Researchers in the department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering working in the area of Biological Processing and Bioproducts.
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Director, Graduate Studies
- Affiliated Faculty of the The Rock Ethics Institute
Areas of Expertise
- Cellulose and nanocellulose structure and characterization
- Bacterial cellulose production
- Polysaccharide composite materials
- Polysaccharide based barrier materials to replace plastics
- Improved paper and paperboard products and processes
- Bioabsorbable biomedical materials based on polysaccharides
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
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
- Email sc411@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-6815
- Associate Research Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- BRS Graduate Program Coordinator
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
Areas of Expertise
- Industrial Ecology
- Ethical Decision Making
- Life Cycle Analysis
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Bioprocess and Food Safety Engineering
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.
- Email demirci@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-1098
- Research Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Areas of Expertise
- Chemical and thermochemical conversions of lignocellulosic biomass and other byproducts (including wastes) into value-added products (e.g. platform chemicals and hydrogen gas)
- Developing catalysts for various conversion processes using nanotechnological approaches
- Developing degradable biofilm formulations for agricultural applications
- Various applications of advanced oxidation processes (degradation of toxic organic chemicals in wastewaters, depolymerization of biomass)
- Evaluation of the effects of various fumigation treatments/technologies on the quality characteristics of food products
- Email sji5137@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-3559
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Nationwide Insurance Professor of Safety & Health
Areas of Expertise
- Safety
- trade secrets
- packaging & pallets
- sustainable business
- sports greening
- wood, building products, paper industries
- Distinguished Professor Emeritus
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.
- Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Director of Penn State Institutes for Energy and the Environment
- Bioenergy and Bioresource Engineering
Areas of Expertise
- Lignocellulosic biomass conversion
- Bioenergy
- Manure conversion
- Sustainable agriculture
- Email tlr20@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-3722
- Associate Professor of Biological and Chemical Engineering
- Synthetic Biology
Areas of Expertise
- Synthetic Biology
- Metabolic Engineering
- Biophysics
- Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
- Modeling & Optimization
- Email salis@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-1931
- Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Areas of Expertise
- Bioproducts Systems Analysis
- Process Systems Engineering
- Bioprocess Engineering
- Biomass Valorization
- Biosystems Techno-Economic Analysis and Life-Cycle Assessment
- Email julianavasco@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-8841
- Pronouns She/Her
- Assistant Research Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
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
- Email huy1@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-2807
