriculture as a whole.
Sartor’s hydroponic greenhouse system allows him to weigh duckweed samples multiple times per day.
Sartor (right) and technician-turned-graduate student Kassidy Robinson (left) worked together to debug the code that runs their imaging system for phenotyping Lemna gibba.
A FLOURISHING INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
Written by Olivia Rogers
A new partnership between NC State University and the Technical University of Moldova (TUM) continues to grow with support from faculty in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
Lirong Xiang, assistant professor and principal investigator of BAE’s Automation and Robotics Lab, recently traveled to the Eastern European nation with the goal of exposing students at TUM to the applications of robotics in agriculture.
The initiative between NC State and TUM builds on an ongoing partnership between the state of North Carolina and the country of Moldova that dates back to 1999.
Chadi Sayde, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, believes extending the partnership to include agriculture, and more specifically precision agriculture, will help North
Carolina and Moldova address global challenges in the years to come.
“The future of agriculture is precision agriculture,” Sayde says.
That’s where Xiang comes in.
Her research focuses on agricultural robotics, 2D and 3D computer vision and machine learning. Sayde says it was obvious that he needed to recruit Xiang to this project because of her research focus.
In March, Xiang traveled to Moldova with Sayde and representatives from International Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS IP) where they met with students and faculty. Jose Cisneros, director of CALS IP, says this visit to TUM brought agricultural related components together.
“There is so much that they want to do, change and improve,” says Cisneros of TUM faculty. “That’s why they’re so enthusiastic about this partnership with NC State.”
On the trip, CALS IP helped make connections between researchers with similar disciplines. Representatives from Moldova also looked at models focused around irrigation, fruit production and food processing.
During her time in Moldova, Xiang provided expertise in AI and robotics, including participating as a judge in a hackathon competition, delivering a lecture to TUM students, and conducting two workshops for TUM faculty and local commodity groups.
The Robotized Systems Applied in Agriculture Hackathon gave TUM students an opportunity to explore ways in which agriculture and technology intersect.
system. Each team was given a chance to inspect the scans and identify the health of the plants and any issues with them. Xiang leads many student-based events like this at NC State because she believes it is important to provide opportunities to “train the next generation of agricultural scientists.”
Xiang also discussed her research on robotics for tomato disease phenotyping with a delegation of faculty from TUM. She is currently working on a robot that can traverse between crop rows and scan plants for disease detection. The scans will produce images and GPS locations of the plants, and the data will provide farmers with information about what disease is present in the plants as well as the severity of the disease.
“We know we want to make this model as robust as we can,” she says. “We need as much training data and variations in the dataset as possible so we can collect the data, connect the images at different locations, share the data and train AI models.”
“Agricultural problems are complex,” adds Sayde, explaining that individual disciplines alone cannot solve these issues.
Combining disciplines, he says, will solve problems and allow the agriculture sector to grow. Sayde believes there is a need for more applied research to bridge the gap between research, education and extension. This project will help ensure that more research is done to address complex problems in agriculture.
“I was super impressed by the hackathon because the students, faculty members and team leaders were so passionate about AI and robotics in agriculture,” says Xiang.
During the competition, students examined scans of tomato plants which were taken by a robotic
There was a lot of interest in her research because Moldova and North Carolina produce similar crops and Xiang believes it is a project with a lot of collaborative potential.
Xiang adds that this partnership “offers the opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from different perspectives and work towards common goals that have the potential to make a positive impact on a global scale.”
Xiang and other representatives during the Robotized Systems Applied in Agriculture Hackathon at TUM.
Lirong Xiang works with NC State students during a robotics camp in the summer of 2023.
Peoria, Illinois is home to the annual American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) International Quarter Scale Tractor Competition. Teams from the US and Canada travel to compete each year. NC State’s student team, the Pack Pullers, has competed for 20 years. The team had only ever reached third place, until this year, when they were named overall champion.
On May 29, the team headed to Peoria to compete in the 2024 competition.
Gearing Up for the Competition
Preparing for this competition is a feat in itself.
The Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) Department is where all the preparation takes place.
Silver Hyatt is a rising junior majoring in biological engineering with an agricultural concentration. She has been on the Pack Pullers since her freshman year.
“I originally wanted to join the team to make connections with students and faculty within the [BAE] department, says Hyatt. “Then, I fell in love with the team and the design process.” This year she
stepped up to be captain of the team.
The Pack Pullers are the only team that does all of their tractor fabrication in-house. The BAE Research Shop helps make this possible. Hyatt says, “Many other teams send off parts to be made but our members do 90% of the fabrication, and our research shop takes care of the rest.”
The team spends an average of 15-20 hours a week working on the tractor throughout the year. The month before the competition, students spent around 10 hours a day working on the machine.
Grant Ellington, Pack Pullers team adviser and BAE extension associate professor, says this year the team focused on making small improvements to all the critical mechanical systems.
“We have been very close in the past, but soft skills are approximately 40% of the scorable events, and you have to do well in all phases to finish first overall,” says Ellington.
International Champions: The Pack Pullers
Steer their Way to Victory
Written by Olivia Rogers
Photos by Kirsten Coyne
Hyatt says this year the team worked on improving their soft skills by a few points and getting a few more feet in the tractor pulls. They added more gears to go the distance and worked on the report and presentation to gain extra points that would make a world of difference.
The Ins and Outs of Competition
“This competition is indescribably competitive,” explains Hyatt. “Being one of three schools from the southeast, it’s our goal to outperform the power schools from the Midwest.” This year there were 21 teams that traveled to compete.
During the competition, each team has to complete a technical inspection, submit a written design, defend their design, give a team presentation and compete in several tractor pulls. The competition ends with the durability and maneuverability courses. In Peoria, there are many early mornings and late nights.
Hyatt says her favorite part of the competition is its diversity. She says the presentation, written report and defense of designs are soft skills that help round out the performance aspects of the competition. She believes that soft skills and performance both help make the team well-rounded. Hyatt says, “It also opens the door to a wide variety of students because there’s something for everyone to work on regardless of whether
you like machinery or prefer the marketing side.”
This year it was important to have a job for everyone because the club has had a recent increase in members. Hyatt says, “It was awesome to see new members enjoying all of the events for the first time.”
Hard Work Pays Off
This year the team adopted the Dale Earnhardt mindset. “We named this year’s tractor “Intimidator” because we were number three and Dale Earnhardt, who is from North Carolina, had a car with the number three named Intimidator,” says Hyatt.
Last year their machine, “Ole Red”, won third place. Hyatt says it was very rewarding to place third because it was the highest they had ever placed.
Silver Hyatt tests the tractor’s durability before the 2024 competition.
Silver Hyatt waiting for the next event with adviser Tommy Stephenson.
“We’ve been knocking on the door of first place for the last 3 years, and the work from previous years set us up for success.”
The team was determined to do even better this year. “There were a few designs we knew we needed to refine with the general platform being tried and true,” explains Hyatt. “We made the necessary changes and they were certainly validated at competition this year.”
The Pack Pullers won the Overall Champion title as well as first place in the Team Presentation category.
“The Intimidator took 20 years to win the Daytona 500, the biggest race in NASCAR,” says Hyatt. “Our team has been competing consecutively for 20 years, and our Intimidator won after 20 years of trying just like Earnhardt’s.”
