Biological systems engineering

Biological systems engineering or biosystems engineering is a broad-based engineering discipline with particular emphasis on biology and chemistry. It can be thought of as a subset of the broader notion of biological engineering or bio-technology though not in the respects that pertain to biomedical engineering as biosystems engineering tends to focus less on medical applications than on agriculture, ecosystems, and food science. It involves aspects of genetic engineering, particularly regarding the agricultural applications. The discipline focuses broadly on environmentally sound and sustainable engineering solutions to meet societies' ecologically-related needs. Biosystems engineering integrates the expertise of fundamental engineering fields with expertise from non-engineering disciplines.

Some biological molecular machines

Background and organization

Many college and university biological engineering departments have a history of being grounded in agricultural engineering and have only in the past two decades or so changed their names to reflect the movement towards more diverse biological based engineering programs.[1][2] This major is sometimes called agricultural and biological engineering, biological and environmental engineering, etc., in different universities, generally reflecting interests of local employment opportunities.

Since biological engineering covers a wide spectrum, many departments now offer specialization options. Depending on the department and the specialization options offered within each program, curricula may overlap with other related fields. There are a number of different titles for BSE-related departments at various universities. The professional societies commonly associated with many Biological Engineering programs include the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)[3] and the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE),[4] which generally encompasses BSE. Some program also participate in the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) [5] and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).[6]

A biological systems engineer has a background in what both environmental engineers and biologists do, thus bridging the gap between engineering and the (non-medical) biological sciences – although this is variable across academic institutions. For this reason, biological systems engineers are becoming integral parts of many environmental engineering firms, federal agencies, and biotechnology industries. A biological systems engineer will often address the solution to a problem from the perspective of employing living systems to enact change. For example, biological treatment methodologies can be applied to provide access to clean drinking water [7] or for sequestration of carbon dioxide.[8]

Specializations

Academic programs in agricultural and biological systems engineering

Below is a listing of known academic programs that offer bachelor's degrees (B.S. or B.S.E.) in what ABET terms "agricultural engineering", "biological systems engineering", "biological engineering", or similarly named programs. ABET accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.

North America

InstitutionDepartmentWeb site
Auburn UniversityBiosystems Engineeringwww.eng.auburn.edu/
CalPoly San Louis ObispoBioResource and Agricultural Engineeringwww.brae.calpoly.edu/
Clemson UniversityBiosystems Engineering
Cornell UniversityBiological and Environmental Engineeringbee.cornell.edu/
Dalhousie UniversityDepartment of Engineering (Agricultural Campus)www.dal.ca
Florida A&M UniversityBiological Systems Engineering
Iowa State UniversityAgricultural and Biosystems Engineeringwww.abe.iastate.edu/
Kansas State UniversityBiological and Agricultural Engineeringwww.bae.ksu.edu/home
Louisiana State UniversityBiological and Agricultural Engineeringwww.bae.lsu.edu
McGill UniversityDepartment of Bioresource Engineeringwww.mcgill.ca/bioeng/
Michigan State UniversityBiosystems and Agricultural Engineeringwww.egr.msu.edu/bae/
Mississippi State UniversityAgricultural and Biological Engineeringwww.abe.msstate.edu
North Carolina State UniversityBiological and Agricultural Engineeringwww.bae.ncsu.edu/
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State UniversityChemical, Biological and Bioengineering Departmentwww.ncat.edu/
North Dakota State UniversityAgricultural and Biosystems Engineeringwww.ndsu.edu/aben/
Ohio State UniversityFood, Agricultural and Biological Engineeringfabe.osu.edu
Oklahoma State UniversityBiosystems and Agricultural Engineeringbiosystems.okstate.edu
Oregon State UniversityBiological & Ecological Engineering Departmentbee.oregonstate.edu/
Penn State UniversityAgricultural and Biosystems Engineeringabe.psu.edu/
Purdue UniversityAgricultural and Biological Engineeringwww.purdue.edu/abe
South Dakota State UniversityAgricultural and Biosystems Engineeringwww.sdstate.edu/abe/
Texas A&M UniversityBiological and Agricultural Engineeringbaen.tamu.edu/
University of ArizonaAgricultural and Biosystems Engineeringcals.arizona.edu/abe
University of ArkansasBiological and Agricultural Engineeringwww.baeg.uark.edu/
University of California, DavisBiological and Agricultural Engineeringbae.engineering.ucdavis.edu/
University of California, San DiegoBioengineering: BioSystemsbe.ucsd.edu/biosystems
University of FloridaAgricultural and Biological Engineeringwww.abe.ufl.edu/
University of GeorgiaAgricultural Engineering / Biological Engineeringwww.engr.uga.edu
University of IdahoBiological and Agricultural Engineeringuidaho.edu/
University of IllinoisAgricultural and Biological Engineeringabe.illinois.edu/
University of KentuckyBiosystems and Agricultural Engineeringjokko.bae.uky.edu/BAEHome.asp
University of Nebraska-LincolnBiological Systems Engineeringbse.unl.edu
University of ManitobaBiosystems Engineeringhttp://umanitoba.ca/
University of MinnesotaBioproducts and Biosystems Engineeringwww.bbe.umn.edu/
University of MissouriBiological Engineeringbioengineering.missouri.edu/
University of SaskatchewanBiosystems Engineering and Soil Sciencewww.engr.usask.ca
University of TennesseeBiosystems Engineering & Soil Sciencebioengr.ag.utk.edu
University of WisconsinBiological Systems Engineeringbse.wisc.edu/
Utah State UniversityBiological Engineeringbe.usu.edu
Virginia Polytechnic UniversityBiological Systems Engineeringwww.bse.vt.edu
Washington State UniversityBiological Systems Engineeringbsyse.wsu.edu

