Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Program: AE
Degree Sought: M.S.
Major Professor: Stuart Birrell
Office Address: 139 Davidson
Office Phone: 515-294-6744
Email: hershbariastate.edu

James is a master's student researching the performance of an experimental combine harvester cleaning shoe designed to compensate for operation on slopes.

Working with a major agricultural equipment manufacturer, James is collecting data to develop a model to predict grain loss based on operating conditions of a combine during harvest. Initial results using clean grain only show a significant decrease in grain loss when the experimental cleaning shoe is operated on a slope versus the current cleaning shoe's grain loss when operated in similar conditions.

James' research is funded by John Deere Harvester Works, with the intention of developing an improved cleaning shoe for their production combines. James graduated with a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering with Honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.