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Educational ObjectivesOur undergraduate engineering programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board ofEngineering and Technology (ABET). All ABET-accredited programs must publish theirProgram Objectives for access by employers, parents, students and others interested in whatgraduates of the program are expected to be capable of doing once they enter the workforce.Program Objectives for Agricultural Engineering:Program Objectives for Biological Systems Engineering:Upon entering the workforce, AGEN graduates (whetherthey are involved in machine design, sensors and controls,soil and water resources, or other professional endeavorssuch as business or law) will be:After graduation, BSEN alumni will share the attribute ofimproving the organization for which they work, and thecommunity and country in which they live. They will dothis whether they are involved in biomedical engineering,water resources or environmental engineering, food orbioprocess engineering, or other professional endeavorssuch as business, law or medicine. In doing so, they will:1. applying their unique educational backgrounds inagricultural engineering by providing appropriatesolutions to problems and adding value to the research,development, and design processes encountered in avariety of work environments;2. considering systems as a whole when solving problems,looking beyond components and subsystems individually;3. confidently using the necessary elements ofmathematics, statistics, physical science, engineering,computer based measurement and analysis tools andcurrent literature in solving problems and providingdesign solutions;4. successfully integrating their technical knowledge withskills in communication and persuasion, leading andworking effectively in teams, and understanding culturaldiversity and social and political forces that impactengineering decisions, as well as having the capability ofcompeting in an international atmosphere;5. responsibly addressing issues of health and safety,ethics, and environmental impacts of engineeringdecisions.6. continuing their personal growth, education andprofessional development through various opportunitiesprovided by institutions, professional societies and othervenues; and7. valuing their educational experience by remaininginvolved in the department as alumni and continuallypromoting the agricultural engineering program andprofession.1. provide innovative and effective solutions to problems ina variety of work environments through the use of theirunique background in biological systems engineering andthe biological sciences;2. look beyond components in isolation thereby providingholistic solutions to complex issues involving, for example,interactions at the ecosystem, organism, organ, cellular orsubcellar level;3. think logically using appropriate elements ofmathematics, science and engineering to develop, manageand interpret data, to correctly interpret new researchfindings and, to design new systems for the benefit ofsociety;4. successfully integrate technical knowledge withcommunication and interpersonal skills to lead and workeffectively in teams, and to articulate the role ofengineering decisions in the workplace, community andworld;5. responsibly address issues such as health and safety,personal and professional ethics, cultural diversity, as wellas the social, environmental and global impacts of theirwork;6. continue their personal growth, education, andprofessional development through various opportunitiesprovided by institutions, professional societies and othervenues; and7. remain involved in the department as active alumni whopromote the biological systems engineering program anddiscipline, and mentor future generations of engineers.Biological Systems Engineering, University of NebraskaPage 5

ASABE Honors DepartmentFaculty and Staff MembersAt the 2005 Annual International ASABE (formerlyASAE, now the American Society of Agriculturaland Biological Engineers) July meeting held inTampa, Florida, several Department faculty andstaff members as well as Department alumni werehonored for their research and service.G. B. Gunlogson Countryside Engineering AwardExtension engineer Rick Koelsch received thisprestigious award that is presented annuallyhonoring outstanding engineering contributions tothe development and improvement of thecountryside. He was nominated for his educationalimpact on the agricultural community through hisenvironmental programs and is an acknowledgedleader in best management practices for livestockproduction.Superior Paper AwardCo-authors Tami M. Brown-Brandl and John A.Nienaber (both adjunct faculty), along withHongwei Xin (Iowa State University) and RichardS. Gates (University of Kentucky), were recognizedfor a paper award for their publication A LiteratureReview of Swine Heat Production, published in theTransactions of the ASAE, Vol. 47, No. 1. Thecommittee selects fewer than 2.5 percent of ASAEpublished papers from the previous year forsuperior recognition.Presidential Distinguished Service AwardChris Henry, an Extension engineer and educator,was recognized "for his outstanding efforts andsuccessful execution related to the Study Guide forthe Agricultural Engineering PE Exam, whichresulted in moving the project from an incompletedraft version to a complete, polished publication."In the Educational Aids Competition, Darrell Watts,William Kranz, and C. Dean Yonts received a blueribbon for their project Assuring Efficient Center PivotIrrigation in the Films, Satellite Conferences,Videotapes, and Electronic Presentations category.Under Publications: Fact Sheets, two blue ribbonswere won by authors Amanda Fox (Ph.D. candidate),Tom Franti, Scott Josiah (NFS), and Mike Kucera(NRCS) for Planning Your Riparian Buffer: Design andPlant Selection (NebGuide 1557) and Installing YourRiparian Buffer: Tree and Grass Planting, PostplantingCare and Maintenance (NebGuide 1558). As part of ateam of 22 authors from Nebraska, Colorado, andWyoming, C. Dean Yonts and John Smith share ablue ribbon award for the second edition of Dry BeanProduction and Pest Management in the Manuals andWorkbooks section of Publication awards. InPublications: Bulletins, Mark Risse, Tommy Bass,Casey Rita, Jill Heemstra, and Rick Koelsch won ablue ribbon for their Poultry EMS project.Elected as ASAE Fellows in the 2005 class were twodepartment alumni: Adel Shirmohammadi andTerry J. Siebenmorgen. Shirmohammadi (M.S. 1977)is a professor in the Biological Resources EngineeringDepartment at the University of Maryland in CollegePark. Siebenmorgen (Ph.D. 1984) is a professor in theDepartment of Food Science and the Director of theRice Processing Program at the University ofArkansas in Fayetteville.Dale Heermann (B.S. 1959) received the Hancor Soiland Water Engineering Award. He recently retiredas Supervisory Agricultural Engineer and ResearchLeader with the USDA-ARS in Fort Collins,Colorado.Carroll Goering (B.S. 1959) received the Cyrus HallMcCormack Jerome Increase Case Gold MedalAward. Also currently an ASABE Fellow, he isProfessor Emeritus at the University of Illinois.Page 6Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska

Computer ToolHelps Crop Productionunder Limited IrrigationSandi Alswager Karstens, IANR NewsAnew University of Nebraska computer program,“The Water Optimizer,” developed by DerrelMartin, professor BSE, and Raymond Supalla, professorAg Econ, will help farmers make cropping decisionsunder limited water supplies.The computer tool will help farmers decide if theyshould grow different crops, irrigate fewer acres orapply less water to existing crops," said Ray Supalla,agricultural economist. The tool was developed inresponse to several years of drought across the state andto farmers facing water restrictions in the CentralNebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, and in theRepublican River Basin.Republican River Basin water restrictions stem fromthe 2002 settlement involving Kansas, Nebraska, andColorado over the 1943 Republican River Compact. Thissettlement found groundwater pumping was covered bythe compact, which will limit future groundwaterirrigation development in the basin.It's really an aid that will help the irrigators makedecisions on how to use the limited water supplies theywill have," said DeLynn Hay, Nebraska Extensionprogram leader and former BSE faculty member. TheUpper Republican Natural Resources District has hadspecific water allocations for a number of years, but this isthe first time that they will be applied in a broader areathat also includes Middle and Lower Republican NRDs."This tool will help these farmers make croppingdecisions that will use the limited water supply in a wayto maximize profits for the given situation," Hay said.The tool evaluates single fields for several crop options.Irrigated crops include: corn, soybeans, sorghum,wheat, alfalfa, edible beans and sunflowers. Drylandcrops include: corn, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers,alfalfa and wheat in continuous, summer fallow and ecofallow rotations. The tool allows users to inputinformation into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, includingsoil type and irrigation system options. Irrigation optionsinclude center pivot or gravity irrigation systems, well orcanal delivery, and systems powered by electricity, dieselor natural gas. After entering this basic information,producers enter their production costs, irrigation costs,crop prices, crop type and available water. After theseparameters have been set, the program calculates whatcrops will be most profitable with the given costs andavailable water.It gives you specific costs for your operation, and allowsyou to try a lot of 'what if' scenarios," research associateScott Nedved said. "By running the model a couple times,a producer can find out if it would be better to produceone type of crop with so many acres than producinganother type of crop."Other potential uses of the program includecomparing management strategies such as profitmaximizing deficit irrigation, fixed crop rotations, singleyear and multi-year full irrigation strategies, orEnvironmental Quality Incentives Program orConservation Reserve Enhancement Program leasing.Reprinted with permission IANR News ServiceBiological Systems Engineering, University of NebraskaPage 7

