Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

This is an archived copy of the 2023-24 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.msstate.edu.

Department Head: Dr. Alex Thomasson
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Steven Elder
150 Agricultural Engineering Building
Box 9632
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Telephone: 662-325-3282
E-mail: abe_head@abe.msstate.edu

Graduate study is offered in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering leading to the degree of Master of Science in Biosystems Engineering or a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with a concentration in Biosystems Engineering. Major areas of study include the following:

Agricultural machinery systems
Precision agriculture
Animal waste management
Sustainable design
Pesticide applications and protection
Bioenvironmental systems
Seed processing and storage
Aquacultural systems
Agricultural modeling
Bioenergy
Agricultural robotics and automation
Agricultural big data and artificial intelligence
Agricultural sensors and remote sensing

The department has several major research laboratories, such as remote sensing (the Kimbrough Precision Agriculture and Remote Sensing Engineering Laboratory); water quality and environmental engineering; cotton ginning (the MAFES/ABE Mini-Gin, a fully operational cotton gin); and bioenergy. A limited number of graduate research and teaching assistantships are available.

Admission Criteria

Prerequisites for admission into the graduate program include all the general requirements of the Graduate School, an undergraduate engineering degree (or remedial engineering coursework), and identification of a departmental professor who is willing to serve as research director for the master’s or Ph.D. project. International students must obtain a TOEFL score of 550 PBT (79 iBT) or IELTS score of 6.5 or higher.

Provisional Admission

An applicant who has not fully met the GPA requirement stipulated by the University may be admitted on a provisional basis. The provisionally-admitted student is eligible for a change to regular status after receiving a 3.00 GPA on the first 9 hours of graduate courses at Mississippi State University (with no grade lower than a C). The first 9 hours of graduate courses must be within the student's program of study. Courses with an S grade, transfer credits, or credits earned while in Unclassified status cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student shall be dismissed from the graduate program. Academic departments may set higher standards for students to fulfill provisional requirements; a student admitted with provisional status should contact the graduate coordinator for the program’s specific requirements. While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Contingent Admission

If a student applying to the M.S. program does not have an undergraduate degree in engineering, the student will be required to complete or have previous credit in 51 hours of engineering, mathematics, and physical science courses. The student will be granted contingent admission until the course requirement has been satisfied. Similarly, a student applying to the Ph.D. program must have a B.S. or M.S. degree in engineering. The same set of courses will be required before the student is fully admitted into the Ph.D. program.

Academic Performance

Unsatisfactory performance in the graduate program in Biosystems Engineering is defined as any of the following

Failure to maintain a B average in attempted graduate courses after admission to the program
A grade of U, D, or F in any one course
More than two grades below a B
Failure of the qualifying or preliminary exam (Ph.D. students only)
Failure of the research defense
Unsatisfactory evaluation of a thesis or dissertation
Failure of a required component of the program of study

Any one of these, or a combination of these, will constitute the basis for review for possible dismissal. The graduate coordinator will review the record, along with the student’s graduate committee, and take a final course of action, which will be immediate dismissal or the establishment of a probationary period in which corrective action must take place. Appeal of dismissal can be made by submitting a written appeal statement to the department head. If the dismissal is upheld by the department head upon the student’s appeal, the student can then submit a written appeal to the dean of the College of Engineering.

Master of Science in Biological Engineering

ST 8114	Statistical Methods	4
Select at least one of the following:		1
ABE 8911	Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar I
ABE 8921	Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar II
ABE XXXX	Graduate course	3
Additional graduate-level coursework		16
ABE 9000	Research in Agricultural and Biological Engineering	6
Total Hours		30

A thesis and an oral comprehensive examination in defense of the thesis are required. The Master of Science in Biological Engineering requires 24 credit hours of coursework beyond the baccalaureate degree and 6 or more credit hours of thesis research/thesis.

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with concentration in Biological Engineering

Beyond the baccalaureate degree
MA XXXX Graduate mathematics course		3
Select two of the following:		2
ABE 8911	Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar I
ABE 8921	Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar II
Graduate-level coursework as approved by the committee		33
8000-level coursework as approved by the committee		10
ABE 9000	Research in Agricultural and Biological Engineering	20
Minimum Hours		68 Beyond B.S.
Beyond the master's degree
MA XXXX Graduate Mathematics course		3
Select two of the following
ABE 8911 Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar I		1
ABE 8921 Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar II		1
Graduate Level coursework as approved by the committee		19
Research/Dissertation		20
Minimum Hours		44 Beyond Master's

A preliminary examination, a dissertation, and an oral examination in defense of the dissertation are required. Doctoral students are required to take or have credit in a graduate-level math course, complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of coursework beyond the baccalaureate degree and complete 20-32 hours of dissertation research.

