Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Oklahoma State University

As we gather around grills, feast on fried delights, and gloat over home-grown garden veggies- here's a reminder that our faculty have publicly available research on all of those topics and more! Who doesn't love summer holiday with a side of science?!
https://okla.st/3D7IVRr

BAE faculty member and associate director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Center, Dr. Ali Mirchi presented during the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health(UNU-INWEH) peer to peer workshop at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania last week. This workshop was a collaborative effort between Oklahoma State University, the University of California, Irvine, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Quoting UNU-INWEH's original post directly, "The 2025 Accelnet PEER2PEER Workshop, supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) brought together project partners — and most importantly, UNU-INWEH experts from around the world — at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on June 25–26! With a focus on Advanced Technologies for Transboundary Water Resources Management, the workshop explored powerful connections between science diplomacy, global water security, and peace-building — sparking fresh ideas and collaboration across borders."

It's time for another round of grad student spotlights- highlighting all of the awesome things that our grad students are working on and their advice for others in or considering joining the BAE family.

Meet Palash Kumar Kundu! Palash is currently pursuing a Masters in Biosystems Engineering. He previously studied at Bangladesh Agricultural University, where he received his Bachelor's in Agricultural Engineering and another Master's in Irrigation and Water Management. Palash is advised by Dr. Sumon Datta, where his research focuses on estimating canopy temperatures in irrigated cotton using machine learning models to support data-driven irrigation scheduling.

Palash's advice to incoming students of all levels within our programs - "Every challenge is an opportunity to grow - embrace the struggle and trust the process." We love the perseverance; keep up the good work!

Helpful tip for students ahead of the next academic year- we highly recommend that you stay connected with our seminar opportunities and attend when you can!

Last semester, BAE faculty introduced us to some incredible visiting speakers, as well as provided a platform for grad students to speak on. As a result, students have had unique and accessible on-campus opportunities to grow their networks and interact with others in their field of study.

In March, Dr. Sumon Datta introduced us all to Dr. Bashir Khoda, who presented his and his graduate students' recent findings in wild blueberry harvest technology.

In April, Dr. Hasan Atiyeh introduced Dr. Mostafa Elshahed, a Regents Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics here at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Elshahed spoke on his research involving fungi, as well as an overview on the services and capabilities of the Microbiomics and Culturomics Core Facility on campus.

In the beginning of May, Dr. Ali Mirchi coordinated for three graduate students to present in a seminar setting to the department. For two of them, this was practice ahead of thesis defense, and for one of them, this was the perfect closure to her time as a graduate student in this department.

Coordinating speakers takes time and effort outside of teaching and research - so thank you to those who attend these seminars, thank you to Dr. Khoda and Dr. Elshahed for visiting with us, thank you to Nazlim, Mamata, and Palash for sharing your work with us, and finally- a HUGE thank you to Dr. Datta, Dr. Atiyeh, and Dr. Mirchi for setting these seminars up.

Safety first, always! Mualla does incredible work to prioritize lab safety and maintain research integrity - thank you for all you do and thank you to our friends over at Environmental Health and Safety for recognizing one of our own!

We are starting a new program to highlight the incredible service and importance of OSU's laboratory managers, who help make important research happen every day!

This month's highlight is Mualla Kara, Research Laboratory Manager for Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Oklahoma State University. Thank you for your commitment to safety and service to the university, Mualla!
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International Women in Engineering Day seeks to raise awareness about opportunities for women in engineering, to address the shortage of engineers globally, and to encourage more women to consider engineering careers. Our students are dedicated to their research and their studies and their efforts help to close the engineering gap daily. We look forward to seeing where each of their journeys take them after their time here at OSU with us is complete 🧡 Interested in joining us? Visit our website at bae.okstate.edu for more information

Not one but two of our very own program alumni grace the pages of the Cowboy Journal this edition. Great work to writers Hartley Silva and Caitlyn Mack. Find the Cowboy Journal online at https://okla.st/3S4umSt or on campus in the Ferguson College of Agriculture buildings.

Congratulations are in order as 22 of our BAE students have made the Spring 2025 President's and Dean's honor rolls. Excellent work BAE students!

Link to full article 🔗 https://okla.st/3FZ7O37
Link to BAE undergraduate programs 🔗 https://okla.st/4kTDtCs

Between our 20 full time faculty members, there is a grand total of 60 degrees and 241 years of teaching experience! This reflects a rich departmental history of elevating highly qualified and experienced research faculty to lead our students towards achieving their goals and into career development. Our faculty bring together knowledge and experienced obtained from living, studying, and working around the globe. See the graphic for a better look at where our faculty obtained their different degrees!

Happy Father's Day to our BAE families, faculty, and staff!

There's a new Agricultural Outreach Extension program specialist in town and it's Emma Safranek! Emma's bringing her background in meteorology and a passion for agriculture to the table as she joins the team at the Oklahoma Mesonet. Welcome aboard- we're happy to have you here!