ARS Celebrates National Engineers Week
February 19-25, 2023
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) celebrates the unsung heroes, the engineers and engineering technicians from all disciplines, who work with field experts, industry partners, academia, and stakeholders to modernize and find affordable solutions to agricultural challenges in the United States and around the world.
"ARS engineers are leaders in integrating technologies with farming, food production, environmental conservation, and other agricultural activities to deliver scientific solutions to address national and global agricultural challenges," said ARS Administrator Simon Liu. "We recognize the impact of their creativity and innovative minds on agriculture, and we are proud of the contributions they continue to make to scientific communities."
Engineers Week was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in 1951 to raise awareness of the importance of a technical education, promote technical literacy, and inspire students to pursue a career in engineering.
Meet our Engineers and Engineering Technicians
David L. Bjorneberg, Jeff Brakke, Kraig Buffington, Christopher L. Butts, Terra N. Campbell, Joseph Capobianco, Diane Chan, Kuanglin Chao (Kevin Chao), Jeffery Cowell, Daniel E. Martin, David Fleisher, Ronald P. Haff, Greg Holt, John Houston, Yanbo Huang, Sherry Hunt, Brian Jorgensen, Kem Kadavy, Ted S. Kornecki, Jonathan Lagerquist, Renfu Lu, Daniel N. Moriasi, Bosoon Park, Matthew Pelletier, Jianwei Qin, Carlos Rodriquez, Maritza Romero, Al Rotz, Justin Schlegel, Kade Shelton, Clement Sohoulande, Kenneth C. Stone, Samir Trabelsi, Jaya Tumuluru, Michael Ursic, John Wanjura, Thomas Way, Derek Whitelock, Thomas (Tom) Wilkinson, Carolyn Williams, Jarrett Wise.
David L. Bjorneberg, Supervisory Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID
Dave Bjorneberg is an outstanding Supervisory Research Agricultural Engineer and Research Leader at the USDA-ARS Northwest Soils and Irrigation Research Laboratory, in Kimberly, ID. Bjorneberg received a B.S. in 1987 and M.S. in 1989 in Agricultural Engineering from South Dakota State University and a Ph.D. in 1995 in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from Iowa State University. Bjorneberg has conducted innovative research to develop and evaluate conservation practices for irrigated agriculture, to improve erosion prediction for sprinkler and furrow irrigated land, and to measure nutrient cycling in irrigated crop and dairy production systems. Since 2005, he has been leading the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) on the Twin Falls Irrigation Tract, which has documented substantial water quality improvements as cropland has converted from furrow irrigation to sprinkler irrigation. Bjorneberg leads a team of 11 scientists to develop practices and technologies that address production and environmental problems associated with irrigated crop and dairy production, and to enhance sugar beet quality and disease resistance. His current research focus is improving water and nutrient utilization in irrigated crop production systems. Bjorneberg has over 90 publications and is a member of the ARS Facilities, Engineering and Real Property Advisory Group, ARIS Modernization Team, and the Dean's Advisory Board for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. Bjorneberg has served several appointments as Acting Associate Area Director for the Pacific West Area. His high impact research program and leadership have been instrumental in solving numerous challenges associated with irrigated crop and dairy production.
Jeff Brakke, USDA-ARS PA Section Head, Facilities Engineering, Real Property and Safety, National Bio and Agro-defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas
Jeff Brakke, USDA ARS Plains Area Section Head – Facilities Engineering, Real Property and Safety, National Bio and Agro-defense Facility - Acting Facilities Director. Brakke began working with USDA-ARS six years ago. His first ARS position was the Western Business Center Branch Chief for Facilities Engineering, Real Property, Personal Property and Safety. When ARS transitioned to its current alignment, Jeff assumed the Section Head position. Brakke has enjoyed a very unique career path that offered many great opportunities and challenges. Currently one such opportunity has been in the role as the Chief of Facilities, leading and managing the Facilities Operational Management Unit stand up at the $1.253Billion-dollar National Bio and Agro-defense Facility. Early in his career Jeff was a multibillion-dollar Program Manager for Navy air warfare missiles and later a Systems Support Engineer for the Air Force nuclear missile squadrons. Brakke then transferred to the Civil Engineering group at Malmstrom supporting base Facilities. Brakke proceeded to private industry as the Facilities Director for Advanced Energy Industries, semiconductor systems manufacturer, overseeing worldwide facilities. Brakke went to the General Services Administration as the Director of the Region 9 Federal Acquisition Service and later as the Program Manager creating the Construction Acquisition Service that supported multiple federal agencies and grew to a $500 million a year business. Brakke has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Montana State University and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) from the University of Montana. Jeff is a registered Professional Engineer. Brakke enjoys participating in outdoor activities with his wife, three children, family and friends. His favorites are camping, hiking, bike riding, skiing, snow shoeing, fishing, and hunting. Brakke enjoys watching sports events, especially college football and basketball, and roots for the Denver professional sports teams.
Kraig Buffington, Engineering Project Manager, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, KS
Kraig Buffington is an Engineering Project Manager with the USDA supporting stand-up activities toward full research operations at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. Buffington earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science and Management at Kansas State University after leaving active duty in the Army. He completed the rest of his 20 years of military service, in the Kansas Army National Guard, as an Engineer Officer. Buffington has worked for the Federal Government for 20 years. Of that time, 13 years was spent as a civilian performing quality assurance and construction contract administration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Riley, KS. He transitioned to USDA in December of 2019 and has performed duties to prepare the organization to assume operational responsibility of NBAF from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Through the course of transition from construction to operational standup, Buffington has contributed to several USDA milestones toward full research operations. Notable contributions include development, execution, and oversite of numerous service, and procurement contracts; managing facilities support projects; development, execution, and oversight of animal penning and gating modification construction contract required to increase animal and caretaker safety and efficiency; and oversight of the Gamma Cell Irradiator Room security upgrades required by the Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC).
