Personnel

Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty
Adjunct Faculty
Professional and Academic
Staff
Sand Plain Research Farm
Faculty and Staff Honors and Awards

Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty

Mrinal Bhattacharya, Professor

B.Tech., 1981, Indian Institute of Technology; M.S., 1983, Ph.D., 1986, University of Nebraska. Blending of natural and synthetic polymers. Biodegradable polymers. Processing of starch/protein-based plastics. Biomaterials for tissue engineering. Also holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition and graduate faculty member in Department of Mechanical Engineering. Member of the Institute of Food Technologists, the Society of Plastics Engineers, and the Society of Rheology.

Jonathan Chaplin, P.E., Associate Professor

B.S., 1976, Silsoe College of Cranfield Institute of Technology, U.K.; M.S., 1980, Ph.D., 1983, Iowa State University. Precision farming machinery, machine design and safety, machinery system performance, computer-aided design. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and the Institute of Agricultural Engineers.

Charles J. Clanton, P.E., Professor

B.S., 1976, B.S., 1977, M.S., 1979, University of Nebraska; Ph.D., 1985, University of Minnesota. Manure management associated with water quality, air quality and odors, pathogens, storage, and land application. Also holds an adjunct professor appointment in the Department of Clinical and Population Sciences. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the American Society of Animal Science; the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology; the American Society for Engineering Education; and the National Society of Professional Engineers. Licensed Soil Scientist in Minnesota.

Philip R. Goodrich, P.E., Associate Professor

B.Ag.E., 1963, Cornell University; M.S., 1968, Ph.D., 1970, Purdue University. Odor control systems for animal waste management. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the National Society of Professional Engineers; and the Water Environment Federation.

Forrest Izuno, Professor and Head, Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca, MN

B.S, 1978, Purdue University; M.S., 1980, Ph.D., 1984, Colorado State University. On-farm water management, irrigation and drainage, and agricultural best management practice development and implementation for mitigating effects of agricultural drainage water on the environment. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Larry D. Jacobson, P.E., Professor and Extension Engineer

B.Ag.E., 1972, M.S., 1974, Ph.D., 1983, University of Minnesota. Livestock housing and environmental control, indoor air quality concerns, waste management systems, and energy and housing alternatives for livestock with emphasis on swine production systems. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and the Air and Waste Management Association.

Kevin A. Janni, P.E., Professor, Head, and Extension Engineer

B.Ag.E., 1976, University of Minnesota; M.S., 1977, Ph.D., 1979, Purdue University. Livestock housing systems. Milkhouse wasterwater treatment. Biofilters for odor control. Environmental control and ventilating system design for livestock and poultry buildings. Agricultural odor sources and their control. Air quality monitoring. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the American Society of Engineering Educators; the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers; and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

R. Vance Morey, Professor

B.S., 1967, Michigan State University; Ph.D., 1971, Purdue University. Grain drying and storage, grain quality, energy, biomass utilization. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Association of Cereal Chemists; the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology; the Institute of Food Technologists; and the American Society for Engineering Education.

John L. Nieber, P.E., Professor

B.S., 1972, Syracuse University; M.S., 1974, Ph.D., 1979, Cornell University. Applications of analytical and numerical solutions of the deterministic and stochastic equations for fluid flow, mass transport, and heat transport in the unsaturated zone. Applications of models to solve current problems of water quantity and quality. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the American Geophysical Union; the American Institute of Hydrology; and the American Society of Agronomy. Licensed Certified Professional Hydrologist in Minnesota.

R. Roger Ruan, Professor

B.S., 1983, Beijing Agricultural Engineering University; M.S., 1988, Oklahoma State University; Ph.D., 1991, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. MRI, NMR, machine vision, UV, NIR, and other imaging and spectroscopy technology development and applications in the studies of moisture and fat management and structure-function relationships of biological and food materials. Shelf-life prediction and extension. Biorefining, bioprocessing, and value-added process development. Pulsed electric field, ozone, and non-thermal plasma development and application. Advanced artificial intelligence and control systems development for biological and food process control. Also holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition and the Department of Wood Paper and Science. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the American Association of Cereal Chemists; and the Institute of Food Technologists.

