from the President A Better World ASABE members are making a difference

ne of my favorite quotations is from They’re smart, they’re dedicated, and notice how young many of anthropologist Margaret Mead. It’s a them are—that makes me feel confident about the future—and they famous quotation, and you may have understand the power of one. Oheard it before, but it’s worth repeat- Who wouldn’t want to be part of such a distinguished group? ing: “Never doubt that a small group of And who wouldn’t want to invite a colleague into membership in the thoughtful, committed citizens can change the Society that supports such efforts? If you haven’t already done so, world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” there’s no better time than now, before our Annual International In talking with and getting to know many Meeting in August, for you to reach your “just one” new member. As ASABE members over the years, I’ve always I wrote in the previous issue of Resource, building our membership been struck by how active they are in the profession, in their commu- is an important step that each of us can take to help our Society meet nities, and in the larger world. In addition to the important responsi- the demands of the future. bilities of work and family, they find time to serve the Society, and And speaking of the AIM in Louisville this August, our keynote they bring their considerable skills to a fascinating variety of other speaker will be Catherine A. Leslie, PE, executive director of efforts as well. In fact, most ASABE members are involved in some Engineers Without Borders USA. As you may know, Engineers type of neighborhood, national, or even global effort. Our members Without Borders is a non-profit organization committed to humani- are exactly the kind of people that Dr. Mead was talking about: tarian efforts around the world. They do great work, and Ms. Leslie’s people who change the world. address will be supplemented with an informative presentation enti- Of course, each member is “just one” person, but just one tled “Giving Back as an Engineering Professional.” It will make you person can make a difference. Through ASABE sections, student proud of your profession. chapters, as well as NGOs, foundations, and government and aca- On a personal note, I have enjoyed my year as ASABE presi- demic affiliations, our Society offers itself to the world—one person dent, and I look forward to passing the baton to Sonia Maassel at a time. Through their work—improving harvests, ensuring food Jacobsen, who well understands the importance of being “just one” safety, maintaining soil and water quality, and developing sustainable at the right time and right place. My sincere thanks also to the production of fuel, food, and fiber—our members improve lives and Headquarters staff for all the work they’ve done, especially Darrin rural economies around the world. And they put the good name of Drollinger. Thanks, guys—it’s been a great year. ASABE in the public eye. See you in Louisville! In this issue, you’ll meet a few of these members and read their Ronald L. McAllister stories. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of these individuals [email protected] face to face, and they are even more inspiring in person than in print. events calendar ASABE CONFERENCES AND INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS To receive more information about ASABE conferences and meetings, call ASABE at (800) 371-2723 or e-mail [email protected]. ASABE ENDORSED EVENTS 2011 2011 Aug. 7-10 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Oct. 9-12 2011 GSA Annual Meeting–Archean to Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Anthropocene. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Sept. 18-21 International Symposium on Erosion and Nov. 11-12 Land.Technik–AgEng 2011. Hannover, Germany. Landscape Evolution Conference. Joint conference with AEG. Anchorage, Alaska, USA. 2012 2012 Feb. 21-24 40th International Symposium “Actual Tasks on Agricultural Engineering.” Opatija, Crotia. Feb. 12-15 Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference. Contact: Silvio Kosuti, [email protected] Louisville, Kentucky, USA. July 8-12 International Conference of Agricultural May 26-31 21st Century Watershed Technology Engineering: CIGR-AgEng 2012. Valencia, Spain. Conference: Improving Water Quality Contact: Murat Kacira, [email protected]. and the Environment. Bari, Italy. July 29-Aug 1 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Dallas, Texas, USA.

2 July/August 2011 RESOURCE engineering and technology for a sustainable world July/August 2011 July/August 2011 Vol. 18 No. 4 FEATURES Magazine Staff: Donna Hull, Publisher, 4 Giving Back [email protected]; Sue Mitrovich, Managing Editor, [email protected]; Glenn Laing, William Kisaalita Contributing Editor, [email protected]; A University of Georgia professor has organized an undergraduate design team, Melissa Miller, Professional Opportunities exposing them to Third World engineering challenges. and Production Editor, [email protected]; Sandy Rutter, Professional Listings, 7 The Green Scene [email protected]. Laurie Gengenbach “The Greening of Sockwell Hall” at North Carolina A&T spurs a sustainability movement, Editorial Board: Chair Rafael Garcia, and students bring an eco-vision to life. USDA-ARS; Secretary/Vice Chair Brian 4 Steward, Iowa State University; Past Chair 10 Another Day in the Life Suranjan Panigrahi, Purdue University; Katherine Strass Thomas Brumm, Iowa State University; As a Peace Corps engineer/volunteer, author Strass thrived on global adventure Victor Duraj, University of California, Davis; Tony Grift, University of Illinois; Christopher and got hooked on making a difference. Henry, University of Nebraska; William Reck, 12 Identifying Invisible Invaders USDA-NRCS; John Yagow, John Deere Harvester Works; Jeong Yeol Yoon, Jamie DePolo University of Arizona. Food safety for public health protection begins with biosensor detection in this Michigan State University lab with a wise mentor instructing the next generation in biodefense. Resource: Engineering & Technology for a Sustainable World 14 Making a Staple Food Crop Safer (ISSN 1076-3333) (USPS 009-560) is published six times per year— Tina M. Prow January/February, March/April, May/June, A picture is worth a thousand words and gives a glimpse into the lives of Nigerians July/August, September/October, whose lives are being changed by Engineers Without Borders (EWB). 7 November/December—by the American Bridging Borders Society of Agricultural and Biological 15 Engineers (ASABE), 2950 Niles Road, Victoria Currier Fryer St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. Penn State EWB students work with local materials to help a remote village in Sierra Leone. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 16 Quenching a Need Resource, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA. Periodical postage is Greg Tammen paid at St. Joseph, MI, USA, and additional Kansas State EWB members spend their spring break replacing rusty water filters post offices. in Guatemala and promoting water treatment. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Contact ASABE order 17 E-Week Pops! department, 269-932-7004. Dolores Landeck COPYRIGHT 2011 by American Society of Showcasing the profession is hands-on—with salt, butter, and crowd-drawing fun! Agricultural and Biological Engineers. 18 Blackawton Bees Permission to reprint articles available on request. Reprints can be ordered in large Students of Blackawton Primary School, Devon, U.K. quantities for a fee. Contact Donna Hull, Teaching with bzzzzz! Primary school students appear in a peer-reviewed journal. 269-932-7026. Statements in this publica- 15 tion represent individual opinions. 22 Follow the Leaders Olivia Maddox and Joanne P. Willis Resource: Engineering & Technology for a Leadership programs for ag and bio engineering students add more to job Sustainable World and ASABE assume no prospects upon graduation, as Purdue’s template proves. responsibility for statements and opinions expressed by contributors. Views advanced in the editorials are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official UPDATE position of ASABE. 24 From soft drink to future fuel: a creative use for the waste stream of ON THE COVER America’s mainstay refreshment William Kisaalita. Photo courtesy of Flip Courant. 25 Free, online tool developed at ISU helps farmers earn more, waste less Kansas State student builds variable-rate fertilizer applicator Erratum: In Resource May/June 2011, 26 Christopher Hay was mistakenly Manure as fuel identified on page 15 as Christopher Hays. We sincerely regret the error. 27 Biofuels without competing claims in Mozambique 28 Portable technology might provide drinking water, power to villages

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers DEPARTMENTS 2950 Niles Road St. Joseph, MI 49085-9659, USA 2 From the President/Events Calendar 269.429.0300, fax 269.429.3852 [email protected], www.asabe.org 29 Professional Listings 30 Last Word: Picking the Low Fruit Tony Grift THE POWER OF 1 Giving Back Lifting smallholders out of poverty one at a time

William S. Kisaalita

wo-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa’s 863.4 million peo- ple are smallholder farmers, farming about 0.8 ha (2 acres) and cultivating more that 70 percent of the Tarable land. They use mainly family labor, and the smallholder farms provide their principal source of income. I was born and raised in Uganda on a smallholder farm. In those days, pre-college education was heavily subsidized, and college education was provided free by the state. Like many sub-Saharan governments, Uganda raised money to support such education and other projects by borrowing from the West and by buying cash crops (e.g., coffee and cotton) from the smallholder farmers at low controlled prices and selling the raw or semi-processed products at international market rates through state marketing boards. The education of many sub-Saharan professionals, people about my age, was made possible in part by smallholder farmers who, in most cases, are still earning less than $5 a day. After completing my doctoral studies in 1987, I was eager to give back to these smallholder farmers in some way. Unfortunately, Uganda was in such political and economic turmoil (the post-Amin instability) that it was not wise to return. I went into a holding pattern and accepted a variety of post-doctoral positions. Toward the end of my third such posi- tion, nothing had changed, so I accepted an assistant profes- sorship at the University of Georgia (UGA) in 1991. I was hired by UGA to conduct research in the area of cell-based biosensors and to develop and teach courses in UGA’s new biological engineering program. Since then, I have developed biosensor research at UGA into an internationally recognized program. However, I did not give up my interest in serving the smallholders of Africa.