Christopher L. Butts (recently retired), Research Agricultural Engineer and Lead Scientist, USDA-ARS National Peanut Research Laboratory, Dawson, GA
Christopher L. Butts is a former Research Agricultural Engineer and Lead Scientist at the USDA ARS National Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, GA, with a research career that spanned 35 years. Butts received his B.S. and M.S. from Virginia Tech University and Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Over his career, Butts focused on numerous high impact research projects as requested by the peanut industry, which covered many aspects of peanut research, including developing decision support systems for peanuts to reduce inconsistency in curing farmer stock (in shell) peanuts and minimizing quality losses during peanut storage, cold storage, and transit of shelled peanuts. Butts led research for developing aeration parameters for peanut warehouse management, defining temperature and humidity conditions in totes for overseas transport that led to quality issues during transit, and seasonal variations in managing loading and unloading peanuts during cold storage to prevent excessive rehydration. Butts led research into the breathability of tote storage bags in cold storage, which led to a recommendation to increase cold storage temperatures from 38 to 55 F. This recommendation resulted in the American Peanut Councils Packaging and Handling Task Force amending the Good Management for Cold Storage of Peanuts guidelines to include temperatures of 55 F and modification of APC Tote Bag Specification. Butts has received numerous was awards including but not limited to the 2021 Peanut Research and Education Award (American Peanut Council), the APRES Coyt T. Wilson Distinguished Service Award, and the National Peanut Buying Point Association Distinguished Service Award (2023).
Terra N. Campbell, Research Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS Livestock Nutrient Management Research Unit at the Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX
Terra N. Campbell, Ph.D. is a Research Soil Scientist with the USDA-ARS in the Livestock Nutrient Management Research Unit at the Conservation and Production Research Laboratory in Bushland, TX. She earned a BS in Psychology, BS in Environmental Science, MS in Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science, and a Ph.D. in Systems Agriculture from West Texas A&M University. Campbell's research program focuses on biogas production from the anaerobic digestion of livestock manure, gaseous emission measurement and mitigation, dynamic agricultural and environmental systems modeling, and nutrient and energy cycling in beef and dairy agroecosystems. Dr. Campbell has been a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers since 2017.
Joseph Capobianco Research Material Engineer, USDA-ARS Molecular Characterization of Foodborne Pathogens Research Unit, Wyndmoor, PA
Joseph Capobianco is a Research Material Engineer with the USDA-ARS Molecular Characterization of Foodborne Pathogens Research Unit in Wyndmoor, PA. Capobianco graduated summa cum laude from Drexel University with a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering and obtained a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering and applied original ideas and fundamental science to engineering a platform sensor capable of rapidly detecting pathogens and biomarkers for pathogens and pathology in complex matrices. Capobianco is engaged in research focused on addressing current unmet needs in food safety; specifically developing novel processes for rapid and cost-effective sample preparation along with field portable detection methods for identifying foodborne pathogens. The research is directed toward the implementation of on-line or near real-time detection and/or typing technologies to be used by regulatory agencies and the food industry to prevent contaminated food from reaching the marketplace. The detection of pathogens included Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7, Cryptosporidium, White Spot Syndrome Virus, and Salmonella Typhimurium, to name a few.
Diane Chan, Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Instrumentation and Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
Diane Chan is an Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Instrumentation and Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, supporting team research on development of multispectral/hyperspectral imaging-based inspection system for wholesomeness inspection on poultry processing lines. Chan has continued supporting the engineering team research at the re-organized Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory (EMFSL), to develop nondestructive sensing methods and systems addressing a variety of food safety inspection topics including contaminant and defect detection for fresh produce, and sanitation inspection of food-handling equipment surfaces. She has authored/coauthored over 80 publications and holds 4 US patents as a co-inventor. She received, as a research team member, FLC technology transfer awards in 2014 (Mid-Atlantic) and 2015 (National) for poultry wholesomeness inspection technology, and most recently in 2023 for interagency partnership award between ARS-EMFSL and NASA Kennedy Space Center. Prior to joining the ARS, she completed B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Cornell University and the Pennsylvania State University, respectively.
Kuanglin Chao (Kevin Chao), Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
Kuanglin Chao is an Agricultural Engineer in support of ARS National Program 108--Food Safety for 25 years. Dr. Chao recognized that chicken visceral organs presented a key inspection opportunity for identifying individual poultry diseases and was the first to develop a red-green-blue (RGB) color imaging system to classify poultry carcasses based on viscera inspection. He developed and conducted in-plant tests for a visible/near-infrared spectroscopic system to identify wholesome and unwholesome poultry carcasses on processing lines operating at speeds as high as 180 birds per minute. Dr. Chao expanded the use of hyperspectral imaging to include high-throughput food safety inspection. He was the first to implement line-scan spectral imaging in a single-camera platform for both hyperspectral and multispectral imaging for automated high-throughput inspection. The high-speed line-scan poultry inspection technology was approved by FSIS for commercial pre-sorting of young chickens and has been patented and licensed. For his development of the poultry inspection technology, he received FLC Mid-Atlantic and National technology transfer awards in 2014 and 2015, respectively; in addition, he was a member of the research team to receive the FLC Mid-Atlantic and National technology transfer awards for development of handheld imaging technology in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Jeffery Cowell, Engineering Project Manager, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, KS
Jeffery Cowell is an Engineering Project Manager at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS, supporting engineering/facility operations. Cowell's federal career started in February 2004 with the Department of Defense in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. Cowell started out doing general maintenance on systems, progressed to a Boiler and Chiller Technician, and ultimately earned a position as an Electronic Controls (BAS) Building Automation Technician. in this position, Cowell was one of three Control Techs overseeing an entire Military Installation's BAS system. Cowell progressed into a Construction Quality Control Inspector and provided general daily oversight of construction projects and evaluation of onsite activities related to quality of work and safety practices. Cowell started working for USDA in November 2018 as an Engineering Project Manager developing statements of work to outfit USDA leased office space with office furniture, walls, and electrical upgrades, as construction of the current NBAF facility was still underway. In 2020, Cowell was selected and continues to be a crucial team member for planning portions of the scientific programs transition from Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York to NBAF. Cowell has, and continues to develop, execute, and manage several essential contracts that support the transition of these scientific programs in support of NBAF's standup-activities toward full research operations.
