Faculty
- Researcher in Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Affiliate Researcher of Engineering Design in SEDTAPP
rgb@psu.edu
814-863-2300
Areas of Expertise
- Fabrication of research test equipment in metal, wood & plastic
- Computer aided design and analysis
- Design for additive manufacturing
- Engineering education
- Associate Professor of Wood Chemistry
nrb10@psu.edu
814-865-7423
Areas of Expertise
- BS in Forestry and Wildlife, Forest Products Utilization Concentration, Minor in Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1997.
- Ph.D. in Forest Products, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2004. Recipient of USDA National Needs Fellowship, and participant in the Center for Adhesive and Sealant Science (CASS) program activities, administered in the Chemistry Department. Coursework in wood science and polymer chemistry.
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Director, Graduate Studies
- Affiliated Faculty of the The Rock Ethics Institute
jcatchmark@engr.psu.edu
814-863-0414
Areas of Expertise
- Nanocomposite materials and coatings
- Crystalline nanocellulose production and characterization
- Cellulose synthesis and assembly
- Microbial cellulose production
- Interaction of cellulose with other polysaccharides, proteins, and biologically derived polymers
- Practical development of new biobased materials ranging from sustainable packaging to composites for construction to materials for healthcare.
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
sc411@psu.edu
814-863-6815
Areas of Expertise
- Development of emerging bioproducts
- Additive manufacturing with lignocellulosic biomass
- Applications of synthetic chemistry to lignin
- Catalytic transformations of biomass
- Spectroscopic characterization of bio-derived molecules
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
dxc519@psu.edu
814-865-7154
Areas of Expertise
- Smart sensing systems for precision agriculture
- Robotics/machine vision applications in specialty crop production
- Deep learning and big data analysis for detecting/assessing crop health
- Unmanned aerial system (UAS) in agriculture
- Automation of agricultural production system
- Assistant Research Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Academic Program Coordinator, RESS Online Master's Program
- BRS Graduate Program Coordinator
dec109@psu.edu
814-863-3484
Areas of Expertise
- Bioenergy
- Biomass Energy Systems
- Thermochemical Conversion
- Energy Efficiency
- Controlled Environment Agriculture
- Solar Energy Resource Evaluation
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
cxc693@psu.edu
814-865-8841
Areas of Expertise
- Industrial Ecology
- Ethical Decision Making
- Life Cycle Analysis
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Bioprocess and Food Safety Engineering
demirci@psu.edu
814-863-1098
Areas of Expertise
- Bioprocess Engineering/Fermentation: Bioconversion of agricultural raw and waste commodities into value added products including bioenergy/biofuels, microbial enzymes, organic acids, polysaccharides, antimicrobial agents; optimization; novel bioreactors; downstream processing.
- Food Engineering/Food Safety : inactivation of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms by using novel non-thermal processing technologies including pulsed UV light, electrolyzed oxidizing water, and ozone.