Gary R. Sands, Assistant Professor and Extension Engineer

B.S., 1980, University of Delaware; M.S., 1984, University of Kentucky; Ph.D., 1995, Colorado State University. Diverse interests in land and water resources including: environmental impacts and sustainability of agricultural systems; measuring and modeling the impacts of water management systems; nutrient losses from artificially drained lands; water resource utilization; GIS applications in water resources; water quality. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

John M. Shutske, Professor and Extension Safety and Health Specialist

B.S., 1983, M.S., 1984, Ph.D., 1988, Purdue University. Agricultural and food industry safety and public health, emergency preparedness, biosecurity and protection against agricultural terrorism, safe design of machinery and processes, human factors, evaluation of injury prevention efforts, and child protection in the workplace. Also holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the School of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the American Society of Safety Engineers; and the National Institute for Farm Safety.

William F. Wilcke, P.E. (Iowa), Professor and Extension Engineer, Regional Coordinator for the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program

B.S., 1976, M.S., 1980, Ph.D., 1985, Iowa State University. Post-harvest technology (cooling, drying, storage, and handling of crops after harvest), sustainable agriculture, and agricultural energy sources. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Bruce N. Wilson, P.E. (Oklahoma), Professor

B.S., 1976, M.S., 1979, University of Minnesota; PhD., 1984, University of Kentucky. Hydraulics of flows in erodible channels, especially as it relates to rill erosion; hydrologic/water quality modeling of disturbed and agricultural watersheds; transport of surface water contaminants; and parameter uncertainty in mathematical models. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers; the American Geophysical Union, and the Soil Conservation Society of America.

Jerry A. Wright, P.E., Associate Professor and Extension Engineer, West Central Research and Outreach Center, Morris, MN

B.S., 1967, M.S., 1969, North Dakota State University. Irrigation best management practices, ground water quality protection, energy and water conservation, irrigation system design, economic development of ground water resources, and farmland drainage system design. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Irrigation Association, Irrigators Association of Minnesota, and Soil and Water Conservation Society.

Jun Zhu, Assistant Professor and Extension Engineer, Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca, MN

B.S., 1982, M.S., 1985, Zhejiang University, China; Ph.D., 1995, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Treatment and utilization of manure and other agricultural wastes, manure management, microbiology and biochemistry of processes for treating and utilizing wastes. Member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Adjunct Faculty

James J. Boedicker, Associate Professor, Station Agricultural Engineer, North Central Research and Outreach Center, Grand Rapids, MN

John D. Busman, Assistant Professor, Southwest State University, Marshall, MN

Q. Charles Geng, Assistant Professor, Sr. Process Development Scientist, R & D Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN

Hafiz M. Munir, Assistant Professor, Sr. Hydrologist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Paul, MN

Professional and Academic

Lide Chen, Visiting Instructor
Paul Chen, Senior Research Associate
Shaobo Deng, Research Fellow
Brian Hetchler, Research Fellow
Stacey Jenkins, Extension Educator (through 8/03)
Changxing Jin, Research Associate (through 12/03)
Jacob John, Research Associate (through 2/03)
Yuhong Li, Visiting Research Specialist
Ramaswamy Mani, Research Associate (through 4/03)
Aida Mendez, Research Associate (through 8/03)
Chul Kyoon Mok, Visiting Scholar
Ruth Rasmussen, R.N., Research Fellow
Michele Schermann, R.N., Research Fellow
David Schmidt, P.E., Assistant Extension Engineer.
Aleksey Sheshukov, Research Associate
Udai Singh, Teaching Specialist

Staff

Kathleen Evans, Administrative Director
Bradley Hansen, Assistant Scientist, soil and water
Deborah Hansen, Information Technology Specialist
Verlyn Johnson, Information Technology Professional, livestock environment
Jason Lake, Senior Lab Technician, livestock environment
Blanca Martinez, Scientist, bioprocessing
Gretchen Maciolek, Senior Administrative Specialist (through 1/04)
Christy McKibben, Principal Administrative Specialist
Barbara Oliver, Principal Administrative Specialist
Judy Weicherding, Executive Assistant
Kathryn Younie, Principal Administrative Specialist

Sand Plain Research Farm

Ronald Faber, Senior Research Plot Technician
Glenn Titrud, Administrative Director

Faculty and Staff Honors and Awards

The following members of our department were recognized during the last year for their contributions to the University or their profession.

Barb Oliver. Received Department Outstanding Civil Service Award.

Judy Weicherding. Received Department Outstanding Civil Service Award.