The pathway home In 1997, being one of the few “internationals” in my department, I was asked to prepare an issue paper on interna- tional program development in preparation for a departmen- tal review the following year. I thought about various ways of “internationalizing” engineering students’ learning experi- ences, which led to the idea of internationalizing the design capstone course. The most exciting aspect of this idea, at the time, was that it would provide an opportunity to develop technology for smallholder farmers all over the world, those who are at the bottom of the economic pyramid, while provid- ing undergraduates with a service-learning experience.

4 July/August 2011 RESOURCE with a final concept to pursue. When the students return home, they complete the design. Through federal funding, the program was modified in 2006 to include an eight-week return trip in summer (approximately six students) to follow up on the project and deploy the solution in the field. Ten years later, the program has resulted in two commer- cially viable products, a biogas-powered milk cooler and a solar energy-powered avian hatchery incubator, that are cur- rently in the diffusion or dissemination stages in Burkina Faso and Uganda, respectively. A third product, a hand-oper- ated argan nut cracker for Moroccan women, is close to the first field-testing stage. A couple of other products are in early stages of development. Over $500,000 has been secured from private foundations and federal funding agencies to cover student travel and field work. In addition, my service- learners and I have come up with ten “lessons learned,” which we have found useful in developing and diffusing technolog- ical innovations among smallholders. These ten lessons are: Argan nuts in the nutcracker Kisaalita and his students engineered. 1. The principle components of smallholder resilience (Photo by Flip Chalfant) are family labor, diversification, and indigenous knowledge. Global service-learning 2. It is crucial to deeply understand cultural constraints. In 2001, I modified the standard capstone course by 3. Deeply understand what the customer’s needs and adding a global service-learning section. In this section, mul- wants are. Talk to various segments of the community tidisciplinary design teams (three to five students per team) separately, e.g., male versus female, and leaders ver- work on a solution to a problem encountered overseas. The sus followers. students spend two weeks, including spring break week, over- seas in the field getting firsthand knowledge of the cus- tomers’ needs and wants and presenting solution concepts. The students engage with the customers and stakeholders and learn from them through a participatory approach to come up

Moroccan women crack Argan nuts by hand at the Taitmatine women’s cooperative. The hand-operated nutcracker (top left) will more than triple their production rate. “They were not interested in higher cracking speeds because of fear that if the enterprise becomes too prof- itable, men will come in and displace them. The cooperative also provides other services like reading and health information,” says the author. “I particularly like the picture with the high tech cell phone (lower right) in contrast with the ancient oil extraction stone arrangement—low tech.” (Photos by the author)

RESOURCE July/August 2011 5 Students mixing and moving cow dung to start one of the biogas digesters constructed in the field to power the milk cooler and at the same time provide light and cooking for a family.

4. Individuals make better solution adopters than the whole community, so develop for individual use whenever possible. 5. Find a way to incorporate low cost and high quality. 6. Sell, don’t give. Try payback in kind, and the shorter the payback period, the better. 7. Written instruction must be in local “low literacy” dialect. 8. Go beyond the “give them a fishing rod so they can eat forever” approach. Instead, learn and teach how to make the fishing rod in local materials, so they can both eat and sell forever. 9. Determine in advance what success will look like. 10. Remember, failure is an integral part of success.

William S. Kisaalita is a professor, University of Georgia, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Driftmier Engineering Center, Athens, Ga., USA; [email protected]. The lessons above are the central theme of his forthcoming book, tentatively titled, Smallholder Fortunes: A professor’s poverty- In an urban center in Uganda, Dr. Kisaalita and his students learn alleviation journey in a science/engineering vehicle with his students from a milk vendor who buys milk from smallholder dairy farmers. in the driver’s seat.

“Wonking Class Hero” the Ministry of Works, where he worked as a mechanic for the government to provide a supplemental income University of Georgia professor William Kisaalita for his large family. Kisaalita had never been to the engineers simple, practical solutions—a milk chiller, workshop before. He stood transfixed in front of a a nutcracker, and an egg incubator—for Africa’s massive machine that shook the ground beneath his rural poor. feet. The tall metal structure hissed and banged as a Kisaalita grew up on a 2-acre farm ten miles out- giant hammer listed into the air, then slammed down side Kampala, where he worked alongside six siblings onto red-hot metal below. “I thought, ‘Man, I want to planting and harvesting seasonal crops—corn, cassava, build something like that,’ ” Kisaalita recalls. bananas, peanuts, and more—by hand. From “Wonking Class Hero” by Megan Scudellari, as published When he was nine, Kisaalita became ill. His father in MillerMcCune, November-December 2010, pp. 32-37. For the brought him to the Kampala hospital; he recovered. rest of Ms. Scudellari’s article, log on to Miller-McCune.com/tag/ As they headed home, his father made a quick stop at Wonking-Class-Hero.

6 July/August 2011 RESOURCE PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE The Green Scene Biological engineering students pursue sustainability on campus, turning North Carolina A&T blue-and-gold into green

Laurie Gengenbach

or Carmen Young and Scott Carter, the irony was the agenda of the NCAT student chapter of ASABE. It didn’t inescapable. As biological engineering majors at take the membership long to decide that change starts at North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State home or, in this case, in their home department. Instead of FUniversity (NCAT), water quality and respect for seeing rainwater as a problem, they reasoned, see it as a natural resources are core concepts in the curriculum. NCAT resource. Why not apply what they learned in their biological has an urban setting in Greensboro, N.C., and hydrology engineering and hydrology courses to solve the flooding courses at NCAT are taught in Sockwell Hall, one of the older problem at Sockwell Hall, while using rain the way nature buildings on campus. Unfortunately, Sockwell Hall could intended, to nourish life? In the process, they could create a have served as a textbook case in poor water management. green, people-friendly, low-maintenance oasis on campus. During heavy storms, water from the roof cascaded down During those conversations, Kori Higgs, another member the exterior walls and pooled along the foundation. Rainwater of the ASABE student chapter, introduced the idea of “per- seeped under the front door maculture”—a systems and into the women’s rest- approach to human settle- room. A storm drain captured ment that combines science the rest, but only after it with nature to fashion eco- flowed across bare patches in logically sound, self-suffi- the lawn, picking up sedi- cient environments. Rain ment, lawn chemicals, and gardens—shallow, man- runoff from the surrounding made depressions designed pavement. to catch rainwater diverted “We thought it was a lit- from rooftops—are often tle strange. Here we are in the incorporated into permacul- biological engineering pro- ture designs. gram, which is in a building And that’s what the stu- that has all kinds of issues dents decided to create: a with runoff and flooding,” rain garden planted with Young said. So that fall, when native trees, shrubs, and Young and Carter heard about flowers that would attract a student competition in sus- wildlife, beautify the cam- tainable design sponsored by pus, and demonstrate the per- the U.S. Environmental Biological engineering student Scott Carter answers a reporter’s maculture concept. They also questions during a work day for the permaculture rain garden proj- Protection Agency (EPA), ect. (Photos by James Parker, courtesy of Re:search magazine, North wanted to apply their biolog- they recognized an opportuni- Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University) ical engineering skills, so ty to correct a glaring discon- they decided to add more nect between theory and practice. sophisticated features that would remedy water pollution. The Sustainability is an approach to land use policies that students called their plan “the Greening of Sockwell Hall” and measures success more broadly than in the corporate world, submitted it to the 3P competition. The EPA named the plan seeing it in terms of quality of life for people and protection one of the 3P Student Design Competition winners for 2009- of the planet in addition to economic prosperity. In fact, the 2010 and awarded the group $10,000 to implement the plan. EPA’s 3P competition stipulated that the student projects had That’s when the hard work began. to convincingly address “people, planet, and prosperity.” First, they had to find support from faculty, write up a “That started us talking about what we’d like to see 30-page research proposal, sell it to the EPA, and then sell it changed on campus,” Carter said. He put the competition on to the university facilities management office. Along the way,