The team’s hard work paid off. “It was awesome to see all of our work and theoretical improvements validated this year,” says Hyatt. “We’ve been knocking on the door of first place for the last three years, and the work from previous years has set us up for success.”
Ellington says, “This team has certainly been able to utilize the past team successes and was able to put it all together and tie a nice bow around it.” He explains that the students will enjoy this win “for the rest of their lives.”
The next step is “to repeat the results in 2025,” says Ellington.
The Pack Pullers and club advisors celebrate their win.
Thomas Bartholomew moves through the maneuverability course.
Kolar Awarded Fulbright to Transform Biochar Into Batteries
By Sam Jones
It takes a certain mind to see rice husks in a farm field and envision them powering a light bulb. But that’s precisely the idea that Praveen Kolar, a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, will be exploring as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Bologna in Italy next spring. Specifically, Kolar will work on valorizing rice husk into biochar for use in energy storage devices.
Kolar began his career as an engineer in India maintaining water quality and waste management systems at a seafood processing facility. He then studied at Louisiana State University with a focus on “making oysters happy,” as he says, in tanks with the right temperature and pH. From Louisiana, Kolar pursued his Ph.D. at the University of Georgia where he researched solutions for odor management in poultry rendering facilities.
“I started in wastewater, then studied waste gas, and now I study waste solids,” Kolar says.
At NC State University, Kolar specializes in waste treatment, waste recycling and value-added production from plant materials. His Fulbright project focuses on developing a method of adding value to agricultural rice husk waste by turning it into biochar, a black carbon-rich material formed when biomass is heated without oxygen. Biochar can be used as a land amendment, fuel, catalyst and more. Biochar’s properties can be manipulated by varying the temperature and feedstock to create a substance with specific characteristics needed for the intended end use.
Making biochar is not new. The novel component of Kolar’s research centers on using biochar as an electrode for a capacitor. A capacitor is similar to a battery in that it is another complementary way of storing energy. But whereas a battery provides a small amount of energy for a long period of time, a capacitor provides a large amount of energy for a short amount of time.
“The idea is to make the biochar of high surface area and suitable surface chemistry so that when we use that in the capacitor, it can hold the charge and be able to release the charge whenever we ask for it,” Kolar says.
Currently, capacitors are made with metals and activated carbon most commonly from coconut shells. Rice husks would be a local source in more regions of the world for farmers to add value to their operations. Kolar will source the rice husk feedstock from farms in the region surrounding Bologna. But there are other advantages of using rice husk in this way, too.
“Rice husk is unique in that it contains nitrogen,” Kolar says. “Previous research has shown that when we selectively incorporate nitrogen on a carbon surface, its capacity to hold a charge increases. Normally, scientists selectively add nitrogen to the surface. In this case, nitrogen already comes with the feedstock ingredient.”
During his Fulbright, Kolar will make the biochar and assemble his own device to test its capacity. When he returns to Raleigh, he will complete the surface analysis using the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) on Centennial Campus.
His goal in the next few years is to create a device powered by a rice husk biochar capacitor that can turn on a fan or a light bulb to prove the waste product’s power. Once the proof of concept is in the hands of other engineers and companies, it’s up to them to scale it up and run with it.
“Right now, rice husk is a low-value product, but we are trying to make it into a high-value product,” Kolar says. “We want farmers to be in a competitive position and have power over their own product and gain more revenue. Most importantly, we want to change the thinking about waste. Nothing is actually waste. There is value within everything if you look for it.”
INSPIRING EXPLORATION: NC STATE HOSTS NEW UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAM
By Olivia Rogers
NC State remains a beacon of research and exploration long after classes let out for the summer. Although most students trade the brick-layered campus for getaways, the university stays busy all summer hosting camps, research groups and international scholars.
This summer Lucie Guertault, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, led a new agricultural water pollution research program at NC State.
Undergraduate Training Where Science Intersects Practice and Policy to Address Grand Challenges in Agricultural Water Pollution (REEU-SIPP) is a 10-week program funded by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This summer was Guerault’s first
time implementing the program on campus.
Seven students from different universities spent the summer traveling to research sites and government institutions in France and North Carolina to learn about agricultural water management practices and policies.
The program prioritizes an interdisciplinary approach to give students a well-rounded research experience.
Arriving on Campus
At the start of the program each student was assigned a research project and a faculty member to mentor them. This year, seven faculty members from different departments made up the advising committee.
After a week of settling in, students toured facilities and sites around NC State’s campus. The group even toured the Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab Dairy Unit.
Stephanie Kulesza, an assistant professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (CSS), led a tour of NC State’s dairy unit. Students learned about the site’s nutrient management practices and how agricultural water management intersects with dairy production and waste management.
Kulesza also helped mentor Tucker Whitley, an NC State BAE and REEU-SIPP student, alongside Seongmin Park, a graduate student in CSS. They both worked with Whitley to help develop his research, “Impact of In-Season
Poultry Litter Application on Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Runoff.”
During these first two weeks the group also learned about NC State’s extension model and met with their mentors to make a research plan for the program.
Over the Pond
After three weeks on campus, the group left for France where they visited government research facilities, universities and farms. Guertault led students around her home country to learn about the agricultural water management policies in France.
They visited wetlands designed for mitigating pesticide pollution from agricultural drainage. They also visited the French National Research Institute for Agriculture and Environment to learn more about agricultural water management policies in Europe.
Later in the week, Guertault’s
family hosted the group on their farm. They learned about the farm’s history and the tile drainage system from the 1890s.
The trip also included touristic activities such as a boating tour on the Seine River in Paris, a tour of Saint Michael Church in Normandy and a free day in Paris. “I wanted the students to have
this experience in France so they could realize that the science is the same, but the application, practice and the policies are different,” Guertault says.
Back to North Carolina
After arriving back in Raleigh, the team set out to visit current BAE faculty research sites. The first site was Walnut Cove’s wastewater treatment wetland. Michael Burchell, a BAE professor and extension director, is the primary researcher on the site.
Built in 1996, the 4.2 acre Walnut Cove wetland is one of only a handful of wastewater treatment wetlands operational in the state. Over the last 10 years, the town has partnered with NC State University to study the function of the wetland in removing pollutants.
Burchell has been collaborating with the town of Walnut Cove for eight years.
REEU-SIPP students learning about the Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab Dairy Unit’s water management practices.
Exploring Paris!
The facility runs the town’s untreated wastewater through a series of processes designed to treat the water.
Study of the wetland has provided an opportunity to improve the understanding of the long-term treatment potential and evaluate maintenance practices to extend the treatment life of these wetlands. Research sites like the Walnut Cove wetland are important to promote more wide-scale acceptance and implementation of constructed wetlands at other rural wastewater treatment facilities across North Carolina.
While the students were at the site, they helped collect and organize samples. The students started sampling at the wastewater inflow lagoon. Then they made their way to the Duckweed Raceway where nitrification and assimilation take place. Finally, the students took samples at the constructed wetland where the water sits before it is discharged. Students compared the water quality from start to finish.
Sierra Rowe is an REEU-SIPP student from Fayetteville State, and she worked with Burchell during the program.