Comings and GoingsErkan Istanbulluoghlu isa new Assistant Professorwith a joint appointmentin the Biological SystemsEngineering andGeosciences Departments.Erkan received his Ph.D.from Utah State University in CivilEngineering. Prior to coming toNebraska, Erkan filled a post-doctoralposition at MIT.Monte Shomaker is thenew secretary in the westbay, and though sheenjoys the view to thewest, she can't seeColorado from here.Monte transferred to ourdepartment from the Dean's Office inthe College of Fine and PerformingArts, and replaced Daphne Nebel.Although MelissaMathews had been apart-time employee inthe past, she is now afull-time Secretary III,dividing her supportbetween the Directorand staff for theIndustrial Agricultural Products Centerand three department faculty members.Her outside interests include tennis, theoutdoors, and time with her family.After Sarah Sedlacekreturned to Alabamalast August, DiannYoung was welcomedas the new departmental receptionist. Sheimmediately jumpedinto the swirlingactivities around her--learning procedures and student names, creating andmaintaining departmental databases,and helping with several special majorprojects, most notably the CSREESreport.Page 8Valdeen Nelsenbrings a wealth ofexperience to thedepartment and isthe newest additionto staff in thePartners in PollutionPrevention (P3)program. Sheassumed her position as part-timeProgram Technician beginningspring semester 2006. Valdeen assistswith recruiting students and business partners, teaching andmentoring interns during their fieldwork, and planning for continuedgrowth and development for P3. Shehas worked on behalf of the public'shealth for many years, most recentlyas Program Coordinator for theMaster of Public Health program atthe University of Nebraska. Sheholds a bachelor's degree inEducation, a master's degree inPublic Administration, and serves asfaculty for the Great Plains PublicHealth Leadership Institute.Nancy Swarts,former secretary inthe Soil and WaterResources bay, isnow a full-timereporter/photographer for theMilford Times newspaper. She recently won threeNebraska Press Association awardsfor her work: personal column,feature series, and lifestyle coverage.MilestonesFor years of service to theUniversity of Nebraska, facultyand staff were recognized inSeptember at the Lied Center forPerforming Arts prior toChancellor Harvey Perlman'sState of the University address.30 yearsDean EisenhauerMilford Hanna25 yearsLeonard BashfordDavid Morgan15 yearsDebbie BurnsMichael Kocher10 yearsRichard Koelsch5 yearsViacheslav AdamchukBiological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska

Dr. Weller, far left, joins in stirring a big bowl of BiBim-Bop, a favorite Korean dish.Dr. Curtis Weller recentlytraveled to South Korea at theinvitation of the Center for HealthcareTechnology Development at ChonbukNational University in Jeonju. Dr.Keum Taek Hwang, Director ofExternal Cooperation for the Centerand Dean of the College of HumanEcology at Chonbuk NationalUniversity, is an Adjunct AssociateProfessor in BSE and has been avisiting scholar in our department. Dr.Weller was one of the invitedspeakers at the 2006 InternationalSymposium on HealthcareTechnology Development, January 1921. His presentation was entitled“Lipid Nutraceuticals from CerealGrains and Oilseeds.”He also participated as a judge duringgraduate student oral presentationsand as a panelist during an opendiscussion of all symposiumattendees.While in South Korea, Curt alsovisited Mokpo National University inMokpo and Seoul National Universityin Seoul. At Mokpo NationalUniversity, he gave a presentationentitled “Biodiesel Production inNebraska and the Rest of the UnitedStates” during a symposium onJanuary 23 in the Food IndustrialTechnology Research Center. TheCenter has had connections with ourdepartment and the IndustrialAgricultural Products Center forseveral years. At Seoul NationalBiological Systems Engineering, University of NebraskaPage 9