RESOURCE July/August 2011 7 they had to make calculations, check their math, confer with higher taxes because of the cost of water treatment. Although consultants, and complete landscape architectural drawings. local governments know that preventing water pollution costs To fulfill requirements for academic credit, they had to devel- far less than treating it, upgrading municipal infrastructures is op a research project, so they sketched out a plan to gather expensive and slow, which is why rain gardens are usually data for a before-and-after picture of the biodiversity, water undertaken by homeowners or small groups. and soil quality, and money saved on labor, gas, and oil for “Planners have always viewed rainwater as a problem, as mowing and lawn chemicals. Soil sampling would be part of something to be rapidly disposed of,” said ASABE member the program through- Manuel Reyes, the fac- out. ulty mentor for the project team. “Now Respecting they are beginning to practical see it as a resource, permaculture especially as clean Permaculture relies water is becoming on local resources to scarcer all over the build self-sufficient world.” Permaculture communities and satis- is one way to respect fy basic needs for food, that resource. It water, and shelter. regards landscapes Instead of importing both aesthetically and food, chemicals, fertil- practically, as a place izers, petroleum, or to harbor plants and exotic plants, permacul- wildlife, and as a ture builds a food-rich means to filter and landscape by capturing pretreat runoff. rainwater with depres- sions, swales, and Students Annette Sparks (left) and Carmen Young wield shovels during a work day Theory into to prepare the site for a rain garden. berms and by relying on practice native plants. Fertilizers Although rain and pesticides are gardens don’t have to avoided, and wildlife be complicated, this and insects are allowed project was designed to to flourish. Because the demonstrate biological practice promotes eco- engineering in the serv- logical balance, wildlife ice of conservation and and insects usually therefore brought many don’t overpopulate and of the team’s classroom become pests, as they skills into play. In par- do in monocultural ticular, much of the pol- landscaping. Naturally, lution remediation A soil sample is prepared. an urban university like Samples are labeled and lined up. takes place below NCAT can’t transform ground and out of sight. into a permaculture haven overnight, but the students thought the First, they dug four feet down and installed a drainage campus could benefit from pieces of the idea, starting with a rain system. On top of that was a layer of gravel, then sand, and garden. then 80 tons of commercial aggregates designed to trap pol- The way rainwater is dealt with by virtually all cities lutants long enough to allow soil microorganisms break them nowadays is yet another textbook case—in how to produce down into harmless compounds. On the surface was a special toxic soup. Rain from rooftops usually flows across lawns, mulch designed to trap heavy metals. Planting took place picking up sediment and lawn chemicals, then onto pave- later in the spring. ment, where it collects petroleum, heavy metals, and anything Other parts of the student community found ways to con- else that’s landed in the street, and then straight into storm nect to the project. Members of a sorority volunteered their drains, which feed directly into rivers or lakes, where the con- time and energy for a day. NCAT alum Karri Cecil Blackmon, taminated stormwater contributes to water pollution and to a 1998 biological engineering graduate and president of

8 July/August 2011 RESOURCE Habitat Assessment and Restoration Program, Inc., in Charlotte, N.C., con- tributed conservation plants, as did two local nurseries. Matthew Todd, a junior, corresponded with a company that is developing lightweight photovoltaic lam- inates for generating solar power on rooftops. The company agreed to become a project partner and provided solar pan- els capable of generating 1 kW and pow- ering part of the building. Before the project, not much diversi- ty of life, plant or animal, could be seen at the site. Underfoot lay an artificially weedless, green turf. Hugging a brick wall, a few block-shaped shrubs showed evidence of mechanical clipping. Work on the rain garden continues. The team traveled to Washington, D.C., to compete Anyone who could count to three could with more than 40 other EPA 3P university teams. The Greening of Sockwell Hall was number the species at the site, and that named one of 14 winners and received $75,000 from the EPA. The team will use part of the included the humans. Maintaining that award to assist General Greene Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina, and EARTH University in Costa Rica in developing sustainability projects. The award will also artificial appearance masks the dirty help them expand the Sockwell Hall project. “We want to make Sockwell Hall into a learn- secret that consumers never hear about in ing lab so others can visit and get ideas on how to reduce the carbon footprint of their weed ‘n’ feed ads: the water pollution and homes and businesses,” said BE student Scott Carter. toxins that a so-called “healthy” lawn produces. Sockwell Hall’s new landscape would be different, and to the Sockwell Hall project, including an 11,000 L (3,000 once established, it would save money. The NCAT adminis- gal) cistern and funding to install solar panels. Dr. Godfrey trators’ main interest was in supporting the project for its edu- Uzochukwu, director of NCAT’s Waste Management cational value, but the timing was good for another reason. Institute, remarked that “NCAT has embraced sustainability The project coincided with the new environmental goals set as the way forward.” out by the board of governors of the University of North The rain garden fits into a bigger picture, said Reyes. Carolina (UNC), including a policy to reduce water and Greensboro, N.C., is upstream of Jordan Lake, which has been energy use on all university campuses and to establish sus- designated a “sick” lake by the EPA but is also the main water tainability as a core value. In addition, UNC Tomorrow, a supply for the city of Raleigh. Greensboro has a responsibility blue ribbon commission that is charting a new course for the toward its downstream neighbor, and if rain gardens become as state’s university system, has made addressing the state’s commonplace as lawns, they could become part of the solution. environmental challenges a priority. “The modern lawn is a drug-addicted carpet because it takes a “ ‘The Greening of Sockwell Hall’ leads right into how lot of chemicals to make it happen,” Reyes said. to use technology to improve the ambience of the campus and As the Earth Day gathering dispersed, the Sockwell Hall to conserve what God gave us naturally,” said Andrew team got out the shovels, turned on a hose, and set to work Perkins, NCAT vice-chancellor of facilities management. once again, planting wax myrtle, inkberry, black-eyed susans, butterfly weed, chokeberry, and other native plants. In the dis- Earth Day event tance, against the urban hum of Greensboro, a bird chirped On April 22, 2010, the project team observed Earth Day out its song. by planting the rain garden at Sockwell Hall. Biological engi- neering faculty, staff, and students turned the planting into an Laurie Gengenbach is staff writer for Re:search, the magazine of the event, inviting campus officials and organizations to gather at Agricultural Research Program at North Carolina Agricultural and the site, take turns with shovels and at the microphone, and Technical State University (NCAT), Hillsboro, USA; [email protected]. speak about the new sustainability movement at NCAT. C. Davis Powell, the student representative on NCAT’s Those involved in the project wish to thank Greg Jennings, William Hunt, and Mitch Woodward of the North Carolina A&T Department Recycling Initiative Committee, explained the newly expand- of Biological Engineering for the guidance, partnership, and support ed commitment to recycling on campus. Representatives that they provided in this effort. from the campus physical plant described their contributions

RESOURCE July/August 2011 9 PASSION AND PERSPECTIVE Another Day in the Life “It was a delicate line ... instilling hope and maintaining honesty and integrity.”

Katherine Strass

irst, you must imagine Following eleven weeks of pre- the heat: an oppressive, service training, I was assigned as a tropical heat. It is just water and sanitation engineer to the Fpast dawn, and you can town of Santa Bárbara. Armed with already feel the hot air slithering a rudimentary understanding of in. Two men dressed in button- Spanish and a background in water down plaid shirts and wide-brim resource engineering, I was expect- hats enter a shaded courtyard ed to work with local communities through a side gate. Dust kicks up in designing, evaluating, construct- from the unpaved roads outside ing, expanding, maintaining, and and sticks to their sweaty skin. managing water and wastewater One of them has a machete hang- systems. Over the next two years, I ing from his belt. The other is did just that, sometimes collaborat- armed with a legal pad and pencil. ing with local government offices They head to the upstairs apart- and non-government organizations ment, looking for la ingeniera, the (NGOs), other times working engineer. directly with local communities like “That’s me,” I reply. Gracias a Dios. The men are from Gracias a My first project began just Dios, a neighborhood located on weeks after arriving in Santa the edge of town. While this Bárbara. I was solicited by a fund- neighborhood is officially a part ing agency to analyze a proposal to of the city, its potable water sys- “ ... following the route of existing water pipes in hopes augment an existing water system tem runs independently from the of determining the problem.” for the village of Santa Clara. Santa main system, which is operated Clara is a community of 120 fami- out of the major’s office. Gracias a Dios was having technical lies, which at that time received its water from a compromised problems with the water system, and my visitors asked me to spring, forcing the residents to seek an alternative source. take a look at it and make recommendations for a solution. During the next few days, I met a half-dozen men from Gracias a Dios. We rode up the mountain in a borrowed pick- up truck and then trekked back down through corn fields, coffee plantations, and jungle, following the route of the water pipes in hopes of determining the problem. For me, this was just another day in my life as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Looking over my shoulder Currently a student member of ASABE, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 2007 to 2009. My work there focused on water and sanitation in both urban and rural areas. In short, I offered free technical assistance in a place where local people are often responsible for maintaining their own water sys- tems. For communities without water, having a finished design and cost estimate in hand greatly increases their chances of acquiring the funds necessary for a new water system. Strass’s typical work group.