For Rowe’s research project she studied the process of using biochar to remove nitrogen from wastewater. “We are testing different concentrations of 30%, 40% and 50% hydrogen peroxide biochar and with this we hope to capture ammonia in the wastewater by doing several experiments to learn more about their interactions,” she says. Rowe’s findings will be added to Burchell’s data collection.
Tidewater Research Station
The Tidewater Research Station is home to a vast array of projects on its 1,558 acres of woodlands, croplands, pastures, ponds and facilities. Chad Poole, a professor in the BAE department, gave Guertault’s group a tour of the facility. Poole and his team shared data they have been collecting from three different water stress condition corn fields.
One field had ideal conditions with the right amount of irrigation and drainage to create optimal conditions for crop growth. The second field had a very high water table, and the third had very dry conditions.
Poole explained that this will help investors and researchers understand which corn varieties flourish in certain environments.
Students assisted by collecting samples of the treated water.
A test field at the Tidewater Research Station.
Research Presentations
“Depending on where you are across the state, you have different weather patterns and soil patterns,” Guertault says. They hope to show the benefits of drainage and come up with suggestions of which variety is best based on different patterns and conditions.
Nina Nebesh, an REEU-SIPP student from Ohio State University, worked with Poole throughout the course of the program. She designed an affordable device that measures water table depth in fields.
Nebesh says, “the water table is where the groundwater sits, and you don’t want the water to enter the root zone of where your crops are, because your crops will lose oxygen.”
She explains she wanted to design a device that could give farmers feedback in real time. This will allow farmers to adjust their irrigation and drainage systems according to conditions.
As the 10-week program came to a close, the students prepared to present their research projects to the program’s advisory board.
Nebesh explains fine-tuning a real project is a helpful hand-on experience. “The biggest thing for me has actually been getting to use all the things I learned in my engineering classes and putting it towards a project,” she says.
“Research can influence policy or decision making because everything is linked, and making students aware of that will allow them to work at the interface,” Guertault says. “I want each student who goes through the program to leave with a broader perspective.”
The program will continue next year, and applications will open in November.
The REEU-SIPP group learned about the test fields at the research station.
REEU-SIPP students preparing for the research ahead.
Collaborating for a Sustainable Kenya: Solutions to Irrigation and Water Management
By Olivia Rogers
The borders of Kenya expand from the Indian ocean to the edge of Uganda. A range of biomes and ecological diverse regions can be found there, from grasslands and mountain ranges to coastal plains. In May, several faculty members from NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) traveled to Kenya to strengthen communication for future collaboration and research.
This initiative is jointly funded by the NC State Global One Health Academy and CALS. Representatives from the Kenyan government, NC State and the University of Nairobi are working to address sustainable agricultural development practices such as crop production, water quality and animal nutrition.
Among the group was Chadi Sayde, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, who specializes in irrigation and water management. He spent the trip meeting with farmers, researchers and government officials to discuss the challenges Kenyans are facing. One of these challenges involves water management and technology.
In Kenya there is a seasonal pattern of precipitation. There are two precipitation seasons and one drought season. This pattern makes water a little more difficult to manage for agricultural purposes. Sayde says better irrigation and water management practices will help make the entire system resilient to seasonal conditions and climate change.
Chadi Sayde visits Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO's) Kabete campus to see their post-harvest technologies.
Sayde says there are three components to transform Kenya’s current water management practices. The first component is using water resources more efficiently. He says this aspect involves “using what is available and trying to improve the actual system, such as capturing and reusing runoff water.”
Sayde’s second component is improving the use of water saving technologies like irrigation systems. Implementing the appropriate technologies allows easy and efficient use for small-scale farmers.
The third is better water management practices.
“Even if you have the best tools and you have the water, it is useless if you don’t know how to manage it properly,” says Sayde.“That’s the bottom line: irrigation and water management are key components to making a resilient production system.”
Implementing these three components will help achieve the goals of the CREdO (Connecting Research, Education and Outreach) framework.
“We have to be effective, and we have to have a system approach,” says Sayde.
While on the trip, each CALS team member collaborated and worked with other representatives to create a plan for each agricultural and societal
area. Sayde explains the team has to address the whole aspect of the supply chain, from production to consumption, in order to make a lasting impact. This initiative places an emphasis on solving challenges in sustainable ways.
This new and flourishing line of communication with representatives in Kenya will make future projects and collaborations easier. Sayde explains this partnership is important for NC State’s international relations.
“Representatives from Kenya are very selective in who they partner with, so the fact they chose us is a big deal,” he says. “CALS International Programs managed to break through a major barrier in communication.”
The team is looking to bring additional people with expertise to the project. Sayde says NC State faculty and students who are interested in international research should look into joining this strong network.
“The impact you make is immediate because you can see that it affects people’s lives directly,” he says. “It is very rewarding.”
CALS faculty Peter Ojiambo, Liz Driscoll, Harry Daniels, Peter Ferket and Chadi Sayde with representatives of the Great Lakes Feeds and Fish Farm in Siaya county on their premises.
AIM 2024
Anaheim, CA
Poster
Lingjuan Wang Li
Our interim department head was awarded the Henry Giese Structures and Environment Award. This award honors and recognizes outstanding and meritorious significant achievement in advancing the knowledge of science of agricultural structures and environment.
Paige Seibert
Paige Seibert received the Roger R. and Laura M. Yoerger Preprofessional Engineer of the Year Award. She also received a 2024 President Citation and a Student Honor Award.
Rosemary Maloney
She received a Student Honor Award recognizing outstanding scholarly attainments and participation in ASABE student activities.
Sanjay Shah
Shah, a BAE professor, was recognized as an Outstanding Associate Editor. ASABE journals rely on editors to produce dependable and accurate content.
Student presentation excellence awards:
Lucie Guertault
Guertault, an assistant professor in BAE, was awarded the A.W. Farrall Young Educator Award. This award recognizes and honors members under 40 years of age for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the profession.
competition winners: Sam Holberg and Juliana Pin.
Sam Cherotich, Juliana Pin, Layla EI-Khoury and Christopher Pascual.
Pack Pullers
The team traveled to Peoria, Illinois for the 2024 International Quarter-Scale Tractor competition. They placed 1st overall for the first time since they started competing. Turn to page 14 to read about their victory!
Fountain Wars
The Fountain Wars team placed 2nd at the student competition in Anaheim. The team spent a year designing a fountain that completed one technical task and included a detailed aesthetic display which highlighted California agriculture.
WOLFadvance
The robotics competition advanced team came in 1st place with their robot "Wolf Tank." Yuxi Chen, Weilong He and Zhenghua Zhang were the three graduate students on the advanced team.
G.B Gunlogson Student Design Competition
Lauren Chandarana, Riley McClanahan, Nora Sauers and Paige Seibert received 3rd place. Their project "Efficient Cultivation System for Sea Lettuce With Oyster Polyculture" focused on designing systems for sea lettuce growth and capture so oyster farmers could enter the sea lettuce industry.
RoboPack
The team spent the year building and testing their robot to compete in Anaheim. The robots should be able to simulate counting, sorting, pruning and maneuvering operations. RoboPack recieved 3rd place with their "Wolf Pup" robot.
2024 SENIOR DESIGN PROJECTS
End of year senior design projects give students the opportunity to shine, and that’s exactly what BAE seniors do.
The BAE Department’s Senior Design program is nationally recognized. Finished projects have gone on to benefit the industries and communities around North Carolina.
