A message from the Department Head
As I am writing this message, the snow is falling fast outside. Maybe we have too much snow this winter. Do you agree? I am looking forward to spring. The good news is, I do not need to shovel this winter.
Thanks to the Executive Committee for developing the Strategic Faculty Hiring Plan. I presented it to the Advisory Council Board on January 26 and received positive feedback and valuable comments. The revised hiring plan will be presented to the CFANS leadership in early March. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Shri Ramaswamy and I have taken several board members/donors to lunch since last semester, and asked for their input on our undergraduate curriculum and recruitment, internship, capstone projects, and fundraising and support, etc. I called or met with several donors this month to thank them for their generosity and give some updates about the department.
In this issue of the BioBriEf, we feature three current students: two student-written articles on SSM student Autumn Saign and BBE student Jason Beck, and a feature piece on Madison Stoltzman. For faculty research, we share the plastic pyrolysis story about Professor Roger Ruan's innovation, and give some insight into a project looking at water issues around Lake Nokomis by Professor John Nieber and Research Professor Joe Magner. In addition, we tell you the stories of two student workers, SSM student Katie Nesheim, and BBE student Kyle Wist. Our alumni spotlight highlights BBE alum (2012) Jeff Chambers, who is currently a senior product developer at 3M. I want to thank Rachel Kraft Mattson for putting this informative and visually attractive newsletter together!
The call for the Scholarship Gala on April 13 is coming soon. I hope you will find time to join me for a lovely evening event at the Bell Museum. I wish you and your family to stay safe and warm!
Hua Zhao
Student Voices
Pursuing food equity with engineering
Madison Stoltzman, a junior specializing in food engineering in the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering major (BBE) was initially drawn to biomedical engineering, but after after working with a graduate student on a project exploring pea powder as a plant-based protein, she soon shifted her focus.
“That's the project that sparked my interest in food engineering and began my journey in BBE,” said Stoltzman.
As her interest in food engineering grew, she became increasingly focused on food security and sustainability, and how engineering could provide a way for her to have an impact on many lives.
Sustainable Systems Management student secures job before graduation
Sustainable Systems Management (SSM) Student Autumn Saign talks with BBE ambassadors about her experiences with Building Science and Technology Specialization in SSM, Northstar Building Science Club (NoBS), her path to SSM, and the progress of her club.
Autumn found her home in the SSM program through a different path than most of us. A chronic generalist, Autumn had a hard time pinpointing what she wanted to pursue as a career. After two years of technical college, she began searching online for a career. After days of surfing the web she stumbled upon the SSM/BBE department website. As Autumn read more into the SSM building science and technology emphasis, she fell in love with what it had to offer. Her love of STEM, sustainability, constantly changing work environments, and global/cultural importance of infrastructure fit perfectly into building science.
A non-traditional path to BBE
Jason Beck’s path to the BBE program was unconventional. After graduating from Wayzata High School, he attended Mankato State University for Biochemistry but soon realized that college was not for him. He took a break and spent his time in Minneapolis, adventuring, going on road trips, and eventually visiting California where he fell in love with the state's beauty and culture.
At 21, he moved to California to become a farm aide and spent the next eight years working with many local farms. His hard work was recognized, and he took on a management role in the farm's cooperative group.
As he developed a growing interest in technical careers, Jason sought a college degree that would complement his background. He found the BBE major, and was drawn to its emphasis on sustainability and technical skills. He moved back to Minnesota to attend Minneapolis Technical Community College, where he completed his general courses before transferring to the BBE program.
Student Spotlight
Katie Nesheim is a Sustainable Systems Management major in the Corporate Sustainable Systems specialization.
Learn about why Katie chose SSM!
Kyle Wist is a Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering major in the Bioproducts Engineering specialization.
Learn about why Kyle chose BBE!
BBE Discovery
The lost treasure at sea: plastic waste
Much of modern human life is encased in plastic. This ever-present material enrobes our food, is embedded in our clothing and structures the objects and tools we use every day. Unfortunately, its many benefits come at a steep cost. Even the plastic bags we use for mere moments could remain in our environment for thousands of years.