10 July/August 2011 RESOURCE Santa Clara system inauguration ceremony. Strass, volunteering at a local elementary school, with her Honduran charges.

Armed with an altimeter, a five-gallon bucket, and a More success than failure Spanish/English dictionary, I met with the community lead- I have more memories of success than of failure. Of ers and visited the proposed replacement spring, only to find course, success can be defined widely. Volunteers work alone, that it was even more unacceptable than the original water without bearing ultimate responsibility for the outcome of source. The community knew of another, cleaner, more iso- their efforts, so they must depend on their own ethical code. lated spring but had been told that it was not possible to con- While the outcome of many of my projects was successful, vey water from that source to the town given its location on others were not. On more than one occasion, I had to sit down the other side of the mountain. I took a closer look. With with a community, after months of working together, and tell some ingenuity, gumption, and a little luck, one year later, them it was not possible for water to reach their homes. Santa Clara celebrated the opening of its new water system, Conversely, I can also boast of two completed, functioning sourced by that clean mountain spring. water systems that other engineers had said could not be built. There is often an absence of liability in development Continuing to make a difference work, especially with the involvement of volunteers. I took on The Peace Corps advertises that it offers the experience to difficult projects where the outcome was not assured. When make a difference. In Honduras, making a difference often previous engineers had said that a project was not possible, I meant befriending a neighborhood teen or starting a youth would only say that it might not be possible. Recognizing the group. Some of my fondest memories involve the students at a risk, I asked the community to make the ultimate decision: rural elementary school where I volunteered. For example, one were they willing to dedicate weeks, sometimes months, of day I was working with 5th and 6th graders, painting a world work with me to distinguish the impossible from the possi- map in their classroom. Toward the end of the project, I asked ble? This approach required a fine balance: instilling hope the group to tell me the name of a new country that they had while maintaining honesty and integrity. learned. One boy answered, “Pakistan,” pointing out the still- wet sub-continent he had just finished painting. When we start- ASABE member Katherine Strass, [email protected]., ed, most of the students hadn’t been able to find Honduras on received a B.S. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Penn the map. Now they could study the world. Compared to the fes- State in 2003. Upon return from Honduras to the United States, Strass rejoined Engineers Without Borders Chesapeake tivities surrounding the inauguration of a new water system, Professional Chapter and is now in a group working with an small victories like these hold more power for their subtlety. Argentinian village’s community leaders to improve the local school By the end of my service, I had completed work on over building and water system. 20 water and sanitation projects affecting 1,825 families and In addition to her work with the Peace Corps, Strass has experi- a hospital supporting 290 patients a week. In addition, I ence consulting with WR&A, an engineering firm in Baltimore, Md., and worked as a deck hand on the tall ships Lady Maryland and helped many local water board associations demarcate and Spirit of Massachusetts. She is currently pursuing an M.S. at the protect their watersheds and trained them on the proper oper- University of Maryland, focusing on the use of small-scale anaerobic ation and maintenance of their systems, and I trained over digesters on dairy farms, and she has recently taken the PE exam. 20 Peace Corps volunteers.

RESOURCE July/August 2011 11 BUILDING THE FUTURE IN BIODEFENSE Identifying Invisible Invaders Creating new sensors and keeping food safe at the molecular level

Jamie DePolo

survey done by Michigan State University (MSU) 9/11 terrorist attacks deeply underscored the need for biode- scientists in 2006 found that 54 percent of fense for the nation’s food supply chain. From farm to table, Americans said they thought about food safety there are numerous vulnerabilities where food and water can Awhen grocery shopping, and 46 percent said they be contaminated with bacteria and other pathogens. The aim considered it when eating out at a restaurant. of the MSU lab is public protection. Since 2007, consumer confidence in the safety of the country’s food supply has been steady, with about 47 percent Sensing pathogens of Americans expressing confidence in the safety of their Alocilja’s work focuses on nanostructured biosensors, food, according to a study by the International Food sensors that use biological receptors—antibodies, enzymes, Information Council conducted this year. People who did not and nucleic acids—to detect the presence of specific think the food supply was safe dropped from 24 percent in pathogens. By immobilizing the bioreceptors on thin wafers 2009 to 18 percent in 2010; people who had no opinion rose of metal or membrane and attaching the sensor to a comput- from 26 percent to 35 percent during the same time period. er, scientists can observe in real time when the receptors bind Food security drives much of the research done in the lab to the target pathogen and send an electrical signal to the of ASABE member Evangelyn “Vangie” Alocilja, Michigan computer that alerts them that the pathogen is present. State University biosystems engineering scientist. The

Sylvia Vetrone (left) and Jessica Ochoa (center) work with Alocilja on sensor development. Vetrone is a Whittier College faculty member and Ochoa is a student at the California school. Working in Alocilja’s lab for ten weeks doing biosensor research, their visit was funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security—Minority Serving Institution Program. Alocilja’s son, John Daniel, on the far right, also worked as a summer research intern.

12 July/August 2011 RESOURCE Biosensors Developed in Alocilja’s Lab 1. Electronic nose 2. Membrane strip biosensor for detecting bacteria and viruses 3. MEMS-based interdigitated silicon immunosensor for detecting E. coli O157:H7 4. Nanoporous silicon immunosensor for detecting Salmonella and E. coli 5. Nanoporous silicon-DNA biosensor for detecting adenoviruses 6. Molecularly imprinted polymer-based biosensor for detecting theophylline 7. Polypyrrole DNA biosensor for detecting E. coli 8. Biologically modified electrically active magnetic nanoparticles (nano-BEAM) for rapid extraction and concentration of target analyte 9. Nano-BEAM-glycan biosensor for detecting emerging pandemic influenza viral strains 10. Electrospun nanofiber-based immunosensor for Most of the sensors developed in Alocilja’s lab look like computer detecting bacteria and viruses chips and can be used to test food, water, and clinical samples. 11. Biobarcode DNA biosensor for detecting the pagA gene of B. anthracis (the bacterium that Alocilja works at the nano level—one nanometer is one- causes anthrax) and the Iel gene of Salmonella 12. Nano-BEAM-DNA biosensor for extracting and billionth of a meter—using extremely tiny nanoparticles, detecting the pagA gene of B. anthracis nanotubes, nanomagnets, and nanopores to build her sensors. 13. Biobarcode copolymerization biosensor for Moving to the nanoscale level is like going from a ten-lane detecting B. anthracis highway to a one-lane road. 14. Nanoparticle (magnetic-gold) DNA biosensor for detecting tuberculosis 15. Nanoparticle (magnetic-polyaniline) immunosen- Fighting invisible invaders sor for detecting B. anthracis and E. coli O157:H7 Alocilja and her team have developed and applied for 16. Magnetic resonance-based biosensor for patents on 20 biosensors (see box), including mechanisms to detecting bacteria 17. Bioluminescent sensors for detecting various detect E. coli, Salmonella, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and contaminants Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, as well 18. G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) based as sensors that can detect various viruses, including the biosensor for detecting chemical toxicants influenza virus. Most of her biosensors are aimed at detecting 19. RFID-based biosensor for product protection 20. Magnetic nanoparticles for rapid target pathogens classified as category A or B (the two highest lev- extraction els) bioterrorism agents by the Centers for Disease Control. Detection mechanisms need to be rapid, accurate, and sensitive at very low levels. Detection and identification of While most of the sensors detect a single type of pathogen, pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella still rely some can detect multiple pathogens or strains of pathogens. heavily on conventional culturing techniques in which Her influenza biosensor, for example, is aimed at not just researchers collect samples that are considered to be contam- detecting the flu virus but also at determining whether the inated and grow cultures in the lab to see if the pathogen is strain is pandemic. there. This process can take up to seven days to get results, Biosensors are still novel for health, food, water, and which can be a long time in many cases. agricultural biodefense issues. In the 1980s and 1990s, much Tuberculosis detection takes even longer. Culturing the of the biosensor work was done for medical applications. The tuberculosis bacterium takes at least four weeks. However, first sensor developed was for glucose testing. Since then, the the sensors that Alocilja and her team have developed can research has progressed rapidly. Sophisticated, user-friendly provide results in less than two hours, so people can start tests have been developed, and there is a lot of potential for treatment much faster. biosensors. Alocilja’s philosophy is to “bring diagnosis to the field— Biosensor detection is a niche area, Alocilja says, “but or to the people.” In developing countries, where people may it’s exciting to know that this work can save lives. I’m very have to travel several hours to get to a medical clinic, being happy and motivated to come to work each day. I have a big able to obtain results without a second trip to the clinic means smile on my face.” that many more people will get treatment, which can be the difference between life and death. Jamie DePolo is a staff writer for Michigan State University Most of Alocilja’s biosensors look like computer chips AgBioResearch (previously the Michigan Agricultural Experiment and can be used to test food, water, and clinical samples. Station), East Lansing, Mich., USA; [email protected].

