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Biological Systems Engineering News 2021

Uddhav Bhattarai is a finalist for best oral presentation at ASABE 2021

Stewart Bohnet

Photo of Uddhav BhattaraiJuly, 2021 | Pullman, WA

Uddhav Bhattarai placed in the ITSC community competition for the presentation titled “Simplifying Apple Flower/Fruit Counting: A Weakly Supervised Approach”.

Congratulations to all of the finalists of the ASABE Student Oral/Poster Presentation Competition, held during the 2021 Annual International Meeting.

Each finalist received a $250 prize check. For more information on the competition, please visit ASABE’s website: https://asabe.org/Poster.

 

 

 

Legacy of leadership and mentorship for retiring professor – Claudio Stockle

Stewart Bohnet

CAHNRS NEWS | December, 2021

Photo of Claudio Stockle“Claudio is one of those visionaries who was able to see the important role of computing in agriculture early on,” said Ananth Kalyanaraman, professor of computer science at the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture and director of the new AgAID Institute. “His efforts will have a long-lasting impact on WSU’s research leadership in digital agriculture on the global stage.”

“In the future, agriculture is going to be a different beast, and we have to start preparing now,” said Stöckle, who intends to continue work with the grant as he enters a new chapter of his life.

“He is somebody who has built strong foundations in our program, grown our faculty numbers, and his influence goes beyond the borders of WSU,” said Manuel Garcia-Perez, professor and current chair of BSE.

Stöckle has served as a visiting professor at institutions in Italy, France, and Spain. Though he hails from Santiago, Chile, he and his wife call Pullman home.

“We haven’t found anywhere we like living better than right here in Pullman,” he said.

Read the Article : Legacy of leadership and mentorship for retiring professor, CAHNRS NEWS.

 

Behnaz Molaei is a 2021 Irrigation Foundation E3 Winner

Stewart Bohnet

December 6, 2021  |  San Diego, CA

Photo of Behnaz Molaei as a 2021 Irrigation

Behnaz Molaei is a 2021 Irrigation Foundation E3 Winner at the ASABE/IA 6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium, Irrigation Show and Education Week, December 6-10, 2021, San Diego.

Behnaz’s advisor is Dr. Troy Peters.

 

For more information, please visit the ASABE, 6th Irrigation Show and Education Week website.

Research Week Celebrates Outstanding Faculty and Staff – Juming Tang

Stewart Bohnet

October 18, 2021  |   WSU Insider

Photo of Professor Juming TangFaculty Research Awards

WSU’s fifth annual Research Week culminated with a celebration of faculty and staff who exemplify research excellence on Friday, Oct. 15.

  • Juming Tang, food engineer from the Department of Biosystems Engineering, received the Technology with Impactful Contribution to Society Award for his development of high temperature short-time thermal processes to produce high quality shelf stable food products and pathogen controlled chilled ready-to-eat meals.

… continue reading the article…

Read the complete article: Research Week Celebrates 2021, WSU Insider.

Research Week Celebrates Outstanding Faculty and Staff – Manoj Karkee

Stewart Bohnet

October 18, 2021  |  WSU Insider

Photo of Manoj KarkeeResearch Week Competition Winners

Multi-disciplinary Grant Competition Award – First place award will receive $50,000 plus a doctoral-level research assistantship provided by the Graduate School. Second place award will receive $20,000.

  • First place – Manoj Karkee, associate professor of Biological Systems Engineering

… continue reading the article…

Read the complete article: Research Week Celebrates 2021, WSU Insider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Residents Hope to Prevent Wildfire With BioChar

Stewart Bohnet

September 23, 2021  |   NWPB

Photo of Manuel Garcia-PérezHow Residents In The Methow Valley Are Hoping To Prevent Wildfire By Creating BioChar.

Residents in the Methow Valley are applying pyrolysis to reduce an overabundance of small-diameter trees and woody debris, which has built up over decades in the surrounding forests. Pyrolysis takes this excess biomass and heats it beyond typical combustion temperatures in a low-oxygen environment. From this, the forest fuel load is reduced and carbon from the biomass stays stored in the by-products.

