IllinoisCollege of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental SciencesEngineering at Illinois
Department of Agricultural and Biological EngineeringDepartment of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
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Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois

Areas of Study

The department is a leader in the application of engineering principles to solve problems of agricultural production and utilization and to improve the quality of life. Specific research projects are continually changing to meet new challenages and opportunities. Faculty are conducting research in all major areas of agricultural engineering including:

Agricultural Safety
Research involves model programs for collection of data related to farm injuries and illnesses, redesign of on-farm structures and management procedures to reduce risk of airborne contaminants to worker injuries, development of sensors on off-road vehicles for human detection and safety, utilization of behavioral psychology models in the prediction and analysis of agricultural safety behaviors and providing assistance to farmers with physical disabilities. Research is being conducted to develop a human presence detection system as part of intelligent safety protection systems for off-road equipment.
Bioenvironmental Engineering
Research involves environmental control for biological systems, indoor air quality, control of airborne contaminate emissions, environmental protection, animal response to environment, light frame structural design, and energy from biomass. A few specific projects include improving agricultural ventilation performance, reducing dust and odor emissions from livestock facilities, measuring airborne particulate distribution, providing good environments for laboratory animals, and converting swine manure into oil.
Food and Bioprocess
Research involves bioprocess modifications to develop new food coproducts with high nutritive or pharmaceutical value, to reduce food processing plant waste streams, and to evaluate improved starch characteristics of milled grains. State-of-the-art separation technologies, such as microfiltration, are being applied to conventional corn processes to give better products while gaining improved process efficiencies.
Grain Quality and Properties
Research involves developing improved corn wet and dry milling processes, dry-grind ethanol processes which remove the germ first (Quick Germ), determination of starch viscosity with rapid visco analyzer (RVA), drying effects on quality of grains, detection of extractable starch using near-infrared spectroscopy, measurement of fermentable starch, distiller’s dried grains (DDGS), and fatty acids, amino acids, and isoflavones in soybeans using FT-NIR and other physiochemical quality tests for grains and oilseeds.
Off-Road Equipment Engineering
Research involves advanced technology development for off-raod vehicles, modeling of in-filed crop handling systems, and evaluation of biofuels for diesel-powered vehicles.
Precision Agriculture
Research involves development of sensors, information mapping systems and control systems for more precise management of in-field crop planting and chemical application. Remote sensing is a major feature with the recording and processing of data form satellites, planes and ground-based vehicles leading to both map-based and real-time control of crop planting and chemical application.
Soil and Water Resources Engineering
Research involves the management of our soil and water resources, which includes watershed hydrology, subsurface drainage, runoff, and stormwater management.
Water Quality
Research involves the processes related to water contaminant transport, effects of those contaminants on water use, processes causing contamination and the correction and avoidance of contamination of water. Contaminants of interst include sediment, nutrients, pathogens, and chemicals.

Note: Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Option
Our ABE graduate program is participating in the Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Option. Our M.S. and Ph.D. students may elect the CSE Option. Dr. Yuanhui Zhang is our official ABE CSE Program Contact. Please visit the CSE website for the Option details and the admissions page for how to satisfy the Option requirements and receive an Option certificate.