Over the years, BAE senior design teams have competed nationally at the American Society of Biological and Agricultural Engineers Annual International Meeting. In the past, NC State BAE teams have won second and third place in the Gunlogson Senior Design competition.
So BAE seniors have the time and resources to achieve their project goal, the process begins in August. Grant Ellington, BAE extension associate professor, teaches the year-long senior design course. The course is a two-hour class that meets twice a week. Students divide into groups and spend the year working on a project of their choice. Each group has a faculty and industry adviser to help guide
them. Time is also set aside for three-hour lab group meetings. These resources provide students with the opportunities to apply what they learned from their classes over the past four years. At the end of the year, seniors give a department-wide final project presentation.
This year, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Technology (BAET) seniors were also assigned their own final project for the first time. Andy Hale, BAE undergraduate coordinator and professor, leads the new BAET Capstone Project. The program provides seniors with the opportunity to showcase their skills in biological and agricultural technology.
In BAE it is best to learn by doing.
Scan this code to learn more about the 2024 projects.
Integrative Systems for Urban Stream Protection and Beaver Coexistence
Lindsay Dodson, Jeremiah Jobe, Kevin Essig and Max Dyke
Faculty mentor: Barbara Doll
Retrofitting Stormwater Wet Ponds into Irrigation
Basins. Victoria Wright, Jesse Dongarra, Dillon Weidner and Chris Penwell
Faculty Mentor: Bill Hunt
Efficient Cultivation System for Sea Lettuce with Oyster Polyculture
Nora Sauers, Paige Seibert, Riley McClanahan and Lauren Chandarana
Faculty Mentor: Steven Hall
NCDOT Truck-Mounted Spreader System
Jackson Vargo, Colin Licary, Luke Szoch and Sam Wallace
Faculty Mentor: Jason Ward
JET Erosion Test System and Setup Optimization
Morgan Ayscue, Ryan Farrell and Nyawira Nyota
Faculty Mentors: Celso Castro-Bolinaga and Lucie Guertault.
Design and Construction of a Pilot Scale Compost Bioreactor for Carbon Capture and Utilization
Rosie Maloney, Brendon Sadlowski, Hannah Wall and Shomari
Presswood
Faculty Mentor: Joe Sagues
Design of a Novel Modular and Automated Agricultural
Sensing and Control Platform for Anywhere Agriculture
Alex Brown, Raj Patel, Costas Pieri and Autumn Sylvestri
Faculty Mentor: Lirong Xiang
Swine Farm Ammonia Reduction Filter
Hunter Patrick, Brendan Hoback, Andy Paris and Wyatt Kendall
Faculty Mentor: Mahmoud Sharara
Aquatic Biomass Harvester
Merrick Guo, Hunter Phifer, Brian Teiser and Luke Pike
Faculty Mentors: Mike Burchell and Ryan Sartor
Designing and building an improved visual raingauge
Lexi Calder, Jack Doherty, Jackson Huneycutt and Mckinley
Richardson
Faculty Mentor: Francois Birgand
Design and Fabricate Engine Stands for the 6.7 Cummins
Thomas Bartholomew, Jackson Carlyle, Peyton McMillan and Charlie Stephens
Mentors: Max Hooks, Grant Ellington and Kyle Bostian
Automated Seed Suction System for Planter Clean out
Walt Bailey, Davis Brown, James Gaskill and Josiah Green
Faculty Mentor: Chad Poole
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Shelby Reinhardt, President
This past year, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) at NC State focused on connecting our student members to faculty, industry leaders and each other. We strived for our members success, both academically and professionally by encouraging collaboration and fostering a supportive environment. We’ve had a busy year participating in service events, social outings, career fairs and bi-weekly meetings. We look forward to making this year more successful than ever.
Last fall, we had the pleasure of hosting our annual ASABE Career Fair for our student members to network and learn about all the opportunities the industry can provide. We hosted 32 companies and over 100 students, and we look forward to making this year's career fair that much better.
Graduate Student Association
Lillian Lower,
The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is excited to continue its mission of supporting graduate students in the BAE department and providing them with opportunities for personal and professional growth. This year, the board is now made up of a President and Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Personal-Development Chair, ProfessionalDevelopment Chair, Outreach Chair, University-GSA Representative, Diversity Chair and Garden Chairs. Our Diversity Chair serves as a liaison between the GSA and the BAE-led student group SPROUTs (Stem Programing to Reach Our Underrepresented Teens). Our Garden Chair is the primary leader for the preparation and maintenance of the People Ecologically Engineering a Regenerative (P.E.E.R.) Garden.
Our primary goals for the 2024-25 academic year include broadening the diversity of participation at events, promoting professional development opportunities, strengthening connections between undergraduate and graduate students, expanding our social media presence, continuing to support the growth of SPROUTs and engaging in meaningful service projects. We also remain
Following our Career fair, we held our annual sweetpotato fundraiser, sponsored by Kornegay Family Farms. Each year, our club organizes, packages, and distributes 2000 lbs of sweetpotatoes generously donated by a local family farm. Our members were given the opportunity to visit Kornegay to see first hand how sweetpotato production happens here in North Carolina.
This past March, our ASABE student chapter hosted the southeastern regional rally here in Raleigh. Weaver labs hosted 13 universities and over 175 students from all over the American Southeast: the highest turnout to date. Attendees participated in workshops and made networking connections with fellow BAE students from universities such as Clemson, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State. During the weekend-long event, students participated in lab tours, a design challenge, industry tours and social events. Looking ahead, ASABE at NC State is excited to travel to Texas A&M this spring for the 2025 Rally. Rally will be a great opportunity for individuals to attend. Last spring, we had the pleasure of volunteering at CORRAL Riding Academy where we assisted in surveying and setting the foundation of their new barn. We’re excited to work with them again later this fall.
committed to organizing impactful and high-quality events that enrich the graduate student experience.
During the 2023-24 school year, the GSA successfully supported student involvement in ASABE Annual International Meeting competitions, hosted mental health workshops and AI information sessions, facilitated student feedback through Open GSA meetings and collaborated with the department’s public communications specialist to provide professional headshots, personal branding resources, and online presence tips for our students. We look forward to building on these achievements and
President
continuing to enhance the sense of community and professional growth within our department.
GSA P.E.E.R. Garden
Megan Carr
Last year, BAE graduate and undergraduate students converted the green space between Weaver Administration and Weaver Laboratories into a student garden. The P.E.E.R. Garden, which stands for People Ecologically Engineering a Regenerative Garden, officially opened in May and had its first harvest of summer crops which included watermelon, marigold and sunflowers. The garden provides a third space within the BAE department for students to relax, care for plants, and apply technical knowledge learned in the classroom and research. Chris Pasquale, a PhD student, planted leftover strawberry plants from a research experiment to be a permanent fixture near the Weaver Administration doors, and a group of students in BAE 472/572 Irrigation and Drainage, taught by Drs. Sayde and Youssef, designed a potential micro irrigation system for the garden. Turn to page 2 to read more.
Scan to explore the garden through a 3D virtual map done in partnership with the DELTA team on campus.