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Fate And Control Of Pollutants In Soils And Water
hae1@psu.edu
814-863-2062
Areas of Expertise
- Fate And Control Of Pollutants In Soils And Water
- Professor of Agricultural Engineering
- Environmental Biophysics, Animal Welfare, and Agricultural Emissions
- Integrated Research and Extension Programs
fabian@psu.edu
814-865-3552
Areas of Expertise
- Air quality in indoor agriculture (barns, poultry houses)
- Heating and Ventilation system design, principles and practice
- Horse facility engineering (stables, riding arenas)
- Farm animal welfare
- Agricultural air emissions (gas, odor, particulates)
- Assistant Research Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Assistant BRS Program Coordinator
sgk16@psu.edu
814-863-8124
Areas of Expertise
- Agricultural Safety and Health
- Agricultural Injury Analysis
- Injury Classification Systems and Codings
- Injury Surveillance in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
- Data Analysis
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
luh378@psu.edu
717-677-6116
Areas of Expertise
- Mechanization and Automation for Specialty Crops
- Robotic Solutions for Agricultural Applications
- Precision Agriculture
- Electro-Hydraulic Control System
- Professor & Department Head of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
hzh@psu.edu
814-865-7792
Areas of Expertise
- Engineering for specialty crop production systems
- Quality evaluation of specialty crops
- Assistant Research Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Animal Welfare Extension
dwh5212@psu.edu
814-865-1783
Areas of Expertise
- Agricultural Engineering
- Farm Animal Welfare
- Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Machinery and Biomass Logistics
- Program contact for Agricultural Systems Management Minor; Off-Road Equipment Minor
jliu@psu.edu
814-863-6844
Areas of Expertise
- Agricultural Machinery
- Machine design and test
- Biomass harvesting, handling and logistics
- Biomass in-field processing and densification
- Hydraulics and Pneumatic system design and test
- Associate Teaching Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Biological Engineering Program Coordinator
mnm11@psu.edu
814-865-3392
Areas of Expertise
- Biomass conversion
- Microbial ecology
- Mathematical modeling
- Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
lxm500@engr.psu.edu
814-865-4564
Areas of Expertise
- Water quality
- Stormwater management
- Green infrastructure
- Urban ecohydrology
- Biogeochemistry
- Nationwide Insurance Professor of Safety & Health
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
jh-michael@psu.edu
814-863-2976
Areas of Expertise
- Safety
- packaging & pallets
- sustainable business
- zero waste
- sports greening
- wood and paper industry
- Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- ABE Graduate Program Coordinator
- Natural Resource Engineering
heg12@psu.edu
814-863-1817
Areas of Expertise
- Emerging Contaminants
- Contaminant Fate and Transport
- Environmental Hydrology
- Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Powder Mechanics and Food Processing
vmpuri@psu.edu
814-865-3559
Areas of Expertise
- Powder Mechanics – Research focus includes: fundamental powder and powder mixture properties, multi-scale constitutive models, and computational models for powder processes.
- Food Processing – Research focus includes: engineering properties, and integrated multi-scale computational and predictive models.
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
craj@psu.edu
814-865-5616
Areas of Expertise
- Storm water management
- Watershed modeling
- Application of optimization tools in watershed analysis
- Ecohydrological impacts of climate and land use change
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Director of Penn State Institutes for Energy and the Environment
- Bioenergy and Bioresource Engineering
tlr20@psu.edu
814-865-3722
Areas of Expertise
- Lignocellulosic biomass conversion
- Bioenergy
- Manure conversion
- Sustainable agriculture
- Associate Professor of Biological and Chemical Engineering
- Synthetic Biology
salis@psu.edu
814-865-1931
Areas of Expertise
- Synthetic Biology
- Metabolic Engineering
- Biophysics
- Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
- Modeling & Optimization
- Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Coordinator, Environmental Resource Management Program
- Assistant ENRI Director for Environmental Education
- Water Resources
rds13@psu.edu
814-865-6942
Areas of Expertise
- Wetland biogeochemistry
- Riparian wetlands
- Construction of wetlands for waste treatment
- Pollutant impacts on aquatic systems
- Associate Teaching Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Instrumentation and Controls
rst5@psu.edu
814-865-2252
Areas of Expertise
- Electronic instrumentation and control
- Fluid power systems
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
julianavasco@psu.edu
814-865-8841
Areas of Expertise
- Bioproducts Systems Analysis
- Bioprocess Engineering
- Biomass Valorization
- Biosystems Techno-Economic Analysis and Life-Cycle Assessment
- Assistant Research Professor
huy1@psu.edu
814-865-2807
Areas of Expertise
- Engineering Mechanics of Materials; Characterization of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Agricultural and Biological Materials
- Powder Mechanics; Storage, Conveying, Mixing, Size Reduction, Flow, Segregation, and Compaction of Particulate Materials
- Mathematical/numerical modeling, simulation and analysis of mechanical behavior of particulate materials and biological materials
- Applying mechanical engineering theories to the problems involving biological and particulate materials including renewable energy and consumer products