RESOURCE July/August 2011 13 CONFRONTING GLOBAL ISSUES

Making a Staple Food Crop Safer

Tina M. Prow

he linkage of food, water, and energy has been demand, high cyanide wastewater. The treated water could then made very clear to University of Illinois Engineers be reused within a centralized starch factory or in local villages Without Borders (EWB) students working on an for crop irrigation. An ancillary benefit of the anaerobic pro- T Environmental Protection Agency-funded project cessing is energy production in the form of methane biogas, to bring running water to Adu Achi, Nigeria. Over several creating an incentive for treatment of the waste. trips to the Nigerian village, the students also studied the role This bioenvironmental engineering project is conducted of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), a staple food crop for with faculty advisor Lance Schideman, agricultural and bio- more than 500 million people in tropical countries around the logical engineering professor, and supported by the Center of globe. Processing of this fibrous tuber for direct consumption Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with or starch products requires large volumes of water and yields Systems (WaterCAMPWS), a National Science Foundation a wastewater effluent high in organics and cyanide. Currently, Science and Technology Center. the polluted wastewater is often released into the environment without treatment, causing pollution of water bodies and pos- Tina M. Prow is the editor of Engineering at Illinois and director of ing risks to both human health and aquatic habitats. the office of Engineering Communications, College of Engineering As a result of this experience, graduate and undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. student researchers are developing a hybrid adsorption anaero- Reprinted with permission from Engineering at Illinois magazine. bic membrane bioreactor to treat the high chemical oxygen (Photo courtesy of the Engineers Without Borders Illinois student chapter)

14 July/August 2011 RESOURCE LENDING A HAND TO THE WORLD Bridging Borders In Sierra Leone, Penn Staters improve one village’s sanitary conditions

Victoria Currier Fryer

here is no way to prepare for culture shock,” says local building materials to be sustainable, so these samples Michael Cymerman, a member of Engineers will give us a good idea of what we will be working with and Without Borders (EWB) at Penn State, after return- allow us to plan our designs accordingly,” Cymerman says. Ting from the group’s trip to In addition to measuring and sam- Baoma, Sierra Leone. Located on the pling, the group performed health assess- western coast of Africa, Sierra Leone is ments to better understand the conditions ranked by the United Nations as one of in which the residents of Baoma live. the least developed nations in the world. “Each family answered questions Baoma is a remote village about ten miles honestly about where they go to the bath- from the coastal city of Freetown, the room; how often their kids get sick; what, country’s capital. if any, treatment is available; and how “We expected Baoma to be in often children die from disease,” says poverty,” says Meghan Fisher, EWB-Penn Cymerman. State’s current president, “but we did not The health data indicated that con- expect the entire country to look as run- taminated water and poor hygiene are the down as it did.” likely causes of much of the illness Sandy Risha, a recent Penn State among Baoma residents, especially graduate and the group’s former presi- among the children. dent, adds, “They had no running water, “The community needs a clean water no paved roadways, and virtually no safe system, a medical center, and a school,” health facilities.” Matt O’Boyle, this year’s project coordina- says Fisher. “It is clear to us that while a toi- Baoma’s application to the EWB tor in EWB, meets some of the children in let is not their most critical need, it is very program indicated a need for a proper the Baoma school where the latrine will be important that we do a small project first.” restroom facility in their Covenant installed. Over the 2010-2011 academic year, Preparatory School. EWB-Penn State members have been “Currently, the kids do their business in the bushes,” says planning their return trip and seeking more ways to help the John Lamancusa, EWB-Penn State’s faculty adviser. community of Baoma. The group will be returning to Sierra But before building anything, EWB-Penn State members Leone in December with plans in hand to implement a latrine had to visit Baoma to assess the needs and priorities and to for the school. While in Baoma, they will also perform a collect important data: physical measurements, soil and water water project assessment for a future project. Matt O’Boyle, samples, and samples of local building materials. the project coordinator, will be in charge of getting a team Richard Kercher, an engineering consultant at Gannett together to design the latrine facility. Fleming, Inc., and EWB-Penn State’s professional mentor, “We have lots of other ideas to give them immediate went along on the trip to advise on data collection. aid—simple things such as raising money for tarps and col- “We captured water quality data to investigate the feasi- lecting used shoes could go a long way. Things that we throw bility of a drinking water project in the future,” says Kercher, out or consider waste have tremendous value over there,” says a former Peace Corps member. O’Boyle. “Matt O’Boyle and Chris Michalak were relentless in He calls his experience in Baoma “life-changing.” their survey and sampling of the water sources,” he continues. “How can we communicate this to people who haven’t “They were drenched after they crawled through the jungle to see it?” he asks. “I’m still trying to process it all myself.” sample the farthest water source.” Samples of the local sand, concrete, rebar, and stone came Victoria Currier Fryer is a public relations specialist, Penn State back with the group as well. “The projects we do must use University; [email protected].

RESOURCE July/August 2011 15 ENGINEERING OUTSIDE THE BORDERS Quenching a Need KSU students use spring break to give Guatemalans clean drinking water

Greg Tammen

or most North Americans, a glass of water quench- villagers for worms and distributing medication to prevent es thirst. But for some, a few sips can have far less outbreaks in those without the parasite. desirable results. That’s why a Kansas State Each day the group took a 40-minute boat ride to and FUniversity (KSU) student engineering group spent from the villages, where living conditions varied, Turpin said. spring break in Guatemala, reducing contaminants in drink- The nicer homes had corrugated metal roofs that nevertheless ing water. were poor protection. Many homes had cinder block walls, “Water treat- while others were built from compacted mud. Dirt was the ment in Guatemala is flooring in every house. crucial because the “That week I learned more than I have in the past year,” country’s water is Turpin said. “I was seeing soil erosion and how the cost of some of the most energy impacted an impoverished country and its people. It contaminated in the made me think more about what I can do as an engineer.” world,” said ASABE student member Using a passport to learn and give DeeAnn Turpin, a Turpin began traveling her freshman year. She saw it as junior in biological an opportunity to help people and strengthen her engineering systems engineering skills. Past trips have taken her to New Orleans, La., and to from Leavenworth, India. Kan., and project “In India we were presented with a problem—contaminat- manager of the KSU ed drinking water. There was no book with the answers in the chapter of Engineers back,” she said. “We had to communicate with people within a Without Borders. different culture and “Guatemalans DeeAnn Turpin offering elementary work with very limited school children a taste of clean water take water from and the future. resources to design an streams and drink electricity-free system and cook with it, but they also use it to bathe and then dump that’s completely sustain- it back into the stream. Anyone downstream who drinks that able and uses the local infected water can become sick—even die,” Turpin said. resources. It was great! That’s something Turpin set out to change. We were close to the Last March, Turpin and five members of the KSU chap- Himalayas, so we could ter of Engineers Without Borders went door-to-door in take advantage of the Panajachel, Guatemala, replacing old, rusted water filters in slopes and inclines when homes, and distributing more than 200 new filters. The fil- designing a rainwater Turpin in India. ters—which came from a Rotary International grant—stand harvesting system.” about 0.5 m (1.5 ft) tall. This portable size allows residents in Turpin said these trips are as much about helping those the largely agricultural villages of San Pedro la Laguna, San in need as they are preparation for a career. Next year she Pablo la Laguna, San Juan la Laguna, and San Antonio plans to visit Ecuador. But for now, her efforts are in KSU’s Palopo to carry the filters into the fields. The villagers get bioenergy lab, researching the properties of different algae their water from Lake Atitlan and the surrounding waterfalls. species for algae-derived biodiesel.

But the efforts didn’t stop there Greg Tammen is a science and research writer for the Kansas State Medical students from the University of Minnesota University Division of Communications and Marketing; gtammen@k- joined the KSU group and medical professionals in treating state.edu.