SPROUTs
Savannah Roth, President
SPROUTs (STEM Program to Reach Our Underrepresented Teens) is an outreach group within the BAE department dedicated to bridging the gap between K-12 and college STEM education. Recently recognized as the NCSU CALS Student Organization of the Year and awarded a grant from the ASABE Keys Fund, SPROUTs hosts at least two events per month in partnership with various organizations. These include 4-H,
five different local middle and high schools, the NC Science Olympiad, and the North Carolina Science Festival. Through these collaborations, SPROUTs brings hands-on STEM workshops to a diverse range of students, covering various topics in biological and agricultural engineering. BAE students and faculty volunteers design engaging activities that spark scientific curiosity and promote engineering as a career path.
As SPROUTs continues to grow, our main goals are to expand our volunteer base and increase the frequency and impact of our outreach events. The group is constantly exploring new partnerships and innovative ways to bring STEM education to underrepresented communities. SPROUTs welcomes all BAE community members to join our efforts, whether by leading workshops, assisting with activities, or helping behind the scenes. Our overarching mission remains to nurture scientific curiosity, diversify engineering and create meaningful connections between the university and local schools.
Pack Pullers
Silver Hyatt, Captain
The NCSU Pack Pullers 1/4 Scale Tractor Team has competed at the international level for 26 years in the ASABE International Student Design Competition. Each year, the team designs and builds a 1/4 scale tractor and travels to Peoria, Illinois to compete against schools from all over North America. The competition includes a written report, a team presentation, static design judging, maneuverability course, durability track and tractor pulls. In the 2023- 2024 year, the team took on the challenge once again and began to build a tractor using knowledge gained from previous years. With design teams focusing on drivetrain, ergonomics, electronics, testing and research, “Intimidator” began to come together. The team hosted their mock competition in the spring of 2024 to test their machine on all aspects of the competition as well as to exhibit the tractor to educators and alumni. The team found the mock competition to be very beneficial and will be carrying the event over into the 2024-2025 season as well. This is to take place on April 12, 2025. From the data collected during mock competition the team was able to make adjustments to the tractor before the competition. Their hard work finally paid off and the 2024 Pack Pullers Team brought home the title of International Champions. The team placed first overall in the Student Design Competition and was also awarded first place in the Team Presentation. All of the hard work from this year’s team and teams from years past, led the Pack Pullers to this victory. This year, the team is
Fountain Wars
Claude McLeod, Co-Captain
Fountain Wars is a student design competition held at ASABE’s Annual International Meeting. Student teams design, build and test a fountain that is shaped around a specific technical objective which changes every year. The build also satisfies aesthetic design requirements that are typically based on the regional agriculture of the AIM location.
The competition is an invaluable opportunity for undergraduate students in Bio & Ag Engineering to gain hands-on experience in a design project. Team members will work on electronic systems, create structures with power tools, use pumps to accomplish technical tasks, utilize hydrologic, static and dynamic calculations in the design process, and conduct extensive testing on the project.
In 2024, our team traveled to Anaheim, CA and rose to the challenge of building a scaled-down log flume
focusing on continuing this trend and remaining international champions. However, the team will be faced with a few changes. All of the teams were presented with a new Kawasaki engine at competition, rather than the Briggs and Stratton engine that they had become familiar with. While it is not a new engine on the market, it is a new engine for the competition and features a 90-degree rotation of the output shaft, which will be a new design challenge for this year's team. The team found great efficiency in using design teams and have decided to continue with dividing tasks between certain teams to ensure every aspect of the tractor is given plenty of thought and attention.
The team has also made significant efforts to expand our team in both CALS and COE. This has allowed us to implement small changes in our design teams to reflect our newfound strengths. The team is excited for the year ahead and is committed to keeping our title as Champions!
ride, earning 2nd place in the competition. Our design incorporated a water powered pulley system to lift the “boat”, a track structure based on roller coaster design, drip irrigation connected to a circuit board and an aesthetic display using irrigation nozzles and pumps. We are aiming to earn a first place finish in the 2025 competition in Toronto, Canada. The Fountain Wars team is proud to represent NC State Bio & Ag Engineering through hard work and intentional design.
Alpha Epsilon
Joseph Ammons, President
Alpha Epsilon (AE) is the honor society for Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) graduate and undergraduate students. The goal of the society is to uphold the pillars of character, scholarship and professionalism so as to facilitate strong connections among members. This year, AE plans to conduct a service event where engineering students can have
RoboPack
Evelynn Wilcox, Captain
RoboPack is NC State’s ASABE Robotics Student Design Competition Team, where students take on the challenge of designing, building and deploying autonomous robots to perform agricultural tasks. This competition provides participants with valuable hands-on experience in mechanical and electrical design, part fabrication, deep learning model implementation, sensor integration, technical writing and interdisciplinary collaboration. By working on these projects, students gain deeper insights into precision agricultural engineering while applying programming and design skills that extend beyond the classroom.
WOLFadvance
Zhenghua Zhang, Captain
a positive impact on their surrounding communities aside from the great engineering work they are already doing. The local soup kitchen or the NCSU dairy farm are the focus for these service events, depending on their need this semester. Alpha Epsilon has also had the opportunity to speak at an American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) meeting to raise awareness of the honor society to underclassmen. Along with speaking at different events, AE plans on continuing the legacy of the Alumni Speed networking event in which all BAE students can attend and promote knowledge of jobs in industry and what life after a degree can look like from industry professionals themselves. Overall, the goal for this semester is to promote awareness for the club so that underclassmen can take advantage of the opportunities provided by AE and prepare the current members for graduation or their next semester.
Last year, RoboPack was challenged to develop a robot capable of autonomously mapping and pruning a strawberry field. The standard team earned a 3rd place finish and the advanced team secured 1st place. This year, the challenge involves designing a robot capable of collecting and grading eggs. The complexity of the task provides an exciting opportunity for the team to further refine its technical and interpersonal skills as it grows to meet the challenge. The team is excited for this year’s competition and is looking forward to a strong showing in Toronto, Canada.
WOLFadvance is NC State’s graduate student team that competes in the ASABE Robotics Student Design Competition. In this competition, students design, build and program autonomous robots to address agricultural challenges. This competition provides students with valuable experience in mechanical and electrical design, 3D modeling, programming and systems engineering. The expereince bridges the gap between classroom theory and real-world application.
In 2024, WOLFadvance won first place in the Advanced Division of the competition. This significant achievement was made possible by the dedication and hard work of all team members. With ongoing support from CALS and the Department of BAE, WolfAdvance is set to grow even stronger. We are confident that this achievement will remain with us for years to come!
GRADUATION
FALL 2023
B.S. IN BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
Trey Bates Braylon Beason
Nathan Khot Abel Locklear
M.S. IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
Megan Carr Advisor: Lucie Guertault
Yuri Villa Ramos Advisor: Sanjay Shah
Blake Stratton Advisor: Lingjuan Li
PH.D. IN BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
Abhinav Sharma
Dissertation: Development and Validation of an Integrated Modeling Approach to Reconstruct the Propagation of Fluvial Sediment Pulses After Dam Removals. Under the direction of Celso Castro Bolinaga.
