ABE@Illinois Remains Best in the Nation

Published Aug 26, 2009

For the fourth year in a row, the Agricultural and Biological Engineering undergraduate program at the University of Illinois has been ranked the best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The 2010 edition of “America's Best Colleges" placed Illinois in the top spot, followed by Purdue University and Iowa State University.

“We feel very honored,” said K.C. Ting, head of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, “Receiving this recognition four years in a row is not that common in our field.”

U.S. News ranks undergraduate programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology based solely on the judgments of deans and senior faculty from participating colleges. U.S. News also asks for nominations of the best programs in specialty areas, such as agricultural engineering; those receiving the most mentions are ranked in the publication.

Ting gives much of the credit for the ranking to outstanding faculty, staff and students.

“We have very high quality people,” he said, “and in the last few years, we have hired six faculty members in areas that are new to us – bionanotechnology, bioinstrumentation and biosystems analysis.”

Ting said there are other factors that contribute to the overall quality of the department, which makes it appealing to incoming students.

“We have several successful grants supporting our faculty research,” Ting noted, “including a substantial program funded by the BP grant that was awarded to the University of California at Berkeley, the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the University of Illinois.

“The valuable contributions and support from all associated with the Department have made this ranking possible,” Ting concluded. “I deeply appreciate everything the faculty, staff, and students do to make us an excellent department.”

(US News and World Report)

News writer: Leanne Lucas

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