Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Project Title: Environmental Applications of Biochar
Department:
Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Faculty Mentor: Bin Gao, bg55@ufl.edu
Ph.D. Student Mentor(s): Patrick Zheng, yulinz2@ufl.edu 
Terms Available:
Fall, Spring, Summer
Student Level: Junior, Senior; 1 student per term
Prerequisites:  none
Credit:  0-3 credits via EGN 4912, for most students 0-1 credits per semester
Stipend: none unless selected for University Scholars
Application Requirements: Basic online application, resume, faculty interview; email one pdf file with all application requirements to Dr. Bin Gao, bg55@ufl.edu, to request an interview
Application Deadline:
July 31 and November 31
Website:  http://abe.ufl.edu/bingao/
Project Description: The project is mainly focused on the preparation, characterization, and applications of engineered carbon (biochar) materials derived from waste biomass, including agricultural and forestry residuals. Students will develop novel methods to prepare high efficiency engineered biochars in the environmental nanotechnology lab in the ABE department.

Project Title: Remote Sensing for Agricultural Hydrology 
Department:
Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Faculty Mentor: Jasmeet Judge , jasmeet@ufl.edu
Ph.D. Student Mentor(s): N/A
Terms Available:
Fall, Spring, Summer
Student Level: Sophomore, Junior, Senior; 1-2 student per term
Prerequisites: Calculus, statistics, programming in Matlab or Python. Preference will be given to students from ABE and ECE departments.
Credit:  0-3 credits via EGN 4912, for most students 0-1 credits per semester
Stipend: none unless selected for University Scholars
Application Requirements: Basic online application, resume, statement of research interest, faculty interview; email Jasmeet Judge, jasmeet@ufl.edu, for more information.
Application Deadline:
July 31 for Fall term and November 30 for Spring term
Website:  N/A
Project Description: In this project, the student will conduct data analyses using remote sensing and other field and satellite data sets from Florida and Midwest. The analyses may involve computer modeling, advanced statistical and/or machine learning methods, depending upon student interest, to understand relationships among crop and field conditions and remote sensing data.

Project Title: Use of Bioreactors for the Production of Bioenergy, Bioproducts, or Wastewater Treatment
Departments:
Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering
Faculty Mentors: Pratap Pullamanappallil, pcpratap@ufl.edu ; Spyros Svoronos, svoronos@ufl.edu
Ph.D. Student Mentor(s): various TBD
Terms Available: There may be openings at the beginning of every semester.  The total number of undergraduate researchers is 10-15.
Student Level: Sophomore, Junior, Senior;
Prerequisites:  None, but preference is given to students from the ABE and the Chem E departments and to students who have taken or are taking courses with Prof. Pratap Pullamanappallil  or Prof. Spyros Svoronos.
Credit:  0-3 credits via EGN 4912, for most students 0-1 credits per semester.  Chem E students can utilize up to 3 credits for technical electives
Stipend: none unless selected for University Scholars
Application Requirements: Students with interest should contact one of the faculty mentors (pcpratap@ufl.edu and svoronos@ufl.edu).  If there is an opening, they will be invited to attend one of the research group’s weekly meetings where they will find specific information about available projects.
Application Deadline: various times throughout the year
Website(s): None
Project Description: Research to establish a path for the economic production of a biofuel (methane) and a bioproduct (polysaccharide). It utilizes a remarkable cyanobacterium that eliminates the need for freshwater inputs or external addition of nitrogenous nutrients and avoids expensive purification methods for product recovery. The project is in collaboration with Professor Edward J. Phlips of the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation.

Project Title: Smart agriculture for specialty crop production
Departments:
Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering
Faculty Mentors: Daniel Lee; wslee@ufl.edu 
Ph.D. Student Mentor(s): Congliang Zhou; co.zhou@ufl.edu
Terms Available: Fall, Spring, and Summer
Student Level: Sophomore, Junior, Senior; 1-2 Students per term
Prerequisites: Interests in agriculture and crop production 
Credit:  0-3 credits via EGN 4912
Stipend: none unless selected for University Scholars
Application Requirements: Basic online application, resume, statement of research interest, and faculty interview; Email one pdf file with all application requirements to Dr. Daniel Lee, wslee@ufl.edu, to request an interview 
Application Deadline: April 15 for Summer, August 15 for Fall term, and December 15 for the Spring term
Website(s): https://abe.ufl.edu/precag/ourTeam.html
Project Description: We are working on developing various sensing systems for specialty crop production in Florida by applying artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art technologies such as machine vision, image processing, GNSS, GIS, remote sensing, variable rate technology. Example projects are strawberry flower & fruit detection, mites detection using a smartphone, and plant wetness detection using artificial intelligence and machine vision.