The Department of Biological Systems Engineering is one of
the oldest such departments in the country. The department was established under
the original name, Agricultural Engineering in 1920 to provide engineering
support for the food and fiber industry. Over the years, the program changed,
and in 1992, the department's name was changed to Biological Systems Engineering
(BSE).
The department is affiliated with two nationally ranked colleges -
the Colleges of Engineering and Agriculture and Life Sciences. As a department
within a Land Grant university, it has active teaching, research and extension
programs.
The Department has a strong teaching program offering
undergraduate and graduate degrees. The program provides students with an
opportunity to combine their interest in biological sciences and engineering.
Even though there are many specialty areas within the discipline, the teaching
program focus in BSE is in two areas: Bioprocess Engineering and Land and Water
Resources Engineering. The undergraduate program in BSE has approximately 25
students in each class with an equal number of male and female students. At the
graduate level, degrees are offered at the masters and Ph.D. levels. The
Department currently has 30 graduate students.
The department maintains
active research and outreach programs. These programs are somewhat broader,
concentrating in the following areas:
Bioprocess Engineering
Land and Water Resources
Engineering
Machinery Systems, and
Livestock Systems Engineering.
The departmental personnel include
about 18 faculty members and 12 staff members. In addition,
the graduate students and several undergraduates are
employed to support the department's research program.
The department has excellent teaching and research facilities.
It has invested close to a million dollars during the
past few years to upgrade the facilities in Seitz Hall.
The department also maintains facilities off-campus
for field research.
Named University Exemplary Department for "effectively linking research and scholarship with teaching"