Daniel E. Martin, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Aerial Application Technology Research, College Station, TX
Daniel Martin is a Research Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Aerial Application Technology Research Unit in College Station, TX. Martin has 30 years of training and experience in aerial spray application technologies for precision agriculture. Martin has authored/co-authored over 50 journal articles and has given over 100 technical presentations at regional, national, and international forums. He is an inventor, has held various leadership positions in professional societies, and is recognized as a leading authority in manned and unmanned aerial application systems for precision agriculture and pest management.
David Fleisher, Lead Scientist and Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
David Fleisher is a Lead Scientist and Research Agricultural Engineer at the USDA-ARS Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. Fleisher earned an interdisciplinary doctoral degree in Plant Biology and Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University in 2001. He is internationally recognized as an authority on agricultural systems modeling, measurement, and quantification of climate stress on crop growth and development, and regional food security analyses. He has authored/coauthored over 85 peer-reviewed publications and made over 90 scientific presentations. Fleisher provides leadership in projects of international and national scope, including the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project, and has held elected positions in multiple professional societies. Fleisher continues to receive national and international invitations to collaborate and share research results with scientists, students, and stakeholders.
Ronald P. Haff, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit, Albany, CA
Ron Haff is an outstanding, innovative Research Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit at WRRC in Albany, CA. Haff joined ARS-WRRC as a Physicist in 1991 after receiving a bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of California, Davis. In 2001 he earned a Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from the University of California, Davis. He has served on the National Mechanical Patent Committee since 2009, as a U.S. session chair and panel member for the UJNR Food and Agriculture Panel since 2013, RPES panels, and as a referee for grant proposals for the European Commission. He has served multiple extended details as acting Research Leader and two details as acting Assistant Area Director for the Pacific West Area. Haff has authored/co-authored over 80 papers, five patents, and two book chapters. Haff's high impact research program focuses on high speed sorting of agricultural commodities using a variety of technologies including x-ray, spectroscopy, lasers, acoustics, and machine vision, as well as developing alternatives to radioisotopes for irradiation and engineering solutions to combat plant pests. One of Haff's projects was awarded an Innovation Fund award for 2018-2019. Many of the technologies he has developed have been adopted commercially or are close to being adopted to solve problems of importance to agriculture.
Greg Holt, Research Leader and Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit, Lubbock, TX
Greg Holt is a Research Leader and Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit (CPPRU) in Lubbock, TX. Holt is also the Cotton Post-Harvest Research and Education Coordinator for all three of the USDA-ARS ginning laboratories. Greg Holt graduated from Texas A&M University with degrees in Agricultural Engineering – B.S. and M.S. (1986 and 1989), and from Texas Tech University with a degree in Industrial Engineering – Ph.D. (2004). Holt's research program has covered a range of topics, from air quality to machine design, with a primary focus on cotton byproduct utilization. Holt's work has been transferred to industry and was the driving factor in two new companies being created to manufacture erosion control products featuring cotton plant materials. Also, Holt's research was instrumental in optimizing biomass materials for mycelium-based packaging to replace polystyrene. Holt has authored and/or co-authored over 210 manuscripts and eight patents. His current research focus is on the removal of plastic contamination from seed cotton and cotton lint.
John Houston, Environmental Engineer, USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD
John Houston is an Environmental Engineer with the USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, MD. Houston graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and continued to pursue an M.S. in Environmental Engineering with a focus on Surface and Subsurface Processes. Houston's research focused on animal co-products as novel electron donor for in-situ biotransformation of TCE. Before joining the USDA, Houston worked as an engineering consultant at Jacobs. Most of his work at Jacobs focused on the Navy Comprehensive Long-Term Environmental Action (CLEAN) contract. Houston is currently the remedial project manager for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) program at BARC.
Yanbo Huang, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Genetics and Sustainable Agriculture Unit, Mississippi State, MS
Yanbo Huang is a Research Agricultural Engineer of remote sensing, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and high-performance computing with the USDA-ARS Genetics and Sustainable Agriculture Unit in Mississippi State, MS. His research interests are in the areas of precision agricultural process modeling, optimization and control, biological and remote sensing image processing and analysis, and development and application of agricultural information technology. Huang originated agriculture cybernetics, and his name is listed in the "Top 2% of Scientists worldwide" published by Stanford University in 2021 and 2022. Before joining USDA ARS, Huang worked at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and at the Chinese Academy of Mechanics and Electronics Industry in Beijing, China. He has authored and co-authored over 200 scientific publications, including two books, 15 book chapters, and 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, and received best paper awards from numerous international journals and societies. He is Section Editor of the International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Associate Editor of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Precision Agriculture, and Pest Management Science. He was the President of the Association of Overseas Chinese Agricultural, Biological, and Food Engineers from 2016 to 2017.
