PhD
PhD
Biological Engineering,
The Department of Biological Systems Engineering offers a Ph.D. in biological engineering with specialization options in water resources planning and management, water resources engineering, and environmental studies.
Description
Graduate study may be directed toward agricultural power and machinery systems, animal waste management, animal well-being, biomedical engineering, bioprocessing, computer applications, control systems, decision support systems, environmental engineering, food process engineering, geographic information systems, global positioning systems, ground and surface water management, irrigation system design, materials handling and processing systems, monitoring and controlling biological systems, plant environment, risk assessment, soil and water conservation, solid and hazardous waste management, water quality, and other areas of engineering science and design.
Students have access to state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment. These facilities include 15 laboratories in L. W. Chase Hall, Splinter Laboratories Building, and IAPC Pilot Plant. Field research sites in Nebraska include the Rogers Memorial Farm and Agricultural Research and Development Center in Lincoln; Haskell Agricultural Laboratory near Concord, Nebraska; and Research and Extension Centers at North Platte and Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Together these facilities capture the wide range of climate, soil, and cropping systems that exist in the state.
Specializations
Applying for Admission
Standard requirements for all graduate programs
- Application for Admission with $50 non-refundable application fee.
- Transcripts (unofficial): Uploaded as part of application form.
If International: Uploads must include all college- or university-level transcripts or mark sheets (records of courses and marks earned), with certificates, diplomas, and degrees plus certified English translations.
After admission: Official documents are required from all students who are admitted and enroll. Photocopies of certified records are not acceptable. International students enrolled in other U.S. institutions may have certified copies of all foreign records sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies by their current school’s registrar office.
- If applicant’s native language is not English, verification of English proficiency
is required.
When sending TOEFL scores, our institution code is 6877 and a department code is not needed.
- If applicant is not a US citizen and expects an F or J visa: financial information.
- Applicants must also fulfill any additional requirements the department specifies at the time of application.
Additional requirements specific to this program
- Minimum English proficiency: Internet TOEFL 80, IELTS 6.5
- GRE (optional)
- Resume/CV
- Personal Statement: Include a description of your 1) motivation and goals for pursuing a graduate degree; 2) relevant research and communication skills; 3) persistence or ability to overcome obstacles; and 4) examples of leadership and outreach. Also list any specific faculty members you are interested in working with.
- Three letters of recommendation
- Academic eligibility: Applicants should have completed a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in an engineering field. Applicants who have not completed a BS degree in an engineering field will be required to take undergraduate science, math, and engineering courses as selected by the BSE Graduate Committee.
- Faculty: Applicants must be accepted by a faculty advisor to be admitted.
Admission Application Deadlines
For full financial consideration, students must apply by January 15 for Fall and Summer, September 1 for Spring.
Program Faculty
Wei-zhen Liang (bio)
Application of Image Analysis in Crop and Livestock Management, Advanced Crop and Livestock Modeling, Internet of Things (IoT), Precision Agriculture
Angela Pannier (bio)
Tissue Engineering of Growth Plate Cartilage, Gene Delivery to hMSCs, Gene Delivery in General, DNA Vaccination Particles
Santosh Pitla (bio)
Agricultural Robotics, Multi-Robot Systems, Machine Automation: Electro-Mechanical and Hydraulic Systems, Controller Area Network (CAN) Based Systems, Machine Data Analytics.
Mark Riley (bio)
Bioprocess Engineering and Biosensors, Detection of Pathogens in Drinking Water, Lung Cell Spectroscopy
Daran Rudnick (bio)
Irrigation Engineering
Amy Schmidt (bio)
Livestock Manure Management, Manure Impacts on Soil Health, Mitigating Contaminant Transfer from Livestock Systems, Livestock Production System Siting and Regulations, Mortality Management, Fate and Transport of Environmental Contaminants
Yeyin Shi (bio)
Data management in precision agriculture, Applications of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in agriculture, Crop abiotic and biotic stress sensing, High-throughput phenotyping
Hyun-Seob Song (bio)
Gut Microbiome Modeling, Human Organ Modeling, Computational Drug Discovery, Personalized Nutrition
Richard Stowell (bio)
Animal Housing Systems, Odor and Gas Emissions, Heat Stress Abatement
Rebecca Wachs (bio)
Biomaterials to Treat Low Back Pain and Osteoarthritis, Tissue Engineering of Intervertebral Disc and Cartilage, Controlled Release of Biomolecules
Curtis Weller (bio)
Processing of Food and Agricultural Materials, Food Science and Technology Department Head
Mark Wilkins (bio)
Food Engineering (Preservation and Transformation), Fermentation, Enzymatic Reactions, Commodity Processing
Yiqi Yang (bio)
Biobased Materials, Chemistry and Engineering of Polymers and Textiles, Biomaterials, Biotextiles and Nanofibers, Polymer and Fiber Sciences, Textile Chemistry and Wet Processing
Aaron Yoder
Agricultural Safety and Health
UNL Graduate Chairs and staff please complete the program update form to provide edits. Updates to graduate program pages are made on an annual basis in conjunction with the Graduate Application for Admission.