Dr. Ray Bucklin started his career at the University of Florida in 1982 as a faculty member in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department. He continued to contribute to the students, the department, and the discipline for 36 years – retiring in 2018. During this time, Dr. Bucklin gave generously to others as a faculty research advisor, the ABE graduate coordinator, and fellow faculty member. Dr. Bucklin brought his strong expertise to every conversation – but also brought his kind, patient, and generous spirit.
Dr. Bucklin’s research and extension interests were varied as well as impactful, from dairy cattle cooling and grain drying/storage to greenhouse ventilation and growing crops for the Mars environment. Along with colleagues from UF ABE and Dairy Science, Dr. Bucklin worked with the initial studies on dairy cow cooling that have resonated throughout the world. The dairy industry across the Southeastern US has grown and flourished in large part due to the ability to properly cool cattle in this sub-tropical climate. In fact, dairy farms throughout the globe have benefited greatly from this initial research, and the positive benefits continue to grow.
Members of ASABE will miss his dedication to the society and his contribution to the biological and agricultural engineering profession. His active involvement in ASABE committees was impressive: standards oversight, structures group, bulk solids handling, plant systems, facilities and systems group, etc. all benefited from his active participation.
Dr. Bucklin leaves behind many former graduate students who were the beneficiaries of his gentle guidance and his interest in their futures. Many can attest to his ability to guide, encourage, and challenge them during their courses of study. He had a way of making students feel that he cared more about them than about his ability to publish papers from their research.
Dr. Bucklin’s academic accomplishments were recognized by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers where he became a Fellow in 2008. Although Dr. Bucklin is no longer with us, his spirit and example remains one, that those who knew him, hold dear and try to emulate. To further honor his memory, several of his friends have started a naming initiative in his honor for the new ABE Teaching Building. The goal is to name the Biological Engineering Lab Classroom after Dr. Ray Bucklin which requires us to raise $125,000 toward this effort. The project’s total cost is estimated at $2.6 million.
More details about the ABE Teaching Building
The ABE Department is pursuing funds to build an ABE Teaching Building. This new state-of-the-art space will not only provide Agricultural Operations Management (AOM) and Biological Engineering (BE) students top of the line teaching equipment but will prepare them to become successful professionals.
This teaching building will have two hands-on, experiential learning classrooms. One will be dedicated to our Agricultural Operations Management students and provide hi-tech facilities with modern equipment and flexible work areas. The other will serve our Biological Engineering students as a maker space for course labs, senior design, competitions, and other engineering activities.
Current facilitates, such as the Agricultural Operations Management teaching building, lack the basic elements of a nationally ranked academic institution. Most nationally ranked ABE departments have designated areas for students to explore design and other hands-on activities. This is a significant limitation to our undergraduate program as our Agricultural Operations Management and Biological Engineering students are not able to develop technical and soft skills at the highest level. Today’s classes incorporate a wide range of technologies from more traditional machinery and equipment to computers, robotics, and sensors. To attract, retain, and develop the best students, there is a need for a teaching building, facilities, and infrastructure that meet the demands of the 21st century.
As UF ABE Gators and friends, you understand the importance of our mission to create synergy between science and engineering. The goal to improve and sustain agricultural and biological systems for future generations begins with the students. The skills that AOM and BE students develop are essential in making this a reality yet teaching skills can only be effective to the extent that facilities are accessible. The individual skills, team-building skills, entrepreneurship, and design innovation such a teaching facility brings will develop workforce-ready students.
For more information about how you can support this project, please contact:
Kati Migliaccio, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor and Chair
UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
352-294-6703 | klwhite@ufl.edu