Dr. Manuel Garcia-Pérez, professor in the Biological Systems Engineering and Department Chair at Washington State University, says pyrolysis would allow for taking excess carbon burning mostly on the east side of the Cascades and using it to make soil across the state more fertile. He’s excited that there are citizens who are taking action to try and address this problem in their community. Garcia-Pérez is optimistic about the potential of this technology to benefit the environment, while also being profitable through the use of its by-products, which can contribute to society in a number of ways. There’s potential for biochar to be used in asphalt and building construction.

Source: Northwest Public Broadcasting

Fitria Fnu is working with PNNL researchers to develop sensors that detect refrigerant leaks in air-conditioners.

Stewart Bohnet

July 25, 2021  |  Tri-City Herald

Richland, WA

Photo of Fitria FnuFitria Fnu, a participant in the PNNL-Washington State University Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Program, is working with PNNL researchers to develop sensors that detect refrigerant leaks in air-conditioners. Identifying and addressing these leaks can increase energy efficiency as well as prevent risks to human health and the environment.

The work performed by Fitria Fnu, as well as technologies developed by PNNL, are helping to make air conditioning systems more efficient, reducing energy use and lowering costs. This is exactly what is needed during these hot summer months!

Read the full article: Richland researchers innovating to keep you cool for less in triple-digit temps.

WSU to lead national AI research institute for agriculture

Stewart Bohnet

July 29, 2021 | WSU Insider

Photo of workers with droneWSU to lead national AI research institute for agriculture

With a new $20 million federal grant, Washington State University will lead a multi-institutional research institute to develop artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to tackle some of agriculture’s biggest challenges related to labor, water, weather and climate change.

The new institute is one of 11 launched by the National Science Foundation and among two funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture in 2021. It’s called the AgAID Institute, which is short for USDA-NIFA Institute for Agricultural AI for Transforming Workforce and Decision Support.

WSU Insider

Members of Biological Systems Engineering who are involved in this work include:
Claudio Stockle
Qin Zhang
Lav Khot
Manoj Karkee
R. Troy Peters
Kirti Rajagopalan
Sindhuja Sankaran

Lav Khot named to 40 Under 40 Class of 2021

Stewart Bohnet

July 27, 2021 | CAHNRS News

Photo of Lav KhotPrecision ag scientist Lav Khot named to Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Class.

 

Lav Khot, associate professor and precision agriculture scientist at Washington State University, was named to the Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under 40 Awards’ Class of 2021.

Created by Fruit Growers News, the awards honor outstanding leaders and thinkers who support the fruit industry. Representing every sector, from growers and farm marketers to researchers and suppliers, awardees are chosen by a panel of industry experts and celebrated annually during the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market Expo.

A WSU faculty member since 2013, Khot studies sensing and automation technologies to support fruit and berry crop production. His work helps growers better monitor and manage their crops using precision horticulture engineering technologies. These efforts help ensure optimal use of resources, such as chemicals, water, energy, and labor, as well as… to continue reading this CAHNRS News article, please press on this link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WSU summer undergraduate research featured at virtual symposia

Stewart Bohnet

June 21, 2021  |  WSU Insider

WSU Summer undergrad research featured at virtual symposiaPhenomics Big Data Management group led by Sindhuja Sankaran

Washington State University will feature the mentored research of nearly 60 undergraduates from 36 universities at three virtual symposia on Friday, July 30, Aug. 3, and Aug. 6. Each event runs from 10:30 a.m.-noon each day. The public is invited to the no-cost presentations.

“The students may come from institutions across the nation plus WSU, but they shared a common experience by working with WSU’s outstanding faculty researchers and their teams on a variety of important projects.  “We look forward to hearing individual students explain the work they did and the results they found during their time at WSU.”

Sindhuja Sankaran’s lab, of the Agricultural Automation Engineering section of the Biological Systems Engineering Department, provides research experience for undergraduates on Phenomics Big Data Management. Crop phenomics is a new transdisciplinary field of research that is a critical interface between plant biology, engineering, and data sciences. Phenomics data refers to sensory data acquired from high-throughput sensing/automation equipment that are associated with crop phenotypes/traits. Crop phenotyping is a complex process as the plant phenotype results from interactions between the genetic framework, dynamically changing environment, and complex plant physiology.

Student projects this Friday will be from the Sankaran, Padowski, and Offerdahl labs. A schedule posted on the summer undergraduate research website details the names of student researchers and their presentation times.

… continue reading the article, WSU Insider, 2021.