{"id":5845,"date":"2019-06-04T14:47:51","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T14:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845"},"modified":"2022-09-23T20:43:48","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T20:43:48","slug":"farms-fuel-and-the-future-biosystems-celebrates-century-of-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845","title":{"rendered":"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Paul Turnquist was in the 15th year of his 21-year tenure as head of Auburn University\u2019s agricultural engineering department in 1992. Things were good. They had been good for a while. Some of the faculty\u2019s recent research into alternative energy production via solar power and even animal waste was downright groundbreaking, the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory started by the department in 1933 regularly received national press, and his decision to transfer the department\u2019s undergrads from the College of Agriculture to the College of Engineering was still paying dividends.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>He\u2019d seen the need for affiliation with the College of Engineering from his first day on the job in 1977. He finally pulled it off in 1985. It enhanced the curriculum and strengthened the department, just as he\u2019d imagined. Still, he wasn\u2019t satisfied. He wanted it stronger. More students. More involvement. More perspectives.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"video-container\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rbxzfvgjYw0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>After all, it was the \u201990s. Things were changing. They just weren\u2019t changing fast enough for Turnquist.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cI was looking at SAT scores and student interests,\u201d Turnquist said. \u201cWhen you looked at female students, there was a high interest in biology, but a lower interest in engineering.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>That\u2019s when it hit him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"6000\" height=\"6238\" class=\"wp-image-5853\" src=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2019\/05\/lindquist.jpg\" alt=\"Paul Turnquist with Agricultural Engineering faculty in 1981.\" \/>\r\n<figcaption>Paul Turnquist with Agricultural Engineering faculty in 1981.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cIt seemed to me,\u201d he said, \u201cthat to attract women into the department you\u2019d need to develop a program that had those biological components.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And to develop a name that accurately reflected them.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cIn 2000, agricultural engineering made a generational change in deciding to change its name,\u201d Turnquist said. \u201cOur faculty were coming up with complex names, but I came to the conclusion that we should call it biosystems engineering. Short, sweet \u2014 biosystems.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Turnquist\u2019s campaign for change was reported in a 1998 issue of Progressive Farmer. Despite similar rebrandings happening across higher education at the time \u2014 many universities now refer to agricultural engineering as biosystems engineering \u2014 the news initially didn\u2019t sit well with some, and not just locally. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cThe word \u2018agriculture\u2019 is unfortunately perceived by most of the public as being very narrow,\u201d Turnquist told the magazine.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The Victoria (Texas) Advocate\u2019s editorial board responded to the article by accusing Turnquist of playing \u201cname games\u201d that debased the American farmer\u2019s way of life.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cDo they (Auburn) think the food they eat is manufactured?\u201d the paper asked. \u201cDon\u2019t they know farms and greenhouses provide the raw material retailed as fresh or processed food? That\u2019s agriculture.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Of course, Turnquist knew that. He wasn\u2019t renouncing agriculture. He simply wanted to apply to the world at large the energies the department had previously spent almost exclusively on the farm.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>He ignored the naysayers. Two years later, the Corley Building, home to biosystems, had new signs.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cChanging the department\u2019s name didn\u2019t come easy,\u201d said Turnquist, who retired in 1998, \u201cbut it got done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And it worked. Enrollment increased. Diversity increased.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The decision\u2019s only drawback?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>All the questions graduates get asked.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Type \u201cbiosystems\u201d into the search field on Dictionary.com and you\u2019ll get \u201cno result.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Ask a biosystems graduate to define it, and you\u2019ll get that smile.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cIf I had a dime for every time I\u2019ve been asked what biosystems is,\u201d Rachel Helm said laughing.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Helm graduated from Auburn biosystems in the spring of 2017. She now works in New Orleans as a water and natural resources engineer for Stantec. She focuses on resiliency and sustainability, making sure life in the Big Easy can continue after the next Katrina.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cI kind of always answer that biosystems is a mixture of mechanical, chemical and civil engineering with a focus on natural and biological systems,\u201d Helm said. \u201cI always end up translating that to biosystems uses engineering methods and problem solving to mimic, alter and improve natural systems to help us in our day-to-day lives.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Of course, you could have said the same thing when the department was officially organized in 1919.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Most of the researchers from the land-grant schools who attended the 1926 Southern Rural Electrification Conference in Montgomery, the first of its kind, went home green with envy. The possibility of boosting farm production via the miracle of electricity was still purely theoretical in every state in the union \u2014 every state but one. Alabama had already been at it for two years thanks to the research and resources of Auburn\u2019s new agricultural engineering department and its partnership with Alabama Power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The headlines that ran across the region in January 1924 said it all:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cAPI JOINS POWER COMPANY IN PLAN TO ELECTRIFY FARMS, WILL PUT ALABAMA IN FRONT.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cThis program was the first cooperative electrification development agreement between an agricultural engineering department and an electric power company and provided a $24,000 grant to support the work,\u201d reads the plaque celebrating the historic achievement that the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers dedicated during the department\u2019s centennial celebration in April.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1156\" height=\"1390\" class=\"wp-image-5856\" src=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2019\/05\/Screen-Shot-2019-05-31-at-1.27.29-PM.png\" alt=\"Historic marker celebrating the centennial of Auburn University's biosystems engineering department. \" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>That program lasted more than 50 years and helped hundreds of thousands of farmers across the state and beyond.