Since 1905, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, now the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE), has been a leader in providing engineering solutions to agricultural problems in the United States and the world. The department’s original mission was to mechanize agriculture. That mission has evolved to encompass a global view of the entire food production system–the wise management of natural resources in the production, processing, storage, handling, and use of food fiber and other biological products.
Current research efforts include agricultural water quality and management, engineering for economically and environmentally sound animal production systems, grain handling and food processing, agricultural machine design and automated controls, precision farming systems, agricultural safety, seed conditioning and processing, and soil tillage and management systems.
Research is being directed increasingly toward biosystems engineering through the use of biosensors, image analysis, biological systems modeling, and the design and control of biological systems and processes. Biorenewable and biofuels products and processes are an important focus of these research efforts.
Our academic programs are an important part of who we are. The faculty and students in the Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State University are committed to learning and student success. The professional success of our graduates is proof.
We have 5 prestigious research focus groups within our department: Advanced Machinery and Manufacturing Systems, Animal Production Systems Engineering, Biological and Process Engineering and Technology, Land and Water Resources Engineering, and Occupational Safety Engineering.
ABE Extension builds partnerships and provides research-based learning opportunities to improve quality of life in Iowa. We focus on activities that assist Iowa agriculture and industry.
Our industrial impact has broadened with the merger of the ISU Department of Industrial Education and Technology into ABE in 2004. We are now the focus for technology education on the ISU campus.