2023 Iowa State University Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Impact Report

ABE

AGRICULTURAL & BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING ISU

ABE

HARVESTING POTENTIAL

graduate student Kelly

Nascimento Coelho unearths land-use data to help conserve Iowa’s nutrient-rich soil - and channels her passion for mental health through an outdoor outlet: running

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letter from the chair

Another year has passed...

Another year has passed at Iowa State University’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, and it has been an incredible one! We are pleased to share U.S. News & World Report ranked our graduate program as No. 2 in the nation for the third year in a row. This achievement is a testament to the exceptional caliber of our students who continue to elevate our department to new heights.

We welcomed new faculty members Bailey Adams (advanced machinery systems) and Sara McMillan (ecological engineering) in 2023, and we’re excited for Ryan McGehee (agro-environmental modeling) and Han Chung (data systems for animal wellbeing) to join us in the coming year. We were also happy to celebrate the promotions of Josh Peschel and Brett Ramirez to associate professor, Kurt Rosentrater to professor, David Eisenmann to associate teaching professor, and Steve Bell to teaching professor. It is all of the excellent people in ABE that make this department so strong.

Throughout this year, our department has excelled in numerous ways. Our faculty and staff have continued to shine as beacons of knowledge and inspiration. Their research has led to several multi-million dollar grants, and their teaching and advising continues to impact the paths of students. Together, we have achieved remarkable milestones, and I am filled with immense pride for the unwavering dedication displayed by our faculty, staff, students, and the groundbreaking research that has propelled us forward.

We love to see all the amazing things our fellow ABE colleagues are doing, too! Please keep us informed about developments going on in your institutions. We encourage you to follow us on socials and stay connected with us, and we appreciate your interest in our program. Here’s to another year of embracing the spirit of innovation here at Iowa State!

— Amy Kaleita, department chair

Follow us on socials! @isu_abe and Iowa

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Our department ranks top in research and development spending among the nation’s agricultural and biosystems engineering departments at public universities.

State University

Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering on LinkedIn

2023 by the numbers

570 undergraduate students

80 graduate students

STAFF & FACULTY awards

Matt Darr

Regent’s Award for Faculty Excellence, Iowa State University

John Deere Endowed Chair in Ag Innovation, Iowa State University

Steve Freeman

SMV Technologies Award in Ergonomics, Safety and Health, ASABE

Charles W. Keith Award for exemplary contributions and service, ATMAE

Chris Hay (affiliate)

Gunlogson Award, ASABE

Steve Mickelson

Massey-Ferguson Educational Gold Medal, ASABE

Chris Murphy

P&S Outstanding Achievement in Teaching, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Josh Peschel Engineer of the Year, ASABE Iowa

Brett Ramirez

CALS Early Achievement in Research, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Outstanding Reviewer, ASABE

Kurt Rosentrater

Presidential Citation, Institute of Biological Engineers

Tim Shepherd

Excellence in Teaching by Term Faculty, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

James Wright Faculty Award for Diversity Enhancement, Iowa State University

CONNECTION TO AGRICULTURE AND BEYOND

While maintaining our traditional connection to agriculture, our faculty researchers are also developing alternative production systems, leading innovative research for renewable energy sources, developing value-added products and processes, and implementing new methods to improve air and water quality.

INNOVATION HUB

Our research teams conduct many projects that deliver life-sustaining and industry-changing innovations to citizens throughout the state, the Midwest, the nation and the world.

student feature Kelly Nascimento Coelho

If you conserve it, they will come. Kelly Nascimento Coelho is an agricultural and biosystems engineering graduate student set on unearthing land-use data to help conserve Iowa’s nutrient-rich soil.

In the meantime, through her education she is harvesting her own potential as a champion of utilizing mental health services and being outside and active in the ways that suit her. With her actions matching her words, Nascimento Coelho has started running as a student and has since completed several half-marathons, a full marathon, and an ultramarathon coming soon.

We want to help farmers find where in the field are the most critical places to implement conservation practices. My work helps with watershed planning, telling the farmers and conservationists, ‘this is how much soil you’re losing. And this is what you could do to prevent those losses.’

Students in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering came together with the Ames Fire Department with one goal: making the City of Ames safer.

An idea to make a positive impact on people’s lives turned into reality for the Iowa State University American Society of Safety Professionals Chapter (housed in ABE).

The student organization led a fundraising effort, raising money for over 200 dual smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and personally distributing and installing them to low-income families and over 200 households.

”

We all had one goal: contributing to the city of Ames. And through that, we decided, what better way to better the city than protecting families?

Left to right: Elijah Bouwman (vice president of ASSP), Daniel Nelson, Max Luton (treasurer of ASSP)

— Daniel

Nelson,

ASSP president

Determination and restoration: the key to making ecosystems thrive

Flora Kafunda, junior in biological systems engineering, has been enhancing her education on ecosystems through an array of classes and research at Iowa State University. While it is a big undertaking to revive entire ecosystems that have been destroyed, Kafunda is determined to do her part in creating a more sustainable environment for everyone around the world. Her most recent research revolves around engineering new ecosystem restoration techniques.

