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Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Research

ABE faculty and graduate students are involved in a vast array of research and development projects to improve the world around us. Research takes place both on campus and in IFAS Research and Education Centers around the state. A strong emphasis is placed on multi-disciplinary efforts with other UF departments and with state, national and international agencies.

Agricultural Operations Management

Agricultural Operations Management encompasses advanced training and the development of knowledge and understanding in the management of technical assets for a wide range of applications in agricultural production, natural resource systems, procurement practices, distribution, food supply chains, and facilitates. It emphasizes managerial, quantitative and statistical techniques, and technologies as applied to agricultural business and operations management.

Agricultural Production Engineering

Agricultural Production Engineering includes machine systems analysis and design, mechanical harvesting of citrus and other specialty crops, precision agriculture, robotics and sensor technology, safety, farm automation and management, agrochemical application technology, space agriculture and biology, and design and analysis of agricultural structures and their environment.

  • Agricultural Production Engineering Faculty
    • Dr. Yiannis Ampatzidis, Precision Agriculture/Automation
    • Dr. Tom Burks, Agricultural Robotics
    • Dr. Melanie Correll, Plant-Space Biology
    • Dr. Wonsuk "Daniel" Lee, Precision Agriculture
    • Dr. J. Adam Watson, Agricultural Economics, Postharvest

Biological Engineering

Biological Engineering includes the development and application of tools (crop models, packaging technologies, robotics, bio and nano-technologies, sensors, smart decision support systems); the engineering of unit processes/operations (biofuels, process microbiology, biotechnology, recycling systems); and the first principles of engineering (heat and mass transfer in biological systems, thermal processing of food).

  • Biological Engineering Faculty
    • Dr. Bin Gao, Nanotechnology
    • Dr. Greg Kiker, Ecological Modeling
    • Dr. Eric McLamore, Biosensors
    • Dr. Rachata Muneepeerakul, Dynamic Models and Stochastic Processes
    • Dr. Aditya Singh, Remote Sensing and Spectroscopy
    • Dr. Zhaohui Tong, Biofuels and Bioproducts
    • Dr. Bruce Welt, Packaging

Information Systems

Information Systems research is directed towards knowledge-based decision support systems, climate-smart agriculture, remote sensing, information and communication technologies (ICT), and data science and integrative informatics applied to agriculture with special emphasis on mathematical modeling over a broad range of plant and animal systems.

  • Information Systems Faculty
    • Dr. Senthold Asseng, Climate Modeling
    • Dr. Nikolay Bliznyuk, Statistics
    • Dr. Clyde Fraisse, Agroclimatology
    • Dr. Gerrit Hoogenboom, Agrometeorology and Climatology
    • Dr. Pierce Jones, Environmental Control Systems
    • Dr. Jasmeet Judge, Microwave Remote Sensing
    • Dr. Aditya Singh, Remote Sensing and Spectroscopy

Land and Water Resources Engineering

Land and Water Resources Engineering encompasses the quantitative analysis, simulation and management of land and water-based complex systems at the interface of the rural, urban and natural landscapes. This research seeks to predict and manage the integrated biophysical and human system; predict and reduce pollution from agricultural and urban watersheds; analyze and model surface/groundwater hydrology, water reuse, and ecological resilience; explore bio and nano-technologies in water resources; and design solutions for irrigation and drainage systems.

  • Land and Water Resources Engineering Faculty
    • Dr. Haimanote Bayabil, Water Resources
    • Dr. Eban Bean, Watershed Hydrology
    • Dr. Michael Dukes, Irrigation/Water Conservation
    • Dr. Wendy Graham, Water Resources
    • Dr. Sandra Guzmán, Hydrology/Irrigation
    • Dr. Young Gu Her, Hydrologic and Water Quality
    • Dr. Pierce Jones, Environmental Control Systems
    • Dr. Jasmeet Judge, Microwave Remote Sensing
    • Dr. Christopher Martinez, Urban Water Resources
    • Dr. Rafael Muñoz-Carpena, Hydrology
    • Dr. Sanjay Shukla, Watershed Hydrology

Packaging Engineering

Packaging Engineering research seeks to improve performance, efficiency and sustainability in all areas of related to packaging with research in lower-cost, robust methods for measuring gas permeation through packaging materials, technology for improving freshness in modified atmosphere packaged fresh produce, rapidly detecting leaks in flexible packages, improvements to packaging machinery designs. 

  • IFAS Research and Extension
    The Solutions For Your Life website provides information 24/7 on a wide variety of topics including agriculture, the environment, families and consumers, disaster preparedness, lawns & gardens and more. Search the EDIS publication database for information on a wide variety of topics.
  • Research Centers
    Faculty in the ABE department participate in research efforts with a number of centers located both on and off the UF Campus.