Statement of Research Interests:
Past Research:
Undergraduate: After graduating with my undergraduate degree, I spent a year working as a Research Assistant for Dr. James Glancey at the University of Delaware. As a Research Assistant, I conducted four different research projects in the area of Precision Agriculture. The first project involved using GPS with a Precision Manure Spreader for the purpose of creating manure application maps. The next two projects involved the development of yield monitors for peas and cucumbers, and included sensor fabrication and software programming. Digital filters were designed to eliminate noise from the yield monitor signals, and GPS data was merged with yield data to create detailed maps of pea and cucumber production. As an application of the yield monitor data, corn and cucumber yields were predicted from harvest data and soil nutrient levels measured using grid soil sampling. The fourth project involved field testing using a force-balance shaker to determine the feasibility of the mechanical harvesting of squash. Top
Master’s Thesis: My Master’s research project involved the compression of baled cellulosic biomass crops for the purpose of determining the energy and power requirements during the compression process. I designed and built the compression machinery and a hydraulic measurement apparatus that measured bale reaction forces on three axes (X,Y,Z) during compression. The hydraulic measurement apparatus has a wide variety of applications in the field testing of agricultural machinery because it is simple to implement wherever hydraulic fluid power is utilized. It is less costly and easier to implement than load cells when using existing machinery, with comparable accuracy. Using the compression machine with the hydraulic measurement apparatus, I tested baled switchgrass, indiangrass, wheat straw, and corn stover to determine how much energy would be required to compress these common feedstocks grown for the purpose of biofuel production. This project was funded by the Northeast Sun Grant Initiative. Top
Current Research:
Ph.D. Dissertation: My Ph.D. research involves applying Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to enclosed manure tanks. Due to the poor ventilation characteristics of enclosed manure storage tanks, dangerous gases (often colorless and odorless) typically accumulate at different elevations within the tank, creating a hazard for farm personnel who enter the tank to perform routine equipment maintenance. The goal of this research is to develop a web-based tool that designers and planners can use to determine the best ventilation method for existing or planned enclosed tanks. The web tool will communicate tank dimensions and fan data (number, size, and location) to a three-dimensional solid modeling application that will perform the CFD modeling. When the simulation is complete, the web tool will report the results to the user, telling them how long the tank must be ventilated for safe human entry based on ASABE standards for manure gas concentrations. This tool will enable designers to make better decisions when planning a new enclosed manure storage tank, and will help to save lives by giving maintenance personnel better estimates for minimum ventilation time prior to tank entry. My current research project is funded by NIOSH and NSF. Top
Over the next five to ten years, I anticipate continuing to perform safety-related research projects, along with applied machinery projects involving Precision Agriculture and the continued improvement of mechanical harvesting for various agricultural crops. My goal is to collaborate with other prominent researchers and industry partners whenever possible for the purpose of sharing resources and expanding our common understanding. My vision is that the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at Penn State will someday have a prominent industry partner with an applied research laboratory on campus, where both undergraduate and graduate students can perform research and learn valuable skills. Top
Ideally, I would like to support 5-6 graduate students at any one time, with a mix of Master’s and PhD students. This will provide the younger students with the opportunity to learn from their more experienced peers. Additionally, I would like to include 1-2 post-doctoral researchers since they are capable of performing independent research and could provide valuable insight to the graduate students. Top