Alumni Update1980Mark Lamb (1980, B.S., AGEN; 1982, M.S., AGEN) isan Engineering Manager for Kubota TractorCorporation in Georgia.1990Stacia Palser (Norder) (1999, B.S., BSEN) is anattorney with Koley Jessesn, P.C., in Honey Creek,Iowa.2000Ryan Shea (2001, B.S., AGEN) has worked atCaterpillar, Inc., since he graduated and is in Kansasworking as a Senior Engineer. He recentlytransferred from Powertrain R & D in Peoria,Illinois, to Global Work Tools and Services inWamego, where he works on developing tools forforestry applications.James Schlaman (2001, B.S., BSEN) is a WaterResources Engineer for Black & Veatch in KansasCity. He and coworker Pam Kenel are receiving theWater Resources Division Best Paper Award fromthe American Water Works Association (AWWA) atthe June 2006 conference and exposition. The articlePreserving Sustainable Water Supplies for FutureGenerations was published in the June 2005 issue ofJournal AWWA. In May of 2006, Jim received an M.S.in Civil Engineering from KU. He says he willalways be a Husker, even though he's working andliving elsewhere.Lakshmi Koppolu (2002, Ph.D.) is the new Manager,Cell Culture Process Development, for PhytonBiotech, Inc., in East Windsor, New Jersey. Herhusband, Ajoy (2002, Ph.D.), is a Senior ProcessEngineer with Merial, Ltd., a Merck and sanofiaventis pharmaceutical company for animals inNorth Brunswick, New Jersey. They welcomed theirsecond child, Aneesh, this past July.Brad Schmidt (2002, M.S., MSYM) is theMaintenance Manager with Bunge North America,Oilseed Processing Division, Council Bluffs, Iowa.Andy Nickel (2003, B.S., BSEN) is employed as aHigh Throughput Geneticist for GeneSeek inLincoln, Nebraska.Philip Christenson (2003, M.S., AGEN) is workingfor John Deere Agricultural Management Solutionsas a Product Test Engineer in Iowa.Derek Robinson (2004, B.S.,BSEN) is a new medical student.He and Beth Erickson (2004,B.S., InterdisciplinaryEngineering) started medicalschool at the University of Iowain the fall of 2005 with thetraditional “white coatceremony.” This ceremony is atradition at the University of Iowa where first-yearmedical students receive a white coat in front ofparents, faculty, and administration from themedical school.Jonathan Morse (2003, B.S., BSEN; 2005, M.S., BSEN)is enjoying life and the challenges of being a Ph.D.student in electrical engineering at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,MA. His dissertation topic is on ultrafast opticaltechnology.Junjie Guan (2005, Ph.D.) was awarded theOutstanding Poster in Cereal Chemistry by theAmerican Association of Cereal Chemists. He is aMarvin Byer Scholar of U.S. Military Food andPackaging, working in Connecticut as a LeadProduct and Process Development Scientist withWatson, Inc. Junjie continues his affiliation with thedepartment as an adjunct faculty member.Jennifer Melander (2003 B.S., BSEN; 2005, M.S.,BSEN) started in the Ph.D. program at the Universityof Missouri in Kansas City in May 2006. She will beattending an interdisciplinary program in OralBiology and Engineering.Adam Pont (2003, B.S., BSEN) is an M.D./Ph.D.Fellow at the NYU School of Medicine. He isfinishing his second year and will soon be startingthe Ph.D. portion of the program.Page 10Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska

Alumni UpdateHajira Ahmad (2005, B.S., BSEN) is currentlystudying tissue engineering for her Ph.D. atGeorgia Institute of Technology/Emory MedicalSchool.Michael Hofmeister (2005, B.S., MSYM) is aService Supervisor and territory manager for AltecNational Service. Based in St. Joseph, Missouri,Mike supports six mobile technicians in their dayto-day activities and resolves customer issues inOklahoma and New Mexico. The work keeps himon his toes and continues his education ofhydraulic and DC electrical systems.Kevin Tacke (2006, B.S., AGEN), a new graduate,will be working for AGCO Corporation in Kansasas a Field Test Engineer.Balaji Sethuramasamyraja, ( 2006, Ph.D.), began asan Assistant Professor In July 2006, in theDepartment of Industrial Technology in theAlumni Profileby Eric A. Scott, Agricultural EngineeringIn May of 2004, I reached a milestone inmy life by graduating from theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln with abachelor of science degree inAgricultural Engineering, with emphasis inMachine Design and Control. During myundergraduate studies, I was privileged towork at the Nebraska Tractor TestingLaboratory. While testing tractors I workedhand-in-hand with engineers from all makesof the tractor world. I did not know it at the time, but this iswhere the interview process began for me as well as them. Ifound it very interesting to be studying theory on paper inthe classroom during the morning and to be working ontractors in the lab, physically seeing and experiencing theeffects of that theory, in the afternoon. This experience grewas classes were completed one by one. During each stepalong the way, all the staff, in addition to the faculty, werethere to coach and encourage. I received the impression that Iwas more than a student, which made me feel right at home.College of Agricultural Sciences and Technologyat California State University at Fresno, California.Melissa Eman (2006, B.S., BSEN), another new

and the Raymond J. Tarleton Endowment Graduate Fellowship from the American Society of Cereal Chemists. Dr. Hanna is Ajay's advisor. K.N. is working on his master's degree. His research areas are pulsed electric field processing and hyperspectral images, with the core objective of predicting beef tenderness. Hyperspectral imaging