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, 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.

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. 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) and the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE), which generally encompasses BSE. Some program also participate in the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

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 or for sequestration of carbon dioxide.

Specializations

• Land and water resources engineering
• Food engineering and bioprocess engineering
• Machinery systems engineering
• Natural resources and environmental engineering
• Biomedical engineering

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

Institution	Department	Web site
Auburn University	Biosystems Engineering	www.eng.auburn.edu/
CalPoly San Louis Obispo	BioResource and Agricultural Engineering	www.brae.calpoly.edu/
Clemson University	Biosystems Engineering	[1]
Cornell University	Biological and Environmental Engineering	bee.cornell.edu/
Dalhousie University	Department of Engineering (Agricultural Campus)	www.dal.ca
Florida A&M University	Biological Systems Engineering	[2]
Iowa State University	Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering	www.abe.iastate.edu/
Kansas State University	Biological and Agricultural Engineering	www.bae.ksu.edu/home
Louisiana State University	Biological and Agricultural Engineering	www.bae.lsu.edu
McGill University	Department of Bioresource Engineering	www.mcgill.ca/bioeng/
Michigan State University	Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering	www.egr.msu.edu/bae/
Mississippi State University	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	www.abe.msstate.edu
North Carolina State University	Biological and Agricultural Engineering	www.bae.ncsu.edu/
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University	Chemical, Biological and Bioengineering Department	www.ncat.edu/
North Dakota State University	Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering	www.ndsu.edu/aben/
Ohio State University	Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering	fabe.osu.edu
Oklahoma State University	Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering	biosystems.okstate.edu
Oregon State University	Biological & Ecological Engineering Department	bee.oregonstate.edu/
Penn State University	Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering	abe.psu.edu/
Purdue University	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	www.purdue.edu/abe
South Dakota State University	Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering	www.sdstate.edu/abe/
Texas A&M University	Biological and Agricultural Engineering	baen.tamu.edu/
University of Arizona	Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering	cals.arizona.edu/abe
University of Arkansas	Biological and Agricultural Engineering	www.baeg.uark.edu/
University of California, Davis	Biological and Agricultural Engineering	bae.engineering.ucdavis.edu/
University of Florida	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	www.abe.ufl.edu/
University of Georgia	Agricultural Engineering / Biological Engineering	www.engr.uga.edu
University of Idaho	Biological and Agricultural Engineering	uidaho.edu/
University of Illinois	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	abe.illinois.edu/
University of Kentucky	Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering	jokko.bae.uky.edu/BAEHome.asp
University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Biological Systems Engineering	bse.unl.edu
University of Manitoba	Biosystems Engineering	http://umanitoba.ca/
University of Minnesota	Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering	www.bbe.umn.edu/
University of Missouri	Biological Engineering	bioengineering.missouri.edu/
University of Saskatchewan	Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science	www.engr.usask.ca
University of Tennessee	Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science	bioengr.ag.utk.edu
University of Wisconsin	Biological Systems Engineering	bse.wisc.edu/
Utah State University	Biological Engineering	be.usu.edu
Virginia Polytechnic University	Biological Systems Engineering	www.bse.vt.edu

Central and South America

Institution	Department	Web site
Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico	Irrigation Department	portal.chapingo.mx/irrigacion/
National University of Colombia	Agricultural Engineering	www.ing.unal.edu.co/
University of Campinas, Brazil	Agricultural Engineering	www.unicamp.br/unicamp/
University of São Paulo, Brazil	Biosystems Engineering	www.en.esalq.usp.br/

Europe

Institution	Department	Web site
Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain	Biosystems Engineering	[3]
Ankara University, Turkey	Agricultural Machinery	arsiv.ankara.edu.tr
Atatürk University, Turkey	Agricultural Structures and Irrigation	www.atauni.edu.tr
Harran University, Turkey	Agricultural Machinery	ziraat.harran.edu.tr
Harran University, Turkey	Agricultural Structures and Irrigation	ziraat.harran.edu.tr
Leibniz University Hannover, Germany	Biosystems and Horticultural Engineering,	http://www.bgt-hannover.de/
KU Leuven, Belgium	Department of Biosystems	www.biw.kuleuven.be/biosyst
University College Dublin, Ireland	Biosystems Engineering	www.ucd.ie/eacollege/biosystems/
University of Hohenheim, Germany	Institute of Agricultural Engineering	www.uni-hohenheim.de/
Hamburg University of Technology, Germany	Institute of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering	www.tuhh.de

Asia

Institution	Department	Web site
China Agricultural University	Agricultural Engineering	english.cau.edu.cn/col/col5470/index.html
Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, China	Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering	en.nwsuaf.edu.cn/
Shanghai Jiaotong University, China	Biological Engineering; Food Science and Engineering	en.sjtu.edu.cn/academics/undergraduate-programs/
Xi’an Jiaotong University, China	Energy and Power Engineering	nd.xjtu.edu.cn/web/English.htm
Yunnan Agricultural University, China	Agricultural Water-Soil Engineering	www.at0086.com/YUNNAU
Zhejiang University, China	Biosystems Engineering and Food Science	www.caefs.zju.edu.cn/en/index.asp

See also

Related engineering fields

• Agricultural engineering
• Aquaculture engineering
• Biological engineering
• biosystems engineering
• Civil engineering
• Chemical engineering
• Ecological engineering
• Environmental engineering
• Food engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Systems engineering

Closely related sciences

• Biology, biochemistry, microbiology
• Chemistry
• Ecology
• Hydrology
• Physics
• Soil science

Further reading

• 2003, Dennis R. Heldman (ed), Encyclopedia of agricultural, food, and biological engineering.
• 2002, Teruyuki Nagamune, Tai Hyun Park & Mark R. Marten (ed), Biological Systems Engineering, Washington, D.C. : American Chemical Society, 320 pages.
• 2012, Paige Brown Jarreau, What is Biological Engineering, http://www.scilogs.com/from_the_lab_bench/what-is-biological-engineering-ibe-2012/

External links

• UC San Diego, Department of Bioengineering, UCSD BE part of University of California, San Diego