It is an exciting time to be a part of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State.  The department is growing quickly with the addition of 14 new faculty members in the last five years.  To accommodate this growth and to continue to address the most pressing issues of agricultural and biosystems engineering industries worldwide, the ABE department is planning a major expansion into a new building.

Once completed, the new facility will hold all ABE faculty together in the same building, which has not been possible for many years.  The building will facilitate teaching, research, extension and international efforts, such as developing international partnerships, improving agriculture and animal production systems, and enhancing ethanol production and harvesting and processing different biological components to produce energy.  It will also enable ABE to continue to recruit outstanding students, faculty, and staff.

The new ABE building will be a part of a three structure complex that will include the ABE Office Wing, ABE Lab Wing, and the Biorenewables Research lab.  The total cost of the ABE building project will be $66.5 million, with $12.5 million to come from private funding.  The remaining funds will be requested by the university from the Iowa Legislature.  Once funding is finalized, construction will begin at a site between Howe Hall and Design.

Read more about the new building project.