Sherry Hunt, Supervisory Civil Engineer, USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit, Stillwater, OK
Sherry L. Hunt is the Supervisory Civil engineer with the USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit (AHERU) in Stillwater, OK. Hunt also serves as the Acting Location Coordinator for the ARS Stillwater, Oklahoma location, the agency's Dam Safety Officer, and a tech lead for the ARS Partnerships for Data Innovations. Hunt completed a B.S. and M.S. in Biosystem Engineering from Oklahoma State University and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University. Hunt's expertise in air-entrained phenomena and the development of stepped spillway technology has extended the planned service life of dams throughout the U.S. and Europe and has preserved millions of dollars in annual benefits these dams provide. Today, her research is expanding to monitoring aging USDA constructed dams and in-stream grade stabilization structures through the deployment of low-cost sensor networks and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and development of decision support tools and engineering models. Hunt was selected as a science and environment category finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals in 2021. In addition, she received the Terry L. Hampton Medal from the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), and she received the ASABE G. B. Gunlogson Countryside Engineering Award and the ASABE Gale Holloway Professional Development Award.
Brian Jorgensen, Facilities Supervisory Engineer, National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, KS
Brian Jorgensen is a Facilities Supervisory Engineer at the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Iowa State University and has worked for the federal government for 17 years. Most of that time was spent with the Department of Defense performing contract administration/oversight for military construction projects and with the Department of Homeland Security supporting the construction of NBAF. Jorgensen currently oversees the Utility Systems Operations Group. The group is responsible for both waste processing and utilities systems operations. These systems include the wastewater pretreatment plant, incinerators, effluent decontamination system, thermal tissue autoclaves, boilers, chillers, and emergency generators. The mission of the section is to provide utilities needed to support functions of NBAF and to process waste generated from the laboratory spaces. Jorgensen's contributions to operational stand up of NBAF include providing engineering technical support to Utility Systems Operations Group team members and coordination of USDA personnel and resources to support integrated systems functional performance testing associated final construction commissioning. He has used site-specific knowledge obtained during construction oversight to provide guidance and direction on the development of internal team policies and procedures including responses to system failure scenarios. He also supported NBAF laboratory full fit out activities including equipment installation and as a member of the facilities operational endurance period team, assisted with the development of activities, test criteria, scheduling of specific system testing and the execution of those activities.
Kem Kadavy, P.E., Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit, Stillwater, OK
Kem Kadavy is an Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit (AHERU) in Stillwater, OK. After completing his B. S. degree in Agricultural Engineering from Oklahoma State University, Kadavy began his 38-year career with the USDA-ARS, where he specializes in physical modeling of hydraulic structures and water resources engineering. He has performed research to develop generalized design criteria for several hydraulic structures, including roller compacted concrete (RCC) stepped spillways, drop inlet spillways, low drop spillways, and rock chute structures. Kadavy has also performed several site-specific model studies to evaluate the hydraulic performance of hydraulic structures with unique or non-standard designs. Throughout his career, Kadavy has co-authored more than 100 journal articles, conference proceedings papers, and other publications. Kadavy is a registered professional engineer in Oklahoma, and he is an active member of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials and the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASABE). Kadavy has received many awards throughout his career, including the 2020 Plains Area Scientific Support of the Year, ASABE Superior Paper Award, Transactions of ASABE and Applied Engineering in Agriculture Outstanding Technical Reviewer Award, and Outstanding Roadside Erosion Project Award – All Oklahoma Chapter Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Ted S. Kornecki, Research Scientist Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, AL
Ted S. Kornecki is a Research Scientist Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Lab (NSDL). As a member of the Conservation System Research group, he develops agricultural no-till equipment for conservation agriculture, focusing on cover crop management and no-till planters/transplanters. His research interests are in agricultural equipment development, including small farm conservation systems, where proper cover crop management is key for a successful no-till agricultural operations, especially on small organic farms. The popularity of Kornecki's patented no-till equipment has been steadily increasing in both the United States (U.S.) and abroad, receiving continuous inquiries for his various designs. Particularly important is his cooperation with implementing conservation systems in Cambodia and Philippines by introducing no-till equipment in these countries to reduce soil degradation from inversion tillage and increasing adoption of conservation agriculture in that region. Kornecki is an inventor of 8 U.S. patents, with two additional published patent applications, and authored 116 technical publications (64 senior-authored). Kornecki's current research achievements have contributed to the development of new agricultural equipment, improving soil quality, and understanding the interactions between soil and machinery. He received two ARS innovation grants to upscale his patented multistage roller crimper on larger farm settings, and to investigate the feasibility of combining operations of a unique two-stage roller/crimper and no-till transplanter for a small four-wheel tractor made in Alabama. He has served as Adjunct Professor at Louisiana State University and Auburn University. Kornecki served as a committee member and a mentor for a Ph.D. student in Cambodia, now a faculty member at the Royal Agricultural University, testing Kornecki's equipment under Cambodia's soil and weather conditions. Since 2011, Kornecki has been serving as the Associate Editor of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Machinery Systems, and since 2012, he has been serving as a member of the National Mechanical and Measurement Patent Committee of the ARS Office of Technology Transfer.