16 July/August 2011 RESOURCE PROFESSION PROMOTION/COMMOTION E-Week Pops!

Dolores Landeck

© Canoneer/Fotolia.com

ngineers Week, or E-Week, is the premier interna- Advancement of Science. The hands-on exhibit borrowed tional event for attracting and cultivating the next from the Pop(corn) Science exhibit and illustrated the role of generation of engineering talent and celebrating engineers in postharvest grain handling. It gave little hands Ethe engineering profession. This year marks the the chance to be a “miller for a minute” with a hand-cranked 60th anniversary of E-Week. As in previous years, the event grinder and grains ranging from durum wheat to purple corn. offered ASABE a perfect opportunity to promote the role of Back in the Midwest, ASABE’s Chicago Section showed engineering in agricultural, food, and biological systems. how agricultural engineering has changed the world over Throughout the year, programs related to E-Week the past 200 years with a tribute to Cyrus lead up to the main events, which took place this McCormick. Visitors had the opportunity to talk to year on February 16th to 20th in Washington, a present-day engineer who helped develop the D.C. Among the events was the national modern rotary combine. finals of the Future City Competition. E-Week offers a variety of events This contest engages more than that extend the program beyond the 30,000 middle school students headline week in February. For across the U.S. in a challenge to example, in the Global design a city of the future. Marathon for Women, held More than three dozen in March, leaders and stu- regional winners dents around the world competed for the connect electroni- national champi- cally over a onship and for 24-hour period numerous sponsored in conversations awards. ASABE provid- aimed at inspiring ed a special award for the young women to consider “Most Sustainable Food opportunities in engineering Production System.” ASABE careers. A new E-Week program, judges Wayne Bogovich, Don “New Faces of Engineering— Erbach, and Darrin Drollinger inter- College Edition,” has been developed viewed the teams and selected Homedale by the American Society of Heating, Middle School, the Idaho Regional winner, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning for the ASABE award. Engineers, which helped launch the original New Earlier, a record crowd of more than 12,000 Faces program. The College Edition has a Facebook enjoyed Discover Engineering Family Day at the page (www.facebook.com/collegeedition). Nominations National Building Museum. “Pop(corn) Science,” hosted will be accepted beginning August 2011. Watch for the for ASABE by member Gary Seibel and student volunteers ASABE member newsletter, “Inside ASABE,” later this sum- from the University of Maryland, was among the most popu- mer for more information. lar exhibits. In addition, ASABE member Laura Christianson, from Iowa State University, was included in the February 16th Dolores Landeck is ASABE director of public affairs; issue of USA Today in a full-page salute to “New Faces of [email protected].

Engineering.” Laura and ASABE’s other four other nominees, ASABE’s “Pop(corn) Science,” visible in the middle of the above photo, Shelley Crawford, Brock Faulkner, Daniel Mullenix, and is becoming a perennial favorite among the visitors to Discover Naomi Uhlenhake, are profiled online at www.eweek.org. Engineering Family Day. Held at the National Building Museum, in ASABE also hosted a family-friendly exhibit at the Washington, D.C., the one-day event this year attracted a record crowd, all of whom were eager to learn about—and sample—popcorn. annual meeting of the American Association for the

RESOURCE July/August 2011 17 DOING REAL SCIENCE AT AN EARLY AGE

© Colette6/Dreamstime.com Blackawton Bees Students of Blackawton Primary School, Blackawton, Devon, U.K.

S. Airzee, A. Allen, S. Baker, A. Berrow, C. Blair, M. Churchill, J. Coles, R. Cumming, L. Fraquelli, C. Hackford, A. Hinton Mellor, M. Hutchcroft, B. Ireland, D. Jewsbury, A. Littlejohns, G. M. Littlejohns, M. Lotto, J. McKeown, A. O’Toole, H. Richards, L. Robbins-Davey, S. Roblyn, H. Rodwell-Lyn, D. Schenck, J. Springer, A. Wishy, T. Rodwell-Lynn, D. Strudwick, and R. B. Lotto

Doing real science stimulates tremendous interest in eight to ten year olds; and (2) the true motivation for children. They want to understand the processes by any scientific study (at least one of integrity) is one’s own which we make sense of the world. The study presented curiosity, which for the children was not inspired by the here was designed and performed by 25 eight- to ten- scientific literature but by their own observations of the year-old children. They asked the questions, hypothesized world. This lack of historical, scientific context does not the answers, designed the experiments to test the diminish the resulting data, the scientific methodology, hypotheses, and analyzed the data. They also drew the nor the merit of the discovery. On the contrary, it reveals figures (in colored pencil) and wrote the paper, which science in its truest form. was subsequently published in a peer-reviewed journal. This made them the youngest scientists to ever be pub- R. Beau Lotto lished in the Royal Society Biology Letters. R. Beau Lotto is founder and head of Lottolab, a hybrid science lab What follows is a novel study (scientifically and con- that funded the study: Lottolab Studio, Institute of Ophthalmology, ceptually) without references to past literature, which is University College London, London, U.K.; phone: 0207-608-4052; a challenge. While the historical context of any study is e-mail: [email protected]. important, including references in this instance would have been disingenuous for two reasons: (1) given the The following text has been reprinted with permission of the Royal way scientific data are naturally reported, the relevant Society from Biology Letters 7(2): 168-172; published on-line information is simply inaccessible to the literate ability of 22 December 2010, doi: 10.1098/rsbi.2010.1056.

18 July/August 2011 RESOURCE eople think that humans are the smartest of ani- a Plexiglas rod sticking out in the center. During the tests, we mals, so most people don’t think about other ani- put sugar water, or salt water, in the hollow ends of these mals as being smart. Knowing that others animals rods. Behind each circle are slits so that colored gel filters Pare smart means we could appreciate them more, can be slid in, changing the color of the light that shines which could also help us to help them. Scientists do experi- through each hole. ments on monkeys because they are close to people. But bees The bees have black and yellow stripes with white bums. could be close to people, too. We see bees in their natural The type of bee was Bombus terrestris. We had the beehive habitat, doing what they do, and that makes us wonder if they delivered from Koppert U.K., Ltd. could solve a puzzle. If they could solve it, that would mean that they are smart, smarter than we thought before, which Training phase 1 would mean that humans might have some link with bees. If To teach the bees to go to the Plexiglas rods as flowers, all bees are like us in some way, then understanding them could the circles were white and all the rods had sugar water. Once help us understand ourselves better. the bees learned that the rods held a reward, which took four To get ready to do experiments with bees, we first talked days, we marked the bees and then set up the puzzle for them. about science being about playing games and solving puz- We let the bees into the arena and then turned off the zles. We got into groups and made up games for ourselves. lights, which makes the bees stop flying because they don’t This gave us the experience in thinking about games and puz- want to run into anything. Then we picked the bees up with zles. We had to explain our games to other people. After talk- bee-tweezers and put them in a pot with a lid. Then we put the ing about what it’s like to create games and how games have pot in the school’s refrigerator to make the bees fall asleep. rules, we talked about seeing the world in different ways. After they fell asleep, we took the bees out one at a time and Then we had to solve a puzzle that Beau (a neuroscientist) painted little dots on them: orange, yellow, blue-yellow, blue- and Mr. Strudwick (our head teacher) gave us. This puzzle orange, and blue. We put them back in the pot and then let them took an artificial brain 10,000 trials to solve, but it took us warm up again. No bees were harmed during this procedure. only four trials. Then we started asking questions about bees, specifically about how bees see color. Training phase 2 (the puzzle) We came up with lots of questions, but the one we decid- We set up the following puzzle for the bees. Two of the ed upon was whether bees could learn to use the spatial rela- 16-circle panels had a large square of 12 yellow circles on the tionships between colors to figure out which flowers had outside and a small square of four blue circles in the middle. sugar water in them and which had salt water. It’s interesting The colors on the other two panels were opposite: blue was to ask this question because in the bee’s natural habitat there on the outside and yellow was in the middle. The sugar might be flowers that are bad for them, or flowers that they reward was in the middle four flowers in each panel. Every 10 have already visited. It would be important for bees to learn to 40 minutes, we swapped the locations of the panels in the and remember which flowers to visit or to avoid, based on different quadrants so that the bees couldn’t learn the loca- their location, and that’s like a puzzle. tions of the rewarding flowers. We also cleaned the Plexiglas To answer our question, we gave the bees a series of chal- stems so that the bees couldn’t use scent to tell which flowers lenges, and then we tested them to see how they solved the had the reward. Instead, they had to learn: if blue was the puzzle. It was a difficult puzzle because the bees couldn’t just outer ring, then go to the inner yellow circles; however, if yel- learn to go a certain color. Instead, they had to go to one color low was the outer ring, then go to the inner blue circles. (blue) if it was surrounded by the opposite color (yellow), or During the first two days of training, we put sugar water go to yellow if it was surrounded by blue. We also wanted to in the four middle flowers in each panel and nothing in the know if each bee solved the puzzle in the same way. If they outer square. During the second two days, we added saltwa- didn’t, it would mean that bees have different personalities. ter to the flowers in the outer square. We did this so that the bees would learn the pattern, not just the colors. After train- Methods ing, we tested the bees to see if they solved the puzzle. The tests were conducted in the “bee arena,” a Plexiglas box that is 1 m (39 in.) high, 1 m wide, and 1 m deep. There Results a vertical light-box on one side and a small hole for bees to After training the bees in the arena, we tested them three enter on the opposite side. The light-box is made of alu- times to see if they learned anything during training. We test- minum with six fluorescent lights. There is a cross-shaped ed the bees using the same pattern of colors, but without aluminum frame in front of the light-box with grooves in its sugar water or salt water to see which flowers they would go edges so that we can slide panels into the quadrants of the to. We also moved the panels around so the arrangement was cross. Each panel has sixteen 8 cm circular holes in four rows different from when they were trained. We let the bees into of four holes each. The holes are covered with Plexiglas, with the arena one a time so they couldn’t copy each other, and we

