Research Areas

• Bioprocessing/Applied Biotechnology:
Bioprocessing refers to the biological production of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical compounds, biomaterials and biofuels by a variety of natural and modified microorganisms, such as filamentous fungi, bacteria, yeasts, mammalian cells and algae. Agricultural residues, such as by-products of sugar cane, rice or corn processing, or dedicated biomass crops, such as corn, switchgrass or hybrid poplar, may be used as the feedstocks for a bioconversion process. This area includes bioreactor design, determination of microbial growth, decay and product formation rates, mathematical modeling of bioprocessing unit operations, and advanced extraction technologies such supercritical fluid extraction.

Faculty:
          David E. Brune
          Caye M. Drapcho
          Terry H. Walker

• Natural Resources/Environment:
Approximately one half of the faculty members have research interests in this area. These interests include liquid/solid separation techniques; biological treatment; beneficial use of nutrients in organic waste; spent scrubber as soil additives; controlled eutrophication systems; treatment/remediation of wastewater associated with aquaculture systems; bioretention cell development for stormwater quality/quantity control; best management practices for erosion and stormwater control; hydrologic modeling; groundwater pollution; soil salination; removal of nutrient rich water; biosystems for energy production; nutrient recycling and biomass production; biogeochemical impacts of changing land use on watersheds; natural attenuation of non-point source pollutants in biogeochemical systems; and fate, transport, and bio-availability of toxic heavy metals in urban watersheds.

Faculty:
          David E. Brune
          John P. Chastain
          Caye M. Drapcho
          John C. Hayes
          Dan R. Hitchcock
          Anand Jayakaran
          Tom Owino
          Charles V. Privette
          Cal B. Sawyer

• Agriculture:
The faculty members listed below have research interests in this area. These interests include precision agriculture technology; variable depth tillage; instrumentation, control, and sensor development; irrigation design, scheduling, and forecasting; modeling bacteria growth; site-specific pest management; integrating crop models with GIS; aquaculture production systems; animal/plant systems; farm safety and health; engineering applications in turf grass; natural fiber production/development/testing; and air quality in agricultural facilities.

Faculty:
          William H. Allen
          John P. Chastain
          Young J. Han
          Ahmad Khalilian