Jonathan Lagerquist, Engineering Project Manager, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, KS
Jonathan Lagerquist is an Engineering Project Manager at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS, supporting Engineering/Facility Operations. Lagerquist earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science and Management and has worked for various general contractors on government contracts for both Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth Military Installations. In 2018, Lagerquist obtain a Contract Engineer position with the Department of Homeland Security- Science and Technology (DHS S&T) as a Field Quality Control Specialist/Engineer supporting the construction oversight of NBAF. In 2019, Mr. Lagerquist took a position as an Engineering Project Manager with the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for operational support in conjunction with detailee services to DHS, extending to construction completion. In 2022, Lagerquist's detail to DHS ended and his focus shifted back to his Project Manager duties of developing, executing, and managing facility contracts. Lagerquist's significant contributions include conducting inspection/verifications of the lab equipment installed by the DHS NBAF contractor as part of a multimillion dollar technology upgrade contract. He also assisted with oversight for the successful installation of a Gamma Cell Irradiator, which required continuous onsite review by representatives from both the Office of Homeland Security (OHS)-Radiation Safety Division (RSD) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC), and assisted with oversight of NBAF laboratory full fit out activities and research operational testing activities.
Renfu Lu, Research Agricultural Engineer & Research Leader, USDA-ARS Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit, East Lansing, MI
Renfu Lu is a Supervisory Research Agricultural Engineer and Research Leader with the USDA-ARS Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit in East Lansing, MI. His research is focused on sensors and automation for harvest and postharvest quality evaluation of fruits and vegetables. Lu received a B.S. degree in Agricultural Machinery from Zhejiang Agricultural University (now Zhejiang University) in China in 1982 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University (1987) and Pennsylvania State University (1990), respectively. During his 28+ years with ARS, he has made many original, impactful contributions to the development and application of acoustics, near-infrared spectroscopy, hyper-, and multi-spectral imaging, structured-light imaging, light scattering, mechanical and optical property measurement, and robotic apple harvesting and in-field sorting technologies. His publications have been cited more than 12,140 times (by Google Scholar, as of January 23, 2023). According to the scientific ranking metrics developed by Stanford University researchers, Lu was ranked 117th among the top 2% scientists (a total of 69,903 scientists) in the category of Agronomy and Agriculture in the world in 2022. Lu has received numerous prestigious awards and honors, among which are the Rain Bird Engineering Concept of the Year Award (2019) and 10 journal and conference paper awards (1997 – 2019) from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), a Federal Laboratory Consortium Technology Transfer Award (2009), an Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania State University (2011), and ASABE Fellow (2013).
Daniel N. Moriasi, Research Hydrologist, USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit, El Reno, OK
Daniel N. Moriasi is a Research Hydrologist with the USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit (AHERU) in El Reno, OK. Moriasi completed an M.S. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering Science with a concentration in Agricultural Engineering with minors in Civil Engineering and Experimental Statistics from Louisiana State University. Moriasi is internationally recognized for hydrologic and water quality modeling at field and watershed scales. Most significantly, he teamed up with scientists to develop evaluation guidelines to ensure that these models are calibrated and validated appropriately and application of these models to assess the impacts of land management, land use change and climate variability, and agricultural conservation impacts on food production and water resources. He also focuses on the impacts of land use, conservation, and other land management practices on reservoir sedimentation. Moriasi has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference proceeding papers, and other publications. He is the recipient of the USDA ARS Administrator's Research Associate Award, 2011, Agricultural Research Service SPA Early Career Scientist of the Year Award, 2012, SCINET Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence Fellow Award, 2022, and the USDA ARS Administrator's Research Associate Award, 2023. In 2018, he was named a Fellow of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Bosoon Park, Research Agricultural Engineer and Lead Scientist, USDA-ARS U.S. National Poultry Research Center, Athens, GA
His research interests include food-related nanotechnology; hyperspectral and real-time multispectral imaging for food safety; hyperspectral microscope imaging, NIR, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy for chemical and biological hazards, and ultrasonic applications for food processing. He has authored or co-authored 303 publications, including 142 refereed journal articles, 161 proceeding articles, three patents, one patent pending, and 11 book chapters. Park received numerous prestigious awards including ARS South Atlantic Area Senior Scientist of the Year Award in 2011; Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer in 2009; Nano Research Innovation Award from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Korea in 2008; and NASA Technology Transfer Award in 2003 in addition to over 40 outstanding research awards. He served on numerous professional committees as American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Division Chair, American Chemical Society (ACS) Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division (AGFD) Chair, numerous symposium chairs, technical committee chairs, organizer/moderator at 37 international meetings, and 52 advisory and consultations. He is an editorial board member of three international journals and holds several honorary and scientific memberships, including Sigma Xi, Alpha Epsilon, ASABE, SPIE, ACS, AAAS, IFAC, and CNIR. Dr. Park was elected as ASABE Fellow in 2015, AGFD Fellow in 2019, and ACS Fellow in 2021. Currently, he is Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia.
Matthew Pelletier, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit, Lubbock, TX
Mathew G. Pelletier is a Senior Research Agricultural Engineer with USDA-ARS Cotton Production and Processing Research in Lubbock, TX. Pelletier graduated from the University of California Davis with a Ph.D. degree in Biological Systems Engineering. Pelletier's research program has covered a range of topics from machine-vision sensing and automation, microwave moisture instrumentation, computational fluid mechanics, acoustic sensors, machine-learning, and Artificial Intelligence utilizing Deep-Learning methodology with a primary focus on cotton production and quality optimization. Pelletier's work has received seven U.S. patents and has transferred key technology to the industry, as well as provided basic science for future innovation. Pelletier has authored and/or co-authored over 100 manuscripts. His current research focus is on the use of machine-vision and deep-learning for the detection and removal of plastic contamination from seed cotton and cotton lint. Pelletier is the chief founding editor of the peer-reviewed scientific journal AgriEngineering and is the chief section editor of engineering for the Journal of Cotton Science.
