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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Biological Systems Engineering Department

We Bring Engineering to Life.

Department News Stories:

Annual ASABE Meeting
Department Hall of Fame Inducts Two

Department Newsletters (Acrobat Reader required)
2007 Newsletter, December
2007 Newsletter, June
2006 Newsletter, November
2006 Newsletter, August
2005 Newsletter, April
 
award winners
From left to right: Terry Howell, Suat Irmak, Dean Eisenhauer, and Ron Yoder.

ASABE Annual Meeting

During this year’s annual ASABE meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, the following Faculty and alumni were recognized.

President-Elect
 Ron Yoder, Department Head, Biological Systems Engineering

Incoming Board of Trustee Member
Tami M. Brown-Brandl

Educational Aids Awards
Web Pages: Viacheslav Adamchuk, Abbas Hemmat, and Shana Thomas: Tutorial on Application of Manifold GIS Software for Precision Agriculture
Publications, Short (less than 9 pages):
Suat Irmak: Drip Irrigation Design and Management Considerations for Windbreaks (Blue Ribbon)
Suat Irmak: Irrigation Magee and Crop Characteristics of Alfalfa
Viacheslav Adamchuk: Satellite-Based Auto-Guidance
Innovative Extension Methods or Impact Assessment
Impact Assessment of the Extension Program "Promoting Conservation Buffers in the Blue River Basin, 1996-2006." (Blue Ribbon) Tom Franti, Scott Josiah, Paul Hay, Randy Pryor, Gary Zoubek, Andy Christiansen, and Terry Hejny

Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Demonstration Network. Suat Irmak, Gary L. Zoubek, Andrew P. Christiansen, Jennifer M. Rees, Brandy VanDeWalle, Rodney DeBuhr, Dan P. Leininger, Daryl Andersen, Jim Schneider, Darrel Siekman, UNL Extension

2008 ASABE Fellows
Hongwei Xin (alum, M.S., 1985, Ph.D., 1989, AGEN) Professor, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University. Dr. Xin was honored for his work in structures and environment.

2008 New Holland Young Researcher Award
Given annually in recognition of dedicated use of scientific methodology to seek out facts or principles significant to the agricultural engineering profession. It is endowed by New Holland North America Inc., New Holland, PA.
Suat Irmak

PEI Professional Engineer of the Year Award
This annual award recognizes a licensed engineer who has made outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, the public welfare, and/or humankind.
Ron Yoder

John Deere Award
This award was established by John Deere's descendents to recognize "Distinguished Achievement in the Application of Science and Art to the soil."
Adjunct Professor and ASABE Fellow, Terry A. Howell, USDA-ARS, Bushland, Texas

Heermann Sprinkler Irrigation Award
One of the newest awards in ASABE, this is the second year it has been awarded. The award recognizes those professionals in research, development, extension, education, or industry that have made significant contributions to the improvement of efficient and effective sprinkler irrigation.
Adjunct Professor and ASABE Fellow, Terry A. Howell, USDA-ARS, Bushland, Texas

Award for the Advancement of Surface Irrigation
This annual award recognizes an individual, a group, or a project that successfully demonstrates and publicizes the effective use of surface irrigation.
Dean Eisenhauer

Presidential Citation
Recognizes member for extraordinary service and invaluable contributions to the Society.
Allen R. Dedrick (alum, B.S., 1962; M.S., 1963, AGEN)

Book Author Recognition
Design and Operation of Farm Irrigation Systems, 2nd Edition
Glenn J. Hoffman, Robert G. Evans, Marvin E. Jensen, Derrel L. Martin, Ronald L. Elliot

2007-2008 International Pre-professional Council
Dane Mosel, AGEN student, Parliamentarian
Garrett Pommeranz (alum, B.S., 2005, AGEN), 1st Vice President

Department Hall of Fame Inducts Two

Agricultural Engineering graduates Don Eret and Ned Meier were inducted into the Biological Systems Engineering Hall of Fame during the annual spring banquet on Friday, April 25, 2008. Although these two Nebraskans had separate careers, it was their common interest in the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory (NTTL) that brought them together as the co-founders of the Supporters of the the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory. Their sustained efforts have enabled the NTTL to thrive and ensured that it remains the internationally respected Lab that it is today.
Don Eret Oh the places you'll go with a degree from UNL! Don Eret grew up in Dorchester and earned his UNL degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1953. While undertaking his studies, Don also completed the advanced ROTC program and served in the Army for three-and-a-half years. He remained in Alabama after his service and worked for an engineering service that was affiliated with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, which became NASA in 1961. The next 14 years were spent working with the Werner Von Braun rocket team. The team developed the prototype for the main booster rocket for the Apollo-Saturn moon missions. In 1970, Don returned to Nebraska, and began farming in Dorchester in 1972.

Keenly aware of life around him, Don decided to toss his hat into the political ring and served as a Nebraska State Senator from 1983 to 1987. While in the Unicameral, he served on the Agricultural, Education, and Business and Labor Committees. He also ran in the primary for governor (1990), for Congress (1998), and in the general election for Secretary of State (2006).

Don and Ned met at a public hearing about the NTTL. They discovered their common interests and concerns relative to bills being introduced. They formed the support group in response to those bills. Don is the (volunteer) registered lobbyist for the group, handles correspondence, and monitors bills in the legislature that affect the NTTL The support group has about 100 members. Don also writes letters of support for the NTTL to the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star, and organizes groups to lobby senators in support of the the Lab. Don has been particularly effective in working with Nebraska's farm organizations.

Ned Meier

The arrival of an unexpected letter, bearing the University return address, was how Ned Meier found out he had been chosen to become a member of the Department Hall of Fame. As a student, he worked in the NTTL, and received two degrees in Agricultural Engineering: a B.S. in 1967 and an M.S. in 1970. The procedure he developed to measure noise in the tractor operator's car for his Master's research was adopted as an international standard (OECD Code 5).

Ned worked for Caterpillar (Peoria, IL) after graduation from UNL and earned his Master's in Business, from Bradley University, at the same time.

After four years, he returned to farm in the Grand Island area near Chapman. Still tinkering, Ned is almost finished developing Precision Trac®, a prototype tractor/tool carrier. He believes this design will result in improved mechanical weed control and more precise fertilizer placement. His concept creates a more stable relationship between the tractor and the implement, and he has applied for a patent.

An active supporter of professions in agriculture and engineering, Ned has served on the Advisory Council for Biological Systems Engineering, and been very involved in the Nebraska section of ASABE. He has progressed through all the state leadership offices and has advocated on state water issues, including testifying at public hearings on numerous occasions. As co-founder of the Supporters of the Nebraska Tractor Testing Laboratory, he testified before the Agricultural Committee in the State Legislature. In addition to a petition drive he and Don organized, Ned also sent out a letter campaign to every tractor dealer of record in Nebraska stating his support for, and outlining why they should also support, the NTTL.