RESOURCE July/August 2011 19 © Vinicius Tupinamba/Fotolia.com tracked their choices on a diagram with 64 color, since that is where the flowers would circles divided into four quadrants. have had the reward. This test shows that Whenever a bee landed on a flower and the bees solved the puzzle very well, as stuck her tongue into the rod, we marked their choices collectively were divided the corresponding circle on the diagram. between the blue and yellow rewarding We let each bee make about 30 choices flowers. We then presented the bees with before we stopped the test. two more tests.

Test 1 (the control) Test 2 (the first experiment) In the first test, the bees saw the same Test 2 was similar to Test 1 except that patterns that we trained them on, but we the inner square in each quadrant was moved the panels around so that they were green. We did this to see if the bees had in different places. We did this so that the learned to go to the color or to the location bees could not just go to the same places of the rewarding flowers. If the bees had to get a reward. See figure 1A for a draw- learned to go to the location of the reward- ing of this test. If a bee solved the puzzle, ing flowers, then they should land on the she landed on the flowers in middle of green flowers. See figure 2A for a drawing each quadrant and stuck her tongue (pro- of this test. boscis) into the flower. This is how the Figure 2B shows where the bees went bees got a reward during training; the bees during this test. In total, the bees went to didn’t get a reward during the test. the inner green flowers only 34 times but to Figure 1B shows where four of the the outer blue and yellow flowers 76 times. bees went during the test (one of the bees, Out of 110 attempted forages, only 30.9% labeled “yellow,” didn’t come out of the were to the inner square. If the bees were hive). Each dot in figure 1B shows an guessing, then they should have selected attempted forage. The bees went to the the green flowers 25% of the time, which is inner flowers a total of 126 times and to very close to 30%. We conclude that the the outer flowers 13 times. Out of bees did not pass Test 1 simply by going to 139 attempted forages, 90.6% were cor- the middle flowers of each quadrant. rect, meaning that the bees chose flowers However, two of the bees (“blue/orange” that would have held sugar water during and “blue”) actually went most often to the the training. green flowers. They seemed to have Figure 1C shows how many times learned a different rule than the other bees. Figure 1. Conditions and responses to each bee went to correct and incorrect blue Test 1 (the control). (A) The pattern of and yellow flowers. For example, the colors that the bees were trained to Test 3 (the second experiment) “orange” bee selected 7 correct yellow and tested on in their first test. (B) The In the third test, instead of large squares flowers and only 1 incorrect yellow flower. selections made by all the bees tested of yellow or blue around the outside of each (dots show where each bee landed and panel and a small square of yellow or blue in She also went to 29 correct blues and only tried to get sugar water). (C) A table 1 incorrect blue. This bee did extremely showing the preferences of each bee the middle, we put the four inner flowers in well because she went to both colors of during testing. the outer corners of each panel. See fig- flowers in their correct locations. On the ure 3A for a drawing of this test. We wanted other hand, the “blue/yellow” bee went to to see if the bees passed Test 1 because they neither outer yellow flowers nor inner yellow flowers. Instead, learned during training to go to the colors in each panel that she went to 25 correct blue flowers (inner square) and only were fewest in number. We could also see if they preferred to go 4 incorrect blue flowers (outer square). Apparently, she only to the inner flowers. If the bees had learned to go colors prefers blue to yellow. The “blue/orange” bee went to 31 cor- that were fewest in number, then they should go the flowers in rect yellow flowers and 4 incorrect yellow flowers, and never the corners. went to blue flowers. The “blue” bee went to 33 correct yel- The table in figure 3B shows where the bees went during low flowers and only 3 incorrect yellow flowers, but selected the test. The bees as a group went to the corner flowers the correct blue flowers only once. We conclude that one bee 59 times and to “not-corners” 86 times. Out of 145 attempted went to a mixture of colors in correct locations, while the rest forages, 40.1% were to the corners. This is very different from preferred one color over the other. However, the bees that pre- what they did in Test 1. When the same flowers were in the ferred one color only went to the inner squares with that middle in Test 1, the bees selected them 90.1% of the time. We

20 July/August 2011 RESOURCE think that the bees Test 2 determined selected flowers ran- whether the bees domly in Test 3. They learned to go to the mid- did not learn to go to dle of each panel and the colors that had the ignore the color. If so, fewest flowers in each then they should have panel. In addition, the gone to the green flow- “blue” and “blue/ ers. If they learned to go orange” bees did not to inner blue and yellow prefer the inner flow- flowers, then they ers, which means that should have gone either they must have used to the surrounding blue the larger square of and yellow flowers or no blue or yellow flowers flowers at all. Three of to decide to forage the bees preferred col- from the middle green ors that they learned flowers in Test 2. before and avoided the green flowers. However, Discussion two of the bees mainly This experiment is went to the middle flow- important because no ers, so they all learned Figure 3. Conditions and responses to one has done it before Figure 2. Conditions and responses to to solve the puzzle using Test 2. (A) The pattern of colors that the Test 3. (A) The pattern of colors that the and it tells us that bees bees were tested to in their second test. bees were tested to in their third test. different rules. Test 3 can learn to solve puz- (B) A table showing the preferences of (B) A table showing the preferences of showed that one of the zles. In this experi- each bee during Test 2. each bee during Test 3. rules was not “go to any ment, we trained bees middle flower,” since the to solve a particular puzzle. The solution was: go to blue if sur- bees rarely went to the middle flowers, nor “go to the color rounded by yellow, but go to yellow if surrounded by blue. that had the fewest flowers,” since the bees did not prefer the Test 1 showed that the bees learned to solve the puzzle corner flowers. Instead, they seemed to select the flowers at because they mostly went to the flowers they were supposed random, but they continued to go to their “favorite” color. to go to, that is, the flowers that had a sugar reward in train- We conclude that bees can solve puzzles by learning com- ing. However, the bees solved the puzzle in different ways, plex rules, but they sometimes make mistakes. They also learn and some were cleverer than others. Two bees preferred yel- differently, which means they have personalities and prefer- low, and two others preferred blue. One bee (labeled “blue”) ences. We also learned that the bees could use the pattern of was best at understanding the pattern in the first test because the flowers to decide which flowers to go to, so they can mem- she had the most correct answers. She chose both yellow and orize a pattern. This might help them get more pollen by learn- blue flowers correctly, but she pre- ing which flowers are best without ferred blue flowers. wasting energy by searching. In real What’s important about this “We discovered life, this might mean that they collect that bees can use a puzzle is that there was more than information and remember that infor- combination of color and one strategy the bees could use to spatial relationships in mation when going into different solve it. One strategy would be to deciding which fields. For example, if some type of use two rules: (1) go to the inner color of flower flower had died out, they could learn flowers in each panel, and (2) ignore to forage from. to find nectar in another type. the color. Another strategy would be Before these experiments, we Bees seem to go to yellow if surrounded by blue didn’t think about bees and how to think!” or go to blue if surrounded by yel- smart they are. We also didn’t realize low. The bees could also learn to that we wouldn’t survive without bees avoid the surrounding flowers and © Oleksii Nykonchuk/Dreamstime.com since bees pollinate so many plants. only go to the inner flowers. Or they could go to the color So it’s important to understand bees. We like bees, and we with fewest flowers in each panel. Or they could go to one discovered that it was fun to train them. You don’t get to train color consistently. They could also just choose randomly. bees every day. Science is cool and fun because you get to do stuff that no one has ever done before.