Jianwei Qin, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
Jianwei Qin is a Research Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. His research is focused on developing optical sensing technologies for food safety and quality applications. His expertise includes sensing, control, hyperspectral imaging, Raman spectroscopy, artificial intelligence, system prototyping, and software development. Qin has 196 publications, including 111 peer-reviewed journal articles, 75 conference proceeding articles, 1 U.S. patent, 3 U.S. patent applications (pending), and 6 book chapters. He has given over 40 presentations and organized/chaired 13 technical sessions at national and international scientific meetings and seminars. He served as chair for Machine Vision Committee of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) from 2014 to 2015 and an advisory member of United States Pharmacopeia (USP)'s Expert Panel for milk product authentication from 2012 to 2017. He is an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Plant Science and ASABE Journals. He received 6 paper awards, including 2 ASABE Superior Paper Awards (2012 and 2015) and 2 Best Paper Awards in ASABE Annual International Meeting (2016 and 2022). In 2023, Dr. Qin received a national Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Interagency Partnership Award for collaborative research with NASA on space farming.
Carlos Rodriquez, Engineering Project Management Supervisor, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, KS
Carlos Rodriquez is the Engineering Project Management Supervisor with the USDA, supporting stand-up activities toward full research operations at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. Rodriquez earned a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering at Kansas State University, obtained his Professional Engineering License as a civil engineer, and holds a certification as a NACE Level 2 Coatings Inspector. Rodriquez has worked for the Federal Government for 16-1/2 years; of that time, 9-1/2 years was spent holding various positions with both the Engineering Services Division and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Riley, KS, supporting military construction contracts. In January 2016, Rodriquez transitioned to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, to support oversight of the $1.25 billion National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility construction contract. When the operational responsibility of NBAF transferred from DHS to the USDA, Rodriquez was transferred to USDA to support the transition in his current role for operational support in conjunction with detailee services to DHS, extending to construction completion. Through the course of transition from construction to operational standup, Rodriquez has contributed to numerous USDA milestones toward full research operations. Notable contributions include oversight, coordination and execution of NBAF laboratory full fit out activities and research operational testing activities; structuring of the Engineering Project Management Group for execution of requisition project management, support services contracts, facilities support projects, and as the technical facilities information resource; oversight, coordination and as NBAF's technical resource for the successful installation of a Gamma Cell Irradiator requiring continuous onsite review by representatives from both the Office of Homeland Security (OHS)-Radiation Safety Division (RSD) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC).
Maritza Romero, Mechanical Engineer, USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Chemistry Research Unit, Gainesville, FL
Maritza Romero is a Mechanical Engineer specializing in global climate change, remote sensing, data science, and visualizations at USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE), in the Chemistry Research Unit in Gainesville, FL. During her 28-year career at USDA, Romero has designed environmental control chambers, CO2 enrichment systems, remote sensing field systems, among other equipment. By designing, building, or modifying research equipment, her work has saved the Chemistry Research Unit and ARS many research dollars. Romero began her career studying the interaction between ventilation, humidity, and temperature on insect pest infestations. She assisted with research on a variety of insects, such as cockroaches, termites, and fire ants. Romero designed the electric excitation system used in the rearing of phorid flies allowing them to be introduced as a biological control measure for fire ants. She created acquisition and inventory applications for the android operating system as well as economical ultralow monitoring system with texting alarms. Recently, Romero has performed a variety of statistical analysis (e.g., principal component, multivariate, and discriminant analyses on instrument-acquired data), as well as visualizations for more complex figures for publication in peer-reviewed journals. She is currently working on applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to datasets collected in-house to provide better prediction capability. Romero obtained a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida. She has co-authored six scientific publications and presented her research results at the ASHREA symposium on Attic and Cathedral Ceiling Performance in 1998. She was also selected as "Role Model" representing USDA in the National Hispanic Environmental Council Minority Youth Environmental Training Institute held in New Mexico in 2001.
Al Rotz, Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, PA
Al Rotz is an Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, PA. Rotz holds a BA degree from Elizabethtown College and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. and Ph.D degrees in Agricultural Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. Rotz grew up on a dairy farm in southern Pennsylvania. His research activities are diverse, but all have involved experimental evaluation of machinery systems and the development, evaluation, and use of mathematical models of agricultural production systems. For 16 years, Rotz led the East Lansing Cluster of the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center. He is a registered Professional Engineer and a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. He has published over 450 articles and papers on his work. Rotz is also a member of the American Dairy Science Association, the American Forage and Grassland Council, and the Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council.
Justin Schlegel, Engineering Project Manager, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, KS
Justin Schlegel is an Engineering Project Manager at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS, supporting engineering/facility operations. Schlegel has more than 15 years of electrical, plumbing, and mechanical experience, for both installation and repairs. Schlegel also has seven years of technical knowledge with facility operation/maintenance, identifying facility improvements, increasing service reliability, and reducing operation costs. Schlegel has been at NBAF for four years and manages numerous construction, service, and repair contracts as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR). Schlegel's significant contributions include installing physical security upgrades on the NBAF campus; developing, coordinating and executing the design and construction of NBAF's liquid nitrogen storage and supply system (LN2) to support the long-term storage freezer banks for lab operation; assisting with oversight of both NBAF laboratory full fit out activities and research operational testing activities.