SPRING 2024
B.S. IN BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
Walter Bailey
Thomas
James Gaskill Wyatt
Charles
B.S. IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
Morgan Ayscue
Alexandria Brown
Lauren Chandarana
Lindsay
Jesse Dongarra
Kevin
Brendan Hoback
Jeremiah Jobe
Colin Licary
Rosemary Maloney
Riley McClanahan
Nyawira Nyota
Andrew Paris
Raj Patel
Hunter Patrick
Christopher Penwell
Constantinos Pieri
Shomari Presswood
Guo
Brendon Sadlowski
Nora Sauers
Paige Seibert
Autumn Sylvestri
Luke Szoch
Jackson Vargo
Hannah Wall
Samuel Wallace
Dillon Weidner
Victoria Wright
M.S. IN BIOLOGICAL & AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
Patrick Thackston Advisor: Barbara Doll
Roger Oberholzer Advisor: Barbara Doll
Andrew Wilmer Advisor: Chadi Sayde
PH.D. IN BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
Emily Brown
Dissertation: Integrating Root-Dendrogeomorphology and Probabilistic Analysis to Advance Streambank Erosion Monitoring and Prediction. Under the direction of Celso Castro-Bolinaga.
Mariella Carbajal Carrasco
Dissertation: Developing statistical, process-based, and machine learning models for predicting sweetpotato yields. Under the direction of Natalie Nelson.
Piyush Patil
Dissertation: Evaluation of Valorization Pathways for Swine Lagoon Sludge Management. Under the direction of Mahmoud Sharara.
Abhinav Sharma
Dissertation: Development and Validation of an Integrated Modeling Approach to Reconstruct the Propagation of Fluvial Sediment Pulses After Dam Removals. Under the direction of Celso Castro-Bolinaga.
Melody Thomas
Dissertation: The Effects of Oyster Reefs on the Hydro-Morphodynamic Characteristics in Estuaries. Under the direction of Celso Castro-Bolinaga.
2024 OUTSTANDING ALUMNI
Devin Carroll
In 2000, Devin founded Custom Controls, an automation company to bring high-tech post-harvest control solutions to the agricultural industry. In 2002, he became a professional engineer, followed by an electrical contractor. Over the next 24 years, the business grew, staffing engineers and technicians primarily from the BAE program. Before building this company, he was as a staff member in BAE. As a staff member, he worked on projects that had global impacts on post-harvest handling of North Carolina commodities. Devin is recently retired, and he spends his time serving as Chair of the BAE Advisory Board.
Alysondria Eason
Since 2013, Alysondria has been working with Hazen and Sawyer as a stormwater engineer and currently serves as MidAtlantic Practice Group leader, green infrastructure subject matter expert and one of Hazen’s lead engineers for overall stormwater improvements. She graduated from NC State in 2011 with a B.S. with an environmental concentration and in 2012 with her M.S. in engineering. She holds licensure in North Carolina, New York and Georgia and is currently working on receiving approvals from Washington and California.
AWARDS AND HONORS
Student Awards
Riley Lawson: Fulbright award for the academic year of 2024-2025
Autumn Sylvestri: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Paige Seibert: Roger R. and Laura M. Yoerger Preprofessional Engineer of the Year Award, ASABE Major Award
Lindsay Dodson and her team: the first prize at the 9th annual NC State Make-A-Thon, 2024
Evelynn Wilcox: the first-place prize for the student poster competition at WRRI annual conference
Layla El-Khoury: “Dance Your PhD Contest” - Physics Category winner (AAAS), 2024
Swarna Chowdhury: 2024 NHERI RAPID Graduate Scholar
Sam Holberg: an Honorable Mention in the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Laurie Pisciotta: 3rd place for the Agricultural Sciences Category at the Graduate Research Symposium
Taj Hewitt: CALS Undergraduate Change Maker Award
Rosie Maloney: CALS Undergraduate Student Sustainability Award
Autumn Sylvestri: CALS Outstanding Scholar Award
Nora Sauers: CALS Outstanding Student Researcher Award
Julia Cunniffe: CALS Graduate Student Sustainability Award
Shana McDowell: CALS Student of the Year Award
Christopher Oates: a Global Change Research Fellow with the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
SPROUTS: CALS Student Organization of the Year Award
Mohammad Nooshzadi Motlagh: CALS Outstanding Graduate Student Scholar award
Vanessa Rondon Berrio: best research poster at the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology's Symposium on Biomaterials, Fuels, and Chemicals.
Earth Pender & Paige Seibert for respectively receiving the 1st place award for “Best Research Poster” for Graduate and Undergraduate Research in the 2024 Swine Innovation Summit in Goldsboro, NC.
Leticia Santos: 2024-2024 FFAR Fellow and BAE graduate peer mentor for 2024-2025
Jill Dana Mugisa: the second place award for the 3 minute poster presentation competition at the Sustainable Agri-Food Technology Summit (SAFTS).
Leticia Santos: the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) NC State Graduate Fellowship
Hector Fajardo: second place in the 2024 Envisioning Research Contest at NCSU
Staff Awards
Lacy Parrish: 2024 Award for Excellence, CALS, NCSU
Trevor Quick: 2024 CALS’s Nominee for Pride of the Wolfpack
Faculty Awards
Praveen Kolar: Fulbright US scholar Award to Italy
Lucie Guertault: A.W. Farrall Young Educator Award, ASABE Major Award
Lingjuan Wang-Li: Henry Giese Structures and Environment Award, ASABE Major Award
Tommy Stephenson: the ASEE Early Achievement Award, BAE Division & the honorary State FFA Degree
Natalie Nelson: 2024 ABE Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida
Natalie Nelson: 2024 Rising Star in Environmental Research, ACS Environmental Au
Mahmoud Sharara: 2024 University Faculty Scholar
Sanjay Shah: Outstanding Associate Editor, ASABE
Daniela Jones: 2024 Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network (SSMN) Outstanding Mentor Award
Sanjay Shah: 2024 Robert W. Bottcher Researcher Award
Barbara Doll: 2023-2024 CALS’s Teacher Award of Merit
Celso Castro-Bolinaga: 2023-2024 CALS’s Outstanding Grad Instructor award
Praveen Kolar: 2024 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, NCSU
Lingjuan Wang Li: William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor
The promotions of Celso Casto-Bolinaga, Chadi Sayde, Mahmoud Sharara, and Jason Ward to Associate Professor with tenure.
2024-2025 ADVISORY BOARD
The BAE Advisory Board provides valuable guidance to keep the department at the forefront of the field of biological and agricultural engineering. They foster industry connections among BAE faculty, staff and students while also providing strategic advice to improve research, Extension and academics.
Toby Vinson
Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
NCDEQ
Term May 2024 - May 2027
Erin Boyette
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Term May 2022 - May 2025
John Norwood
Duke Energy
Term May 2024 – May 2027
Jacob Dunn
B&S Enterprises, Inc.
Term May 2022 - May 2025
Joseph Wright
Wright Contracting, LLC
Term May 2024 - May 2027
Connor Bottorff
Hazen and Sawyer
Term May 2024 – May 2027
Randall Etheridge
East Carolina University
Term May 2023 – May 2026
Devin Carroll
Custon Controls, Inc.
Term May 2023 – May 2026
David Williams
NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Term May 2023 – May 2026
Aaron Motsinger
John Deere
Term May 2022 - May 2025
Sydney Seymour SeyConTech, LLC
Term May 2022 - May 2025
Sana Siddiqui 1Eatz
Term May 2023 – May 2026
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Current BAE faculty are bolded.
