| Scholarships
FABE Home
|
Undergraduate
Programs
Engineering
for Tomorrow's Food, Agricultural, and Biological Systems
Educational
Objectives for ABET Accreditation
Areas of
Study
Areas of
Specialization
Agricultural
& Construction Systems Management (ACSM) Visit
the ACSM
Web Site ACSM is the planning, installation,
operation and support of physical systems (machinery, electrical power,
and soil and water) used in modern agricultural production and associated
commodity handling industries. This specialty prepares students for career
success in the delivery, management, and support of physical systems for
food and agriculture. This program is the function of application,
operation, and management of the equipment (power and machinery), natural
resources (soil and water management;), or commodity (handling and
processing) elements of the system. It also is
the planning, construction, and management of dwellings, service
structures, and other permanent facilities for agricultural production,
processing and rural living. The systems approach to curriculum in the
ACSM specialty provides understanding of land acquisition and development,
social, environmental and legal factors, as well as financial management
and marketing. The specialty will provide the student with a background in
the technical and managerial aspects of construction.
Markets for ACSM
Graduates
The opportunities for Agricultural Systems Management graduates are
many and diverse. Graduates may:
- work for companies and agencies that provide inputs and services
for rural and urban communities and the general society,
- be employed by companies and agencies that provide physical inputs
and services for agricultural production,
- work with companies and agencies that handle, store, process, and
distribute agricultural products, and foods,
- be self-employed individuals who perform services as consultants
or as owners or operators of small businesses,
- be employed by contractors and supply companies
that provide inputs and services for the agricultural, residential,
and rural construction industries,
- be self-employed as contractors, consultants, or
individuals who perform services as owners and/or operators of
building and construction supply businesses, or
- work for companies and agencies that provide inputs
and services for rural and urban communities and the general
society.
An estimated 30% of the total value of physical system
assets in agriculture is in dwellings, service structures, and other
buildings. Their total value exceed $200 billion. The value of new,
replacement, and maintenance services delivered to these facilities and
systems each year is over $10 billion. Thousands of companies and
agencies require managers and employees with an understanding of the
principles involved and an understanding of the construction practices
commonly used. Managers and associates with the abilities to permit them
to respond to changing customer requirements and construction practices
while assisting their employers to remain viable are much in demand.
ACSM Is Important The assets of
physical systems used in the production and processing of agricultural
products are estimated to be over $400 billion. The value of the
manufactured inputs delivered annual to support production and on-farm
processing is $22 billion. Repair and maintenance costs to maintain
agriculture’s capital assets averages $7 billion each year. The annual
cost of new agricultural assets exceeds $12 billion (source: USDA).
Food,
Agricultural, and Biological Engineering Challenging
careers in engineering of food, agricultural and environmental systems
require an education that is unique to the agricultural/biological
engineer. It will include the following strengths:
- a strong background in basic engineering and
biological sciences,
- an understanding of the scope and range of problems
encountered in the agricultural and biological industries and related
environmental areas, and
- an ability to synthesize the information and apply it
to design and problem-solving.
Areas
of Specialization
Machinery Systems (Power and
Machinery)
Machinery Systems refers to the use of mechanical systems to make
food production, handling, storage, processing, and distribution more
efficient, to protect and to enhance the quality of the products, and to
improve the quality of the human work involved. Activities and
technologies include: process automation for field and specialty crops,
high value crop mechanization systems, robotics in production and
processing, image processing, tillage and soil management systems,
traction, soil compaction, pest control technology, chemical
application, and human factors and safety engineering. Potential
employers include farm and construction machinery manufacturers and
distributors and allied industries.
Structures and Environmental Control Engineering
Students in Structures and Environment will develop a broad
background in such areas as structural design, environmental control,
waste management and grain handling and drying systems. Potential
employers are firms in the rural construction industry and farmstead
equipment companies. Students who concentrate their electives in
structures, environmental control or waste management will also find
opportunities with consulting engineering firms.
Bioenvironmental Engineering
Students in the Bioenvironmental area will develop the background and
tools to address major environmental quality issues in our society. Both
urban point sources and rural non-point sources of air and water
pollution, and the relationship between agriculture, industry, and the
environment need to be understood. Employers include governmental
agencies (EPA, universities, natural resources, as well as city and
regional waste management authorities), private industry having waste
management concerns (especially the food industry) and consulting firms.
Students will e prepared to address air pollution, water quality and
solid waste issues as well as biological treatment processes.
Pre-Vet/Pre-Med
By capitalizing on the biological emphasis in agricultural
engineering, students will prepare themselves for admission to either
veterinary medicine or medicine while obtaining a degree in agricultural
engineering. The courses required in the pre-professional programs also
provide excellent fundamental training for careers in areas such as
environmental quality, food engineering, biomechanics, biotechnology,
and environmental control.
Biological Engineering
Biological engineering covers a wide range of activities
that apply the quantitative approach of engineering to biological
systems. This specialty develops competencies in such areas as
biological kinetics, biomaterials, and bioprocessing applied to the
production and processing food, fiber and wastes. Sensors and controls
for human and animal systems, bioprocessing to produce products from
biomass and the design of new organisms through biotechnology are all
possible challenges for biological engineers. Potential employers are
focusing on the use of develo9pment in biological science to solve
engineering problems related to environment, medicine, and food.
Food Engineering Option Food
Engineering Systems
Food Engineering refers to the totality of engineering activities
associated with processing, packaging and delivery of food products from
the farm to the consumer. The discipline requires a strong background in
engineering, in particular, transport phenomena, reaction kinetics, food
chemistry and microbiology, and an understanding of sanitary
considerations in the food industry. The food engineering program
is aimed at students interested in entering either the food processing
industry or the food processing equipment manufacturing/plant
engineering sectors.
Visit
the OSU Student Branch of ASAE
View
a listing of companies employing recent graduates
Return to the Home page
|