Kade Shelton, Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit, Stillwater, OK
Colton (Kade) Shelton is an Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit (AHERU). Shelton earned a B.S. from Oklahoma State University in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering in 2018. Shelton has approximately five years of professional experience, with three years of industry experience in design, product testing, troubleshooting technical service issues, and telematics. Since joining the AHERU in 2021, Shelton has become an integral part of developing, testing, and evaluating low-cost, cloud-based sensor technology for deployment on a pilot dam monitoring and inspection project. As a member of the ARS Partnerships of Data Innovations team, Shelton works with ARS researchers and university collaborators from across the country in gathering real-time data, including but not limited to meteorological, soil, and watershed data; designing new tools; and deploying instrumentation for end-users. Shelton is a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Clement Sohoulande is a Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research, Florence, SC
Clement Sohoulande is a Research Agricultural Engineer at the USDA-ARS Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research Unit in Florence, SC. Sohoulande has demonstrated outstanding originality in finding solutions to complex agricultural and environmental problems by conceiving and successfully conducting research in water resources management, nutrient recycling in crops, and animal agriculture systems. Sohoulande is exploring a new avenue to better understand the multi-scale footprint of water and manure nutrients using remote sensing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and process models. He is also developing decision support tools to improve agricultural production and protect the environment under water deficit conditions.
Kenneth C. Stone, PE, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research, Florence, SC
Kenneth C. Stone, PE, Research Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research in Florence, SC. Stone's research focuses on optimizing spatial water applications, using low-quality waters in irrigation, treating animal wastewater, and reducing agriculture's environmental impacts on nutrient-sensitive ecosystems. He was awarded the 2018 ASABE Heermann Sprinkler Irrigation award in recognition of his research contributions in irrigated agriculture and in advancing site-specific, variable-rate irrigation to enhance productivity while conserving water and natural resources and he was inducted into the 2022 class of ASABE Fellows for his insightful engineering research that significantly improves irrigation management while conserving and protecting resources.
Samir Trabelsi, Research Electronics Engineer, USDA-ARS Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit at the U.S. National Poultry Research Center, Athens, GA
Samir Trabelsi is a Research Electronics Engineer with the USDA-ARS Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit (QSARU) at the U.S. National Poultry Research Center in Athens, GA. His research interests are radio-frequency measurement techniques, measurement and modeling of dielectric properties of biological materials, and developing non-destructive microwave methods and sensors for real-time determination of quality attributes of agricultural products, including grains, oilseeds, nuts, biofuels, and poultry meat. Trabelsi is recognized as an expert in non-destructive microwave sensing and its application in food and agriculture industries and has been invited to speak at national and international meetings. He was listed among the "Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide" published by Stanford University in 2020, 2021, and 2022. He has authored and co-authored over 300 scientific publications, including 114 peer-reviewed papers, two book chapters, and five patents, three of which have been licensed. In 2015, Trabelsi received the Southeast Federal Laboratories Consortium (FLC) Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer and the IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Graduate Fellowship Award. He serves as Associate Editor for the IEEE Open Journal of Instrumentation and Measurement and for International Agrophysics. Trabelsi has an adjunct faculty position with the College of Engineering and is a member of the graduate program at the University of Georgia. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a member and Chartered Physicist of the Institute of Physics, London, UK.
Jaya Tumuluru, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory, Las Cruces, NM
Jaya Shankar Tumuluru is a Research Agricultural Engineer with the USDA-ARS Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory in Las Cruces, NM. Tumuluru's research focuses on improving the cotton ginning process to improve the lint quality and using cotton byproducts for fuels and bioproducts applications. Some of his research accomplishments include identifying the off-gases emitted from stored biomass, developing novel preprocessing and pretreatment technologies, designing and development of lab and pilot scale thermal reactors for biomass torrefaction process to address the biomass physical properties and chemical composition issues, and development of a novel hybrid genetic algorithm for optimization of complex bioprocesses. Tumuluru has published papers on biomass preprocessing and pretreatments, food processing, preservation and storage, and prediction and optimization of bioprocesses using artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms. His publications have received more than 5000 citations today. Some of the major awards Dr. Tumuluru has received during his career are: R&D 100 Award Finalist in 2018 & 2020, INL Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award for 2019, Asian American Engineer of the Year Award for 2018, Outstanding Reviewer Award for the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Food and Process Engineering Division in 2013, 2014, & 2016, Outstanding Reviewer for the Biomass and Bioenergy Journal in 2015, INL Outstanding Achievement in Scientific and Technical Publication Award in 2014, Outstanding contribution recognition for the UK, the Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2011.
Michael Ursic, Civil Engineer, USDA-ARS Watershed Physical Processes Research Unit at the National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, MS
Michael Ursic is a Civil Engineer with the USDA-ARS Watershed Physical Processes Research Unit (WPPRU) located at the National Sedimentation Laboratory in Oxford, MS. He received his BS in Civil Engineering at the University of Mississippi and his MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Colorado State University where he focused on hydraulics. He has been employed with the ARS for 11 years and has worked on numerous projects related to erosion and sedimentation within riverine environments. Most notably, Ursic is responsible for an innovative design and construction of a test configuration used to measure soil erosion resistance, for which he received the Scientific Support of the Year award in 2019.
John Wanjura, Research Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit, Lubbock, TX
John Wanjura graduated from Texas A&M University with degrees in Agricultural Systems Management –BS (2002), Agricultural Engineering – BS and MS (2005), and Agricultural Engineering – Ph.D. (2008). He has worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Cotton Production and Processing Research unit in Lubbock, TX since 2005. John's research program is focused on developing new technologies for cotton harvesting and ginning which help to reduce production costs, improve fiber quality, improve producer profitability, and reduce the environmental impacts of particulate emissions from agricultural operations. He works closely with machinery manufacturers to commercially implement new designs for material handling and cleaning systems used on state-of-the-art cotton harvesters. John lead the development of a system that uses RFID technology to track seed cotton from the field through the ginning process. Other research and development efforts lead by John have resulted in the design of a new ginning system for cotton breeders and agronomists and novel lint cleaning technology that reduces fiber damage. Ongoing research efforts include the development of new systems for identifying and preventing plastic contamination from round module wrap, the development of new round module wrap systems, and novel approaches to cotton harvesting that enable the utilization of all biomass produced by cotton crops. John is the author or co-author of over 150 manuscripts and two patents.
