Newsletter

Dear BSE Alumni and Friends,

This fall marks a busy but productive time in BSE, as we have resumed all our normal in-person activities, classes, clubs, and events. As I am writing this – I have just exited our senior design class poster event. I was struck by the wide variety of design projects in areas including renewable energy, food processing, machinery design, machine learning, and stormwater control. This diversity speaks both to the breadth of our program but also reflects the numerous problems in which our alumni and future alumni make a difference.

The large number of projects also speaks to our healthy student number with 65 students receiving their bachelor’s degree during the 2022 calendar year. Our graduate program continues to do well and was recently ranked among the best in the 2022 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools – ranked at number 14.

Our students, staff and faculty have had a highly productive year in terms of research, including numerous high-impact publications and multiple major grants and awards, with several described in this newsletter. We have welcomed an additional new faculty member to BSE this Fall – Dr. Neslihan (Nesli) Akdeniz in the controlled environment area. We have also hired Ms. Andrea Klahn an outreach specialist for the Agrability program and Shanon Hankin as a research program coordinator working with Dr. Thompson on an NSF AccelNet Design project. These new people have brought new ideas, energy, and excitement to our program.

In closing, I would be remiss if I did not thank each of those who made gifts to our program in 2022. These gifts enable our program’s many activities to improve student experiences and provide scholarships to students in need. We could not do it without you and are truly grateful for your generosity.

Troy Runge
Patrick Walsh & Noreen Warren Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
Chair – Biological Systems Engineering