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The name may have changed, but the 100-year story of Auburn Biosystems has stayed essentially the same throughout its phenomenal first century.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cRural electrification was huge in the development of agriculture in the south and in Alabama, and agricultural engineering played a big part in that,\u201d said Perry Oakes, Alabama\u2019s former state conservation engineer for the USDA\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Oakes earned his undergraduate degree in biosystems engineering from Auburn in 1978 and his master\u2019s degree in 1982.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Proud as he is of the department\u2019s early accomplishments, Oakes is also quick to point out its more modern success stories. Ever wonder why Alabama tops poultry production lists? The Auburn biosystems engineers who spent years developing better environmental controls for chicken houses don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cThe National Poultry Technology Center was created at Auburn, and a lot of that effort was centered in the biosystems engineering department,\u201d Oakes said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The department also initiated cooperative programs with the Forestry Department and the USDA Forest Service to enhance the repertoire of forest machine systems and minimize their environmental footprint.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cBut in more recent times, the focus on bioenergy has been big,\u201d said Oakes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Where it once took energy to places no one thought it could go, Auburn\u2019s biosystems engineering department now helps produce energy from places no one knew it existed: trees, grasses, algae and any other resource the department\u2019s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts has been able to tap since opening in 2007.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cAll of us want safe and plentiful food to eat, pure water to drink, reliable energy sources, and a safe and healthy environment in which we want to live,\u201d said Oladiran Fasina, current head of Auburn\u2019s biosystems engineering department.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cHowever, the methods that we will use to provide these life essentials for the projected 9-10 billion people in the world by 2050 will be substantially different from those of the last 100 years. I feel confident in the ability of this department and Auburn University to meet these challenges and to be a leader in providing engineering-based sustainable solutions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In other words, what the agricultural engineering department once did primarily for farmers, the biosystems engineering department is doing for the population as a whole \u2014 and with students and alumni who more accurately reflect that population. The current percentage of female students enrolled in the College of Engineering stands at around 20%. But walk into the Corley Building, and approximately 40% of the engineers you\u2019ll see will be women.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Thank goodness for Turnquist\u2019s \u201cname games.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>You can hear the pride in his voice.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cThe department is rapidly growing,\u201d Turnquist said, \u201cand that information clearly suggests to me that we have assembled an excellent faculty and that they\u2019re heading in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The headlines that ran in newspapers across the region in January 1924 said it all&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":5855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success &raquo; Auburn Engineer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success &raquo; Auburn Engineer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The headlines that ran in newspapers across the region in January 1924 said it all...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Auburn Engineer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-04T14:47:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-23T20:43:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2019\/05\/42937605541_dd1b7072ce_k.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeremy Henderson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeremy Henderson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845\",\"name\":\"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success &raquo; Auburn Engineer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-04T14:47:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-23T20:43:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#\/schema\/person\/0f12244f68989f166403026962c082d4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/\",\"name\":\"Auburn Engineer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#\/schema\/person\/0f12244f68989f166403026962c082d4\",\"name\":\"Jeremy Henderson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cc4a6f70e5a03351471b7f6bdbe066ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cc4a6f70e5a03351471b7f6bdbe066ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeremy Henderson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?author=49\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success &raquo; Auburn Engineer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success &raquo; Auburn Engineer","og_description":"The headlines that ran in newspapers across the region in January 1924 said it all...","og_url":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845","og_site_name":"Auburn Engineer","article_published_time":"2019-06-04T14:47:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-09-23T20:43:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1365,"url":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2019\/05\/42937605541_dd1b7072ce_k.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeremy Henderson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeremy Henderson","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845","url":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845","name":"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success &raquo; Auburn Engineer","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-06-04T14:47:51+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-23T20:43:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#\/schema\/person\/0f12244f68989f166403026962c082d4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=5845#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Farms, Fuel and the Future: Biosystems celebrates century of success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#website","url":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/","name":"Auburn Engineer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#\/schema\/person\/0f12244f68989f166403026962c082d4","name":"Jeremy Henderson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cc4a6f70e5a03351471b7f6bdbe066ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cc4a6f70e5a03351471b7f6bdbe066ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeremy Henderson"},"url":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?author=49"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5845"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5845"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8963,"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5845\/revisions\/8963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}