RESOURCE July/August 2011 21 PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION TO LEAD Follow the Leaders Purdue leadership program paves the way

Olivia Maddox and Joanne P. Willis

orbin Davis is one of Purdue Agriculture’s top undergraduate scientists. The senior works in the lab of cancer researcher Xiaoqi Liu, investigating K DNA damage caused by ultraviolet rays. He is also a teaching assistant and tutors agriculture majors in chemistry. Davis exhibits the same high aptitude for leader- ship that he does for science. As a sophomore, he enrolled in Purdue Agriculture’s Leadership Development Certificate Program (LDCP), a non-credit, voluntary curriculum designed to help students sharpen so-called “soft” skills—leadership, interpersonal skills, communication, and teamwork. “LDCP is not just one thing. I’ve learned how to meet professionals, ask for an interview, build a network, work on a team, and choose the best opportunities for myself and oth- ers,” Davis reports. Korbin Davis, a student researcher at Purdue’s Center for Cancer Roadmap for the future Research, has been developing leadership skills at the same time he’s learning techniques used in scientific inquiry. The LDCP was created in 2005 after employers inter- viewing at Purdue repeatedly said that students with leader- ship skills and experiences have a competitive edge in land- Christy Penner, an agricultural communications and ing a job and succeeding in the workplace. agricultural economics major, appreciates coach Mark When entering the program, students complete an Tucker, whom she also has as a professor, for his overall sup- assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. They are port and counsel. “He’s very insightful, and I always ask for matched with a faculty or staff coach and develop a personal his advice on big decisions,” she said. leadership plan, or what Egger calls a “roadmap for their leadership journey.” One thing leads to another Another benefit for students is the opportunity to attend Help along the way a national leadership conference. Egger takes more than fifty Linda Vallade, program leader for agriculture study students to an annual leaders conference sponsored by abroad, has been a volunteer coach since the program started. Agriculture Future of America (AFA), an organization that “To be a coach, you really need to enjoy and appreciate stu- creates partnerships with community leaders, corporate rep- dents. I’m always impressed by what they accomplish in the resentatives, and educators to prepare the next generation of community and how they grow.” agricultural leaders. At the conference, students network with Vallade said that coaches offer encouragement, guidance, industry leaders and interview for jobs and internships. and suggestions. “One of our main roles is to support students Davis was among a small group of students selected for as they step out of their comfort zones and stretch a little.” the AFA’s Student Advisory Team, which helps plan the con- Coaches meet with students two or three times a semes- ference and serves as ambassadors for the organization. Last ter, or more if the students request it. They nudge the students summer he traveled throughout the country to plan for the and help to keep them focused on goals and expectations. conference and meet with potential sponsors. They reach out to the students and can make a difference in their lives.

22 July/August 2011 RESOURCE How it Works Purdue agriculture majors are eligible to partici- pate in the Leadership Development Certificate Program if they’ve completed at least 30 hours of academic credits and have at least four semesters of remaining coursework. While they don’t earn academic credit, the program is noted on their transcripts. The first step is for students to complete a self- assessment of their leadership skills and attributes. Then, they select a coach from a group of trained faculty and staff. Next, students develop a personal leadership plan (PLP). This document remains a work in progress throughout the duration of the program. The LDCP focuses on developing leadership skills in four areas: personal, interpersonal, group/orga- nizational, and community. The PDP charts student growth in these areas and includes their goals, mechanisms for achieving them, and anticipated outcomes. Students develop leadership skills and work toward their goals by participating in on- and off- campus group experiences and related programs, workshops, and courses. They complete a reflection sheet after each activity—an opportunity to consid- er how they felt about an activity and their role in it. Reflection can help students apply what they learned in activities that follow. Throughout the program, students create a Christy Penner, a leader in organizations across campus, fielded leadership portfolio to document activities and multiple job offers before graduation. what they have learned. Many have taken their portfolio to internship or job interviews. For more information, visit www.agriculture.purdue.edu/oap/ Corporate backers LDCP/home.html. Many of the AFA’s corporate partners also support the leadership program and its students. The LDCP can give stu- dents a leg up when competing for internships or for jobs tive and have a successful interview. It landed me an intern- after graduation. ship that was the experience of a lifetime.” Nick Koewler of Land O’Lakes, Inc., couldn’t agree more. “Students who are a part of LDCP are ready to hit the Success breeds success ground running once on the job, whether an internship or Even though the program is only five years old, it has full-time work,” said Koewler, who hires interns and new already become a national model for leadership development. graduate talent for corporate positions at Land O’Lakes and Egger regularly receives requests from other institutions that is a member of the LDCP Advisory Committee. “Students are want to develop a similar program. In 2008, the LDCP was exposed early in their college careers to professional develop- named Outstanding Leadership Program of the Year by the ment and training that will help them become leaders in the Association of Leadership Educators. agriculture industry.” For seniors like Davis and Penner, the experience provid- Davis credits a summer 2009 internship with Pioneer Hi- ed them with skills to successfully transition to the next phase Bred International for sharpening his problem-solving skills of their lives. “It’s a whole new chapter,” said Penner, who has and clarifying his long-term career path. accepted a job offer from Dow AgroSciences. “Another An LDCP trip to Pioneer’s facilities in Johnston, Iowa, roadmap is unfolding.” paved the way for an internship with the company’s maize breeding program. “I give all the credit to the LDCP and the Olivia Maddox is the editor of Purdue Agricultures Magazine; mad- opportunities it provides,” he said. “I was able to use the skills [email protected]. Joanne P. Willis is a freelance writer. I learned to initiate a conversation with a Pioneer representa-

RESOURCE July/August 2011 23 July/Augustup 2011date

© travis manley/Fotolia.com

From soft drink to future fuel: “This project represents a great opportunity to turn a waste stream into a useful product,” Bellmer said. “This par- a creative use for the waste stream ticular waste stream has a lot of easily accessible sugar, so it of America’s mainstay refreshment only makes sense to turn the sugar into something useful.” Bellmer and a team of OSU biosystems and agricultural In Brief: Students and professionals at Oklahoma State engineering students are working to convert soda waste to University (OSU) Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products ethanol. Center (FAPC) are exploring an innovative waste alternative for “The objective of this project is to determine the ease of soda bottling facilities. fermentation of soda waste into ethanol with the specific goal ecause Americans consume more calories from soft of determining sugar conversion efficiency for popular drinks than any other single food, the need for an sodas,” said ASABE member Flint Holbrook, biosystems alternative use for soda bottling waste is evident, and agricultural engineering sophomore. “Additionally, we says ASABE member Danielle Bellmer, FAPC want to know whether pH adjustments and added nutrients B are necessary.” food engineer and biosystems and agricultural engineering associate professor. The project began by comparing four popular brand- “Soda wastes contain carbohydrates, which have potential name soft drinks—Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, and Mountain Dew. value for the production of ethanol,” she said. “This represents Because of the chemical makeup of Mountain Dew, this soda a significant opportunity to reclaim value and reduce waste.” behaves differently from Pepsi, Coke, or Sprite and requires In 2009 alone, carbonated soft drinks accounted for pH adjustment before fermentation. nearly $73 billion, according to the National Soft Drink “A series of tests was conducted to isolate the effects of Association (NSDA). the pH adjustments and nutrients,” Holbrook said. “Before According to the NSDA, soft drinks have become intrin- fermentation, each soda was allowed to go flat to simulate its sically tied to the American way of life. Approximately 500 delivery as a waste product." bottlers operate across the United States. Modern bottling Superstart, a standard distiller’s yeast, was inoculated at plants produce more than 2,000 soft drinks per minute on a level of 0.26 grams per liter to each soda variety. Distiller’s each line of operation. nutrients such as ammonium phosphate were used at varying An industry and production volume of such magnitude levels based on the experimental design, with calcium car- calls for an alternative for waste stream products. bonate serving as the main pH adjustment, Bellmer said. “Soda bottling plants generate a large amount of liquid Each fermentation batch was allowed to ferment for seven waste,” Bellmer said. “Liquid wastes are a result of problems days to ensure a complete reaction. At the end of the fermen- on the production line, improper packaging issues, or out- tation period, the products were tested for ethanol content. dated products. These bottling plants are paying to have their The early stages of this project determined that soda waste taken away.” wastes could be converted to ethanol. In pursuit of innovation, the FAPC began experimenta- “In most cases, fermentation of the sugars to ethanol was tion after Lamco Recycling of Tulsa, Okla., expressed a need very efficient and relatively easy, except in cases where an for a soda waste alternative. inhibitor prevented or skewed the fermentation process,” Lamco Recycling is responsible for the disposal of soft Bellmer said. drink waste from the nearby Pepsi Beverage Company