When considering what interested him in food engineering, Bruno Augusto Mattar Carciofi talks about growing up close to his Lebanese grandmother in Brazil, who was constantly in her kitchen cooking.
Arnab Sarkar's father studied civil engineering while working full time as a construction supervisor and it was that dedication and early exposure to the field that inspired Sarkar, Master's of Science in biological and agricultural engineering '01, Ph.D. '04 to one day study engineering and follow in his father’s footsteps.
Have you ever stopped to think about how much energy it takes to dry the coffee beans in your coffee? Or the corn in the tortilla chip you’re crunching? Or the rice in your sushi roll? Probably not — you might lose your appetite. Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. student Alice Dien has thought about it a lot and come up with an intriguing solution: Desiccation.
As the climate changes, farmers need new, high-tech tools to precisely measure resource use and predict yield so they can produce crops with less water, fertilizer and pesticide. New BAE assistant professor Mason Earles is bringing expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) to this new era of agriculture by developing algorithms to help farmers better and more efficiently grow, treat and harvest their crops.
Assistant Professor of Teaching Jennifer Mullin has found a home in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE). As the instructor for the College of Engineering’s Introduction to Engineering Design course (ENG 3), she pursues her passion for teaching, creativity and design while researching new methods of instruction to train the next generation of engineers.
During droughts, California’s nut farmers are often attacked for their water use, though the crops they produce are a cornerstone of the state’s economy. Third-year Ph.D. student Kelley Drechsler is taking on this problem by working to help these farmers irrigate using less water without affecting their product.
Biological and Agricultural Engineering associate professor Tina Jeoh is an innovative researcher, passionate mentor and an advocate for women in STEM. Since joining the BAE department in 2008, she has been a leader in bioconversion for biofuels and microencapsulation of bioactives—all with an emphasis on scaling for industrial production.
Tyler Barzee, a Ph.D. candidate in Biological Systems Engineering, is one of the BAE department’s highly active graduate students, skillfully balancing his education, research, hobbies and involvement in the campus community.