Flora Kafunda Flora Kafunda

Flora Kafunda

We are reaching points where there are ecosystems where we can’t go back anymore. We can plant 100 trees here and they will eventually grow, but we also need engineers in restoration so we can innovate solutions now.

“ ”

Food, fuel, medicine: grain is everywhere and evolving

If you need to talk to an expert on grain, Kurt Rosentrater is the expert for you. To Rosentrater, grain is the story of humanity, production ebbing and flowing with historical moments throughout history.

“Our society, and other societies, are predicated and built on the grain industry,” Rosentrater says. “Whether it is in the form of ethanol, beer or Cheetos, the grain industry has been a huge part of society for millennia.”

And as grain has built societies by feeding and fueling communities, what it could become in the future is seemingly endless, providing for our environment in ways that are not only efficient but also sustainable.

As the future of grain continues to evolve, Rosentrater wants his knowledge of grain to evolve, too. And along the way, he wants to share his knowledge with the world. You can listen to Rosentrater’s podcast, The Cereal Grain Cafe, on most podcast streaming platforms.

Grain as bio-plastics and bio-chemicals? That’s the next big wave. Can we use plants, corn, and other grains to produce antibiotics or antivirals?

Measuring crop residue...via satellite

ENHANCING CONSERVATION

Improving remote sensing protocols for conservation tracking and planning has been a long-time focus for Brian Gelder and a team of scientists he’s working with at Iowa State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Gelder, research manager in Iowa State’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, is developing remote sensing protocols via satellite to accurately identify the level of residue cover resulting from conservation tillage.

These related technologies are allowing us to do things at scales we couldn’t have dreamed of just a few years ago.

LINKING AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR RURAL EFFICIENCY

Josh Peschel, associate professor in agricultural and biosystems engineering, is linking agriculture and technology together in a nationwide research project funded by the National Science Foundation. Peschel is installing a rural wireless broadband test bed in cattle barns and pig pens around the area, intentionally linked to the team’s wireless network using their experimental technologies to help them better understand bandwidth requirements, minimum video quality and more.

STATE-OF-THE-ART DESIGN

Located in the heart of the United States farming landscape, Iowa State University serves as a resource for farmers all around the midwest. The Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering is continuing to enhance its reputation as a center of expertise in agricultural design with its new state-of-the-art off-highway vehicle chassis dynamometer that opened this year. The facility is the only one of its kind in terms of power and capacity at a public institution in the United States.

Manure: filling fields at the forefront of environmental awareness with Dr. Manure

Not all of us spend a lot of time talking about it - that is, until we smell it.

But for Dr. Manure, it’s a different story. Dan Andersen, also known as Dr. Manure, is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering who’s pretty much the expert to go to on the topic of manure.

Andersen studies all things manure - especially here in Iowa. And all of his work with manure boils down to one common goal: creating more sustainable farming practices through recycling nutrients.

Andersen adopts technical approaches to manure application, usually injecting liquid manure into the ground. Despite its low visibility, the manure industry is substantial, with each gallon of manure application costing about a penny and a half. Andersen aspires to enhance the efficiency of nitrogen recycling from manure, currently around 50-60%, by exploring methods like anaerobic digestion to convert manure into methane and reduce carbon footprints. His goal is to elevate manure as a valuable resource while addressing environmental water quality and carbon emission concerns.

Bethany Brittenham

Providing solutions through water quality practices

Graduating from the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering five years ago, Bethany Brittenham has been immersed in improving water quality and designing projects throughout the Midwest. With a M.S. in agricultural and biosystems engineering, Brittenham has made a big impact through design and engineering work enhancing better water quality.

When it all comes down to it, Brittenham says the biggest impact she wants to make is enhancing the efficiency of land while incorporating water quality and multi-purpose benefits, creating a healthier and cleaner earth. The best advice she can give to future students? Believe in yourself and do what is best for you, she says.

I think one of the most important things to do is believe in yourself and everything you can do. ”

“

Turning designs into reality

New faculty members Chad Dolphin and Bailey Adams came up with an idea to merge together their courses (systems modeling and manufacturing) so students can experience the manufacturing process from beginning to end. In Adams’ class, TSM 216, students learn how to make technical drawings representing products for manufacturing. In Dolphin’s class, TSM 240, students practice the hands-on challenge of manufacturing a high-quality product.

For one of the key merged assignments, students brought their own version of a sheet metal toolbox to life, learning how to translate their ideas from prints and 3D models into reality.

Thoughts turning, wheels rolling

At the core, this is about showing students how they can identify and remove non-value-added activities from assembly processes, and maximize value for the customer. And how do you do that? You have to compare and experience different assembly systems. ”

Hory Chikez (spring 2023 Ph.D. graduate) and students in ABE designed and built an entire mobile assembly lab in one semester - a project with a unique blend of class collaboration and hands-on learning, inspired by LEAN manufacturing.

The lab had two different setups – one side is comprised of a traditional moving assembly line, equipped with a conveyor belt, typically used for mass production. The other side consists of several assembly cell formations to exemplify LEAN manufacturing concepts and to learn about the advantages of using them. This way, students could experience and compare both manufacturing methods.

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Produced by Sarah Hays and Rory McDermott

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