ABE 6163 Machinery Management for Agro-Ecosystems: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ABE 2173 or consent of instructor). Two hours lecture. Two hours laboratory. Selection, sizing and operation machine systems using cost analysis and systems techniques. Emphasis on agricultural machines used in farming; tillage, planting, harvesting, and conveying agricultural materials

ABE 6263 Soil and Water Management: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ABE 2873 or Consent of Instructor). Two hours lecture. Two hours laboratory. Introduction to soil and water management principles; elementary hydrology, erosion control, irrigation, best management practices, and water quality

ABE 6383 Building Construction: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: EG 1143, junior standing.) Three hours lecture. An introduction to building terms, construction materials, structural components, construction methods, and mechanical systems pertaining to residential and commercial structures

ABE 6423 Bioinstrumentation II: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ABE 3413 or graduate standing). Two hours lecture. Two hours laboratory. Theory; application of automated measuring and control systems in biological sciences. Includes design/use of transducer interfaces; electronic signal conditioning; data logging; microprocessor based systems

ABE 6443 Spectroscopic Sensing in Biosystems: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: Junior or graduate standing or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A comprehensive introduction to spectroscopic techniques and analysis in biosystems. Discuss the electromagnetic spectrum and its interaction with matter, UV-Vis-IR spectroscopy, other spectroscopic techniques, Agricultural and Biomedical applications of spectroscopy, and spectroscopic data analysis

ABE 6463 Introduction to Imaging in Biological Systems: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: senior or graduate standing in an engineering discipline, or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Comprehensive introduction to imaging modalities and image processing and analysis methods in biosystems contexts. Imaging applications in precision agriculture, plant phenotyping, postharvest food inspection, and biomedical diagnosis

ABE 6473 Electrical Applications for Agriculture: 3 hours.

Two hours lecture. Two hours laboratory. Fundamental electricity, wiring, and control of agricultural operations. Includes use of computer tools, instruments, safety, and hardware

ABE 6483 Introduction to Remote Sensing Technologies: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: Senior or graduate standing, or consent or instructor). Three hours lecture. Electromagnetic interactions, passive sensors, multispectral and hyperspectral optical sensors, active sensors, imaging radar, SAR Lidar, digital image processing, natural resource applications. (Same as ECE 4423/6423 and PSS 4483/6483)

ABE 6523 Biomedical Materials: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: One of the following: ABE 3813, CHE 3413, or ME 3403). Three hours lecture. Emphasis is on applications, composition, testing, and biocompatibility of biomedical materials used in implant devices. This course may be used for honors credit

ABE 6543 Precision Agriculture II: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: PSS/ABE 2543 and Junior Standing). Two hours lecture. Two hours lab. Site-specific management techniques are examined. Continuous decision-making processes of farm production are integrated using a whole-system, geospatial approach. (Same as PSS 4543/6543)

ABE 6613 Biomechanics: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: EM 2413 and EM 2433). Three hours lecture. Force, motion, and deformation analysis of organisms and biological structures. Mechanical modeling techniques unique to biological materials

ABE 6624 Experimental Methods in Materials Research: 4 hours.

(Prerequisites:CHE 3413 or ABE 3813 or ME 3403 or permission of instructors).Three hours lecture. Three hours laboratory. An introduction to research methodologies commonly used in the evaluation of treatments, and mechanical testing. ( Same as CHE 4624/6624 and ME 4624/6624)

ABE 6723 Tissue Engineering and Regeneration: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite:ABE 3813) . Three hours lecture. A comprehensive course covering the fundamental concepts, multidisciplinary approaches, and clinical applications of tissue engineering/regeneration

ABE 6803 Biosystems Simulation: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Spring semester. Application of engineering analysis, modeling and simulation to biological systems

ABE 6843 Sustainable Communities: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Theory and practices that minimize resource use and pollutant production in the human landscape (same as LA 4843/6843)

ABE 6990 Special Topics in Agricultural and Biological Engineering: 1-9 hours.

Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)

ABE 7000 Directed Individual Study in Agricultural and Biological Engineering: 1-6 hours.

Hours and credits to be arranged

ABE 8511 Journal Reviews in Biomedical Engineering: 1 hour.

One hour lecture. Current journal articles relevant to Biomedical Engineering topics are read and reviewed

ABE 8621 Methods of Biomedical Engineering Research: 1 hour.

One hour lecture. No prerequisites. Introduction to biomedical engineering research including literature review, experimental design, laboratory practices, presentation, and ethics

ABE 8723 Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Fundamental concepts, experimental and theoretical approaches of biomechanics and their applications in modern biomedical engineering (e.g. mechanotransduction,tissue engineering/regeneration, surgical intervention)

ABE 8801 Clinical Experience for Biomedical Engineering: 1 hour.

Prerequisites: Graduate standing in the Biomedical Program and permission of the instructor. Three hours experiential learning. This course will provide graduate students with exposure, understanding, and insight into the clinical environment and/or treatment modalities of clinical (human and/or animal) patients

ABE 8911 Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar I: 1 hour.

One hour lecture. Discussion of research needs, review of literature, and development of research work plans

ABE 8921 Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seminar II: 1 hour.