High-throughput physiological phenotyping of crop evapotranspiration at the plot scale
Geng (Frank) Bai, Burdette Barker, David Scoby, Suat Irmak, Joe D. Luck, Christopher M.U. Neale, James C. Schnable, Tala Awada, William P. Kustas, Yufeng Ge. (2024). Field Crops Research, 109507, ISSN 0378-4290,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109507.
Integrating UAV hyperspectral data and radiative transfer model simulation to quantitatively estimate maize leaf and canopy nitrogen content, Jiating Li, Yufeng Ge, Laila A. Puntel, Derek M. Heeren, Geng Bai, Guillermo R. Balboa, John A. Gamon, Timothy J. Arkebauer, Yeyin Shi. (2024). International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, Volume 129, 103817, ISSN 1569-8432, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2024.103817.
Lead occurrence in North Carolina well water: importance of sampling representation and collection techniques. Wilson, L., Hayes, W., Jones, C. N., Burchell, M., Wait, K. D., George, A., … Pieper, K. J. (2024). ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 19(4). https://doi. org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad2b2c
Relating Geotechnical Sediment Properties and Erodibility at a Sandy Beach. Brilli, N. C., Stark, N., & Castro-Bolinaga, C . (2024). JOURNAL OF WATERWAY PORT COASTAL AND OCEAN ENGINEERING, 150(4). https://doi.org/10.1061/JWPED5.WWENG-2016
Towards autonomous, optimal water sampling with aerial and surface vehicles for rapid water quality assessment. Nguyen, A., Ore, J.-P., Castro-Bolinaga, C., Hall, S. G., & Young, S. (2024). JOURNAL OF THE ASABE, 67(1), 91–98. https://doi. org/10.13031/ja.15796
Functional biochar in enhanced anaerobic digestion: Synthesis, performances, and mechanisms. Nie, W., He, S., Lin, Y., Cheng, J. J., & Yang, C. (2024). SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. scitotenv.2023.167681
Pathways to sustainable transitions in a complex agricultural system: a case study of swine waste management in North Carolina. Deviney, A. V., Classen, J. J., & Bruce, J. A. (2024). FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fsufs.2023.1292326
Long-term Channel Geometry Adjustments for Reference Streams in the North Carolina Piedmont. Page, J. L., Doll, B. A., Kurki-Fox, J. J., Donatich, S., & Jernigan, C. (2024). Journal of Ecological Engineering Design. https://doi. org/10.21428/f69f093e.21abf934
WIP: Impact of an authentic introductory computer programming course on new BAE undergraduate students’ learning motivation and interest in the discipline. Guertault, L. (2024). In 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
Influence of extruded soybean meal with different fat contents and varying oleic acid content on floating fish feed quality and composition
Patino, D. B., Toomer, O. T., Vu, T. C., Oviedo-Rondon, E. O., Mian, R., Frinsko, M., … Hall, S.G. (2024). ANIMAL FEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2024.116088
Potential of<i> Synechococcus</i><i> elongatus</i> UTEX 2973 as a feedstock for sugar production during mixed aquaculture and swine wastewater bioremediation.
Hasan, R., Kasera, N., Beck, A. E., & Hall, S. G. (2024). HELIYON, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24646
Calibration and validation of DRAINMOD to predict long-term permeable pavement hydrology. Braswell, A. S., Winston, R. J., Dorsey, J. D., Youssef, M. A., & Hunt, W. F. (2024). JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY, 637. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131373
The potential to manage releases of <i>Bacillus anthracis</i> using bioretention and a high flow media filter: Results of simulated runoff testing with tracer spores <i>Bacillus globigii</i>
Boening-Ulman, K. M., Mikelonis, A. M., Heckman, J. L., Calfee, M. W., Ratliff, K., Youn, S., Hunt, W.F., Winston, R. J. (2024). JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, 354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120286
Advancing sweetpotato quality assessment with hyperspectral imaging and explainable artificial intelligence Ahmed, T., Wijewardane, N. K., Lu, Y., Jones, D. S., Kudenov, M., Williams, C., … Kamruzzaman, M. (2024). COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE, 220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2024.108855
Evaluating two high-throughput phenotyping platforms at early stages of the post-harvest pipeline of sweetpotatoes Martinez, E. P., Kudenov, M., Nguyen, H., Jones, D. S., & Williams, C. (2024). Smart Agricultural Technology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. atech.2024.100469
Assessing the utility of shellfish sanitation monitoring data for long-term estuarine water quality analysis. Chazal, N., Carr, M., Haines, A., Leight, A. K., & Nelson, N. G. (2024). MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN, 203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. marpolbul.2024.116465
Downstream Nutrient Concentrations Depend on Watershed Inputs More Than Reservoir Releases in a Highly Engineered Watershed.
Montefiore, L. R., Kaplan, D., Phlips, E. J., Milbrandt, E. C., Arias, M. E., Morrison, E., & Nelson, N. G. (2024). WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, 60(3). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR035590
The Effect of Drainage and Subirrigation From a Small Drainage Water Recycling Reservoir on Corn and Soybean Yields in Eastern North Carolina.
Moursi, H., Youssef, M. A., & Poole, C. (2024). JOURNAL OF THE ASABE, 67(1), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.13031/ja.15536
Catalytic Graphitization of pyrolysis oil for anode application in lithium-ion batteries.
Dey, S. C., Lower, L., Vook, T., Islam, M. N., Sagues, W. J., Han, S.-D., … Park, S. (2024, July 2). GREEN CHEMISTRY, Vol. 7. https:// doi.org/10.1039/D4GC01647E
Evaluating Cotton Apparel with Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment: The Climate Benefits of Temporary Biogenic Carbon Storage. Pires, S. T., Williams, A., Daystar, J., Sagues, W. J., Lan, K., & Venditti, R. A. (2024). BIORESOURCES, 19(3), 5074–5095. https://doi. org/10.15376/biores.19.3.5074-5095
Laboratory observations for examining estimates of soil dry surface layer thickness with parsimonious models. Mathers, C., Robarge, W., Walker, J., Sayde, C., & Heitman, J. (2024, July 19). HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES JOURNAL, Vol. 7. https:// doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2024.2373249
Water use and radiation balance of miscanthus and corn on marginal land in the coastal plain region of North Carolina. Carvalho, H. D. R., Howard, A. M., Crozier, C. R., Johnson, A. M., Sayde, C., Chinn, M. S., … Heitman, J. L. (2024). GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY, 16(8). https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13182
Poultry litter-derived biochar for supercapacitor applications. Rafsan, N.-A.-S., Haque, S. F. B., Shah, S., Sagues, J., Ding, R., Ferraris, J., & Kolar, P. (2024). Next Energy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxener.2024.100171
Characterizing value-added pellets obtained from blends of miscanthus, corn stover, and switchgrass.
Hossain, T., Jones, D. S., Godfrey, E., Saloni, D., Sharara, M., & Hartley, D. S. (2024). RENEWABLE ENERGY, 227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2024.120494
Implications of current soil phosphorus levels for manureshed analysis in North Carolina.
Miller, S., Kulesza, S., Gatiboni, L., Hardy, D., & Sharara, M. (2024, May 16). SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL, Vol. 5. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20694
Utilizing John Deere's harvest identification system in cotton fober quality mapping.