Thomas Way, Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, AL
Thomas Way is an Agricultural Engineer at USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, AL. His research interests include (1) the design and development of field implements for shallow subsurface band application of poultry litter which is a mixture of manure and bedding material, such as wood shavings, (2) performance of tires and rubber tracks of tractors and other agricultural vehicles, and (3) performance of row-crop planters. Way has authored and co-authored 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and a patent for the implement. He is an Affiliate Associate Professor at Auburn University, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and is on the Advisory Board for the Soil Machine Dynamics Laboratory for Virtual Machine Development at Iowa State University. Way served as Division Editor for two journals published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and is an Associate Editor for those two journals. He is an Editor for the Journal of Terramechanics. He served on the ASABE Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2007 and was inducted as an ASABE Fellow in 2016. Dr. Way served on a review panel at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to review wheel design and approaches to mobility validation for the Perseverance Mars rover, which began its mission on Mars in 2021.
Derek Whitelock, Research Leader and Supervisory Agricultural Engineer, USDA-ARS Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory, Las Cruces, NM
Derek Whitelock is Research Leader and Supervisory Agricultural Engineer at the USDA-ARS Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory in Las Cruces, NM. Whitelock has bachelor's and master's degrees in Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University and a doctorate in Biosystems Engineering from Oklahoma State. His recent work focuses mostly on cotton contamination detection and extraction and agricultural air quality. Whitelock's most significant accomplishment was leading engineering research that established previously unmeasured PM2.5 emission factors, verified current PM10 and total particulate emission factors for cotton gins, and characterized those emissions based on particle size distribution analyses. In the multi-year effort, dust emissions were measured at cotton gins across the United States. Before this research, only limited PM2.5 emissions data were available for any industry, and states were utilizing conservative PM2.5 estimates for implementation plans. Based on the research, California regulatory officials recommended no additional regulatory actions for gins in their PM2.5 plan. Texas completely revised its cotton gin permitting rules utilizing the data. Various other U.S. states and Australia are utilizing the data for different aspects of their gin permitting. He was the 2020 recipient of the ASABE Mayfield Cotton Engineering Award in recognition of his innovative air quality research and leadership efforts benefiting the cotton ginning industry.
Thomas (Tom) Wilkinson, Registered Professional Engineer (PE), Chief Facilities Engineer, Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, KS
Thomas (Tom) Wilkinson is a registered Professional Engineer (PE), an International Facility Management Association Affiliate (IFMA), and currently serves as the Chief Facilities Engineer at USDA's National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) campus. Wilkinson graduated in 1990 from Kansas State University with an engineering degree from the Department of Architectural Engineering/Construction Science. Wilkinson's position as NBAF Chief Facilities Engineer serves as a staff position serving not only the Facilities Operation and Management Unit (FOMU) but also serving and supporting NBAF senior leadership, NBAF unit leads and their teams as the initial point of contact regarding any campus design or engineering related needs. He has assisted in NBAF's operational standup, commissioning, integrated system functional performance testing, and endurance period efforts, while also completing construction oversight for the NBAF construction effort and contract closeout. Wilkinson served as the primary contracting officer's representative as a Level III COR and as the primary construction manager for the NBAF construction project since June 2013. In addition to the Level III COR certification, and he also holds a Level II CO (Contracting Officer) and Level I PM (Project Management) certification.
Carolyn Williams, Supervisory General Engineer, USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center, Albany, CA
Carolyn Williams is a Supervisory General Engineer with the USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, CA. Williams has served as an engineer in the federal civilian service since 1981 constructing and improving federal facilities to further mission accomplishment in national defense and agricultural research. Williams has personally and, through her supervision of subordinate engineers, has been pivotal in building and maintaining USDA-ARS. Most recently, Williams has been successful in executing the Pacific West Area's Repair and Maintenance Program with regular funding of at least $1.1 million dollars annually. In fiscal year 2023, Ms. Williams is responsible for overseeing the engineering aspects of $3.2 million dollars in repair projects, including modernization and energy savings projects. Williams' recent efforts in implementing the Repair and Maintenance Program have resulted in the pending or completed construction of two replacement boilers in in the Riverside location, electrical system upgrades in the Tucson Location, renovating greenhouses in the Wenatchee Location, and many other programs that enabled, successful agricultural research. Williams has also led and coordinated with scientific locations to do such activities as upgrading fire alarm systems, environmental growth chambers, screen house fan systems, and chemical storage containers. Williams contributions have been significant and through her leadership has helped the agency in constructing, repairing, and maintaining facilities which has enabled scientific success.
Jarrett Wise, Research Civil Engineer, USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit, Stillwater, OK
Jarrett Wise is a Research Civil Engineer with the USDA-ARS Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit (AHERU) in Stillwater, OK. He received his B.A. in Physics from Hastings College, an M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Wise has approximately two years of professional experience, having begun his career at AHERU as a post-doctoral research associate. Wise has expertise in finite element analysis of wellbore integrity with respect to gas leakage. Since joining the AHERU, his research has expanded to include numerical modeling of dams, the development of cloud base technologies for the development of a dam monitoring and inspection network, and physical modeling of zoned embankments and embankments with complex geometries in relation to dam breach by overtopping or internal erosion.
