Grant Ives is discovering ways to add value to ethanol production. As an undergraduate in industrial technology, he’s worked alongside researchers in the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative lab using Near Infrared Spectroscopy to analyze grain samples for protein, oil, fiber and fat content. His internship has allowed him to make strides towards his real passion— making …Continue reading “Adding value, advancing energy”
It was August 1967 when Carl Bern first walked into a classroom at Iowa State University. He began his career in agricultural engineering as a teaching assistant, and has taught students at Iowa State every term since.
Deere is setting up a research and innovation center collaborating with, among others, Matt Darr in the agricultural and biosystems engineering department. Darr, who was recently named to the Kinze Manufacturing Fellowship in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, has conducted several projects with Deere, many dealing with biomass harvesting equipment at Iowa State’s BioCentury Research Farm …Continue reading “ISU Research Park boosts learning, economic development”
Large companies with extensive research and development facilities still seek their help, says Darren Jarboe (’85 ag business, ’86 agronomy, ’12 PhD industrial and ag technology), CCUR’s program manager for technology commercialization, marketing and communication. “Multi-national companies are innovating all the time and sometimes they like the idea of getting away from the company headquarters and …Continue reading “Iowa State’s industrial playground”
Matt Darr, an associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University, called UAVs a “bleeding-edge technology” with great potential in agriculture. And faculty and students at Iowa State are playing a multifaceted role in advancing this emerging technology, he says. Iowa State engineers are developing software to make UAVs smarter and faster at …Continue reading “Birds-eye view of agriculture”
Amy Kaleita, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, has many reasons for working with remote sensing. “I got into sensors because I think they’re cool and fun,” she says, “but also as a grad- uate student I did enough field work by hand that I thought, we’d never be able to answer these big questions …Continue reading “Soil to space”
Researchers are using remote sensing technologies to increase the health and efficiency of livestock production. One of the studies involved tracking chickens to get a sense of the basics for potential cage-free production. How many feeders to provide a cage- free flock is one of the many production questions that need answering, says Hongwei Xin, director of …Continue reading “Monitoring animal health”
David Grewell has his thumb on the pulse of industry. He also has a unique approach to problem solving, which he uses in his research and encourages among his students. A professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, Grewell brings a wealth of real-world experience to the next generation of industry professionals. His goal is to see …Continue reading “Welding industry tech to student opportunities”
Rachel Lenz found her senior capstone project in agricultural systems technology to be a perfect fit for her passion and skill set. Lenz and her team are creating a land management plan for the Des Moines International Airport to identify which conservation practices are best suited to their 800 acres of land. Her team has designed a …Continue reading “Conservation rising to new heights”
“You can observe and measure phenotype, but it has been mostly done manually,” Tang says. “We see more and more automated applications to help scientists collect data. With the Enviratron we can probe the plant with very high precision using the robotic arm’s advanced imaging and sensors.”
The U.S. News and World Report named Iowa State’s agricultural and biosystems undergraduate program number one among all national universities and first among public universities this September—a tie with Purdue University. Iowa State was ranked number two last year.
The hands-on nature of the agricultural systems technology major appealed to Colin Connor, and it turned out to provide ample opportunities for leadership development. As a freshman and sophomore, Connor served on committees in the 80-member Agricultural Systems Technology (AST) Club. He became treasurer as a junior and was elected president as a senior last year. “I …Continue reading “Learning and leading by doing”