Fuhrer, L. M., Porter, W. M., Barnes, E. M., Rains, G. C., Snider, J. L., Virk, S., & Ward, J. K. APPLIED ENGINEERING IN AGRICULTURE, 40(4), 377–384. https://doi.org/10.13031/aea.15893
CCHA YOLO for mycelium clamp connection (CC) and hyphae Autolysis (HA) detection under microscopy imaging and web deployment.
Wu, L., Lin, S., Jin, W., Weng, H., Xu, J., Zhang, L., Xiang, L., … Ye, D. (2024). MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL, 201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2024.110483
Plant-Denoising-Net (PDN): A plant point cloud denoising network based on density gradient field learning. Wu, J., Xiang, L., You, H., Tang, L., & Gai, J. (2024).ISPRS JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING, 210, 282–299. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2024.03.010
EFFECTS OF SHALLOW SURFACE DRAINAGE DITCHES WITH CONTROLLED SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE MANAGEMENT ON CROP YIELDS IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Watkins, M. L., Poole, C., Youssef, M. A., Moursi, H., Vann, R., & Heiniger, R. (2024). JOURNAL OF THE ASABE, 67(2), 349–361. https://doi. org/10.13031/ja.15537
ILLUMINATION EFFECTS ON BACTERIORHODOPSIN ACCUMULATION IN ARCHAEON <i>HALOBACTERIUM HALOBIUM</i> Lu, H., Wang, J., & Yuan, W. (2024). JOURNAL OF THE ASABE, 67(3), 525–531. https://doi.org/10.13031/ja.15349
Soil dependence of biochar composts in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions: An overlooked biophysical mechanism. Hu, J., Cyle, K. T., Yuan, W., & Shi, W. (2024). APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY, 198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105374
RECENT RESEARCH, EXTENSION AND TEACHING GRANTS
Francois Birgand (NC Department of Transportation) AI-driven, Web-deployed, Low-Cost Visual Sensing of Stormwater Outlet Flow
Jay Cheng (North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services) Lemnaceae Selection for Fuel Butanol Production
Barbara Doll and Jack Kurki-Fox (NOAA Sea Grant Program) Protecting the Neuse River Estuary through Community-Engaged Prevention of Stormwater Derived Litter in Urban Headwaters.
Barbara Doll (AECOM Technicial Services) NC Blueprint Modeling and Technical Assistance.
Bill Hunt (Raleigh-Durham International Airport) Facilitating Installation & Monitoring of Submerged Gravel Wetlands for the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority
Bill Hunt (NC Department of Environmental Quality) Lockwoods Folly Water Quality Improvements
Daniela Jones (US Dept. of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service) A Review of the State of Technology of Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)
Daniela Jones (US Dept. of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture USDA NIFA) Scientific Exchange Program - Women in Sustainable Food Systems
Lingjuan Wang Li (USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture) "Farm Bill" Partnership: Proactive Pig Production (P3): Animal-centric AI For Indoor Environmental Control to Optimize Productivity, Welfare, and Sustainability
Natalie Nelson (National Science Foundation (NSF) or Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH) North Carolina Center for Coastal Algae, People, and Environment (NC-CAPE)
Natalie Nelson (National Science Foundation NSF) : Collaborative Research: Rising Seas, Failing Infrastructure: Characterizing Microbial Risks from Exposure to Tidal Floods
Chad Poole (NC Sea Grant) Investigating Drivers and Processes of Soil Salinization and Saltwater Intrusion in Coastal Agricultural Communities of Eastern North Carolina
Chad Poole (Corn Growers Association of NC, Inc.) Evaluation of Corn Hybrids for Climate Resiliency and Nutrient Use
Joe Sagues (Burnham.) Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Wastes
Joe Sague (US Dept. of Energy DOE) Advanced Separation and Processing Technologies for Enhanced Product Recovery and Improved Water Utilization, Cost Reduction, and Environmental Impact of an Integrated Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling System
Sanjay Shah (United States Poultry and Egg Association) Poultry House Mass Depopulation Calculator
Mohamed Youssef (US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service) Longleaf Pine Restoration For Southern Forest Sustainability and Resilience Towards A Process Based Understanding of Ecosystem Services
Lirong Xiang (USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)): High-Throughput Phenotyping for Tomato Disease under Field Conditions
Lirong Xiang (USDA) "Farm Bill" PARTNERSHIP: High-Throughput Multi-Scale Sensing for Tomato Disease Phenotyping under Field Conditions
Wayne Yuan (NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services) Carbon-neutral Energy and Nutrient Recovery from Solid Manures
GIVE TODAY IMPACT TOMORROW
The Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) provides a high quality, hands-on education for future engineers and creates a research and Extension environment that drives innovative and application of engineering technology in machine systems and precision agriculture, ecological engineering, environmental engineering, and bioprocess engineering. The generosity of BAE alumni and friends helps us to recruit and extend unique educational opportunities to the best and brightest students into our program and support and retain outstanding faculty to teach those students. Potential ways in which you can support BAE include the following opportunities. Give today and impact tomorrow!
BAE Enhancement Fund
The BAE enhancement fund provides departmental flexibility to support key initiatives in academics, research, and Extension. The fund helps support student and faculty travel to regional, national, and international meetings, funds for adjunct instructors, publication support, and computing resources for our department. With your help and generosity, the BAE department can continue to respond immediately to exciting challenges and opportunities for our students, professionals, staff, and faculty.
High Impact Educational Experiences: Undergraduate Research Opportunities and Study Abroad
A key component to the academic and professional training of BAE students include undergraduate research opportunities. The BAE department is committed to providing undergraduate students with a high-quality research experience to promote the professional development of these students. The BAE department is designing undergraduate research scholar programs that can interface directly with individuals and companies, allowing you a competitive advantage in terms of gaining access to our best and brightest students. The BAE department is also very supportive of student professional development through study abroad. Numerous study abroad opportunities exist at NC State University, but at times, the costs are too restrictive to allow students to participate. The Department participates in a multi-institutional study abroad experience in Belgium and leads a program on Roman Engineering in Spain.
Endowment Opportunities
Endowment gifts are long-term investments from alumni and friends of the BAE department. The stability and growth potential represented by an endowment gift amplifies its impact. Several types of endowments can be created.
Undergraduate Scholarships and Graduate Fellowships
Make an impact on a student’s life by providing financial resources to assist in their education. Graduate fellowships allow the BAE program to compete for the very best graduate students across the globe.
Distinguished Professorships
Endowed professorships are a key for building the national and international reputation of a department, and they allow us to recruit and retain the most exceptional faculty members. We utilize the state of North Carolina’s generous matching program, which provides 1/3 of the cost of the endowed professorship.
NC State University Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Raleigh, North Carolina
MAKE AN IMPACT
A gift to the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering is an investment in the problem-solvers of the future.
Support the programs most meaningful to you through monthly, quarterly, annual or one-time donations. To provide general support to BAE, visit go.ncsu.edu/bae_online_giving.
Checks payable to:
N.C. Agriculture Foundation - BAE Box 7645, Raleigh NC 27695-7645
For giving questions, please contact Chris Wessel by phone at 919-5157678 or by email at chris_wessel@ncsu.edu.
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