Only about 9 percent of used plastics are recycled. Those that are recycled by thermo-mechanical process degrade and become unusable after several cycles. Most plastic waste becomes landfill or litter. Like rain, most waste plastic flows downward through bodies of water, ending up in the ocean. As it breaks down, it enters the ecosystem. Microplastics, nanoplastics, and PFAS, etc. now appear in the deepest ocean trenches and the highest mountain peaks. They are so ubiquitous that they now appear in our bloodstreams. Babies are consuming microplastics in breast milk.
Eliminating plastic waste from the environment is one of the biggest challenges of our age. It's also a big opportunity for scientists and for business. When BBE Professor Roger Ruan looks at a multicolored mountain of food bags or an ocean island of jugs and personal protective equipment, he sees a gold mine.
The water must go somewhere
As any Twin Cities gardener knows, the last two summers have been unusually dry in the metro area. But, the past 10 years have actually seen higher than average precipitation—as much as five additional inches per year.
“That extra water has to go somewhere,” says John Nieber, a professor in the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering department, who researches hydrologic processes and modeling and the impact of land use activities on water quality. Nieber says if excess water is not shed off the surface into storm sewers and eventually into waterways like rivers, the overflow precipitation can end up going into the upper levels of the ground. When that upper level gets saturated, the local water table rises.
According to the National Geographic Society, the water table is the underground boundary between the unsaturated zone of earth and rock and the saturated zone, where groundwater fills the gaps in rocks and sediment.
This rise can be good for nature, creating healthier wetland habitats. But it can also lead to flooding and other issues that can be extremely damaging to our built environment, including homes.
Alumni Spotlight
Jeff Chambers
Bachelor of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
Jeff Chambers is a Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering alumnus currently working as a senior product developer at 3M.
Get to know our alumnus!
Awards & Honors
Associate Professor and Extension Engineer Erin Cortus receives Richard C. Newman Community Impact Award
University members or extension educators within CFANS in FR, FWCB or BBE. In accordance with the donor’s wishes, this award recognizes a recipient who exemplifies the best of our land grant tradition as a “people’s university” by demonstrating powerful community impact in the natural resource sciences. It acknowledges the faculty member or extension educator who is innovative in building partnerships within and outside the University and creating effective connections between the discovery and application of knowledge. This award recipient produces programs that make a long-term, sustainable difference in people’s lives through education that improves the management and use of our natural resources. Congratulations Professor Erin Cortus!
Professor Roger Ruan Receives Pandey Research Excellence Award for 2022
The International Bioprocessing Association (IFIBiop) named Professor Roger Ruan as recipient of the Pandey Research Excellence Award for 2022. This award is given to those with notable and outstanding contributions to research and development of revitalization of agricultural and municipal solid wastes, fermentation biohydrogen production and biogas engineering technology.
The International Bioprocessing Association (an International Forum on Industrial Bioprocesses) is a non-profit scientific professional forum established with the aim to promote R&D in industrial bioprocesses, bring interaction between the academic institutes and biotech/food/environment industries, interact with industries and help them in resolving their problems as well make them aware with the new developments in related sectors, provide and arrange training in biotechnology, dissemination of knowledge through the organization of lectures, seminars and symposia on scientific programs and societal missions.
Upcoming Events & Announcements
Thank you to our donors for providing continued support to our department. Student scholarships would not be possible without the generosity of all our donors, and we are deeply grateful for the continued support. Thank you, all!
Interested in supporting BBE?
Give to our BBE student scholarships today
Planned giving with the University
Planned gifts enable donors to accomplish their charitable and other goals by using estate or tax planning techniques to provide for charity and heirs in a way that maximizes the gift and minimizes taxes. Donors can make a planned gift by including the University in their will or trust, or by designating the U as a beneficiary of their retirement plan, life insurance policy, or other account. Some planned gifts can provide income to the donors or to others. Planned gifts can also be outright — when a donor makes a gift of real estate, tangible personal property, or other non-cash assets.