Central and South America

InstitutionDepartmentWeb site
Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, MexicoIrrigation Departmentportal.chapingo.mx/irrigacion/
National University of ColombiaAgricultural Engineeringwww.ing.unal.edu.co/
University of Campinas, BrazilAgricultural Engineeringwww.unicamp.br/unicamp/
University of São Paulo, BrazilBiosystems Engineeringwww.en.esalq.usp.br/

Europe

InstitutionDepartmentWeb site
Polytechnic University of Catalonia, SpainBiosystems Engineering
Ankara University, TurkeyAgricultural Machineryarsiv.ankara.edu.tr
Atatürk University, TurkeyAgricultural Structures and Irrigationwww.atauni.edu.tr
Harran University, TurkeyAgricultural Machineryziraat.harran.edu.tr
Harran University, TurkeyAgricultural Structures and Irrigationziraat.harran.edu.tr
Leibniz University Hannover, GermanyBiosystems and Horticultural Engineering,http://www.bgt-hannover.de/
KU Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Biosystemswww.biw.kuleuven.be/biosyst
University College Dublin, IrelandBiosystems Engineeringwww.ucd.ie/eacollege/biosystems/
University of Hohenheim, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural Engineeringwww.uni-hohenheim.de/
Hamburg University of Technology, GermanyInstitute of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineeringwww.tuhh.de

Asia

InstitutionDepartmentWeb site
China Agricultural UniversityAgricultural Engineeringenglish.cau.edu.cn/col/col5470/index.html
Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, ChinaAgricultural Soil and Water Engineeringen.nwsuaf.edu.cn/
Shanghai Jiaotong University, ChinaBiological Engineering; Food Science and Engineeringen.sjtu.edu.cn/academics/undergraduate-programs/
Xi’an Jiaotong University, ChinaEnergy and Power Engineeringnd.xjtu.edu.cn/web/English.htm
Yunnan Agricultural University, ChinaAgricultural Water-Soil Engineeringwww.at0086.com/YUNNAU
Zhejiang University, ChinaBiosystems Engineering and Food Sciencewww.caefs.zju.edu.cn/en/index.asp

See also

References

  1. ↑ For example the Department of Biological Systems Engineering Archived 2004-04-01 at the Wayback Machine. at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was established as agricultural engineering in 1920, and renamed in 1992 to reflect new focus areas in the teaching, research and extension programs.
  2. ↑ The Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln began within Mechanical Engineering, awarded its first degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1908, and changed its name to Biological Systems Engineering in 1990. http://engineering.unl.edu/bse/history/
  3. ↑ Website American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
  4. ↑ Website Institute of Biological Engineers
  5. ↑ Website Biomedical Engineering Society,
  6. ↑ Website American Institute of Chemical Engineers,
  7. ↑ Website http://www.jbioleng.org/content/5/1/2/ Biological approaches for addressing the grand challenge of providing access to clean drinking water
  8. ↑ Website http://www.jbioleng.org/content/5/1/14/ Addressing the Grand Challenge of atmospheric carbon dioxide: geologic sequestration vs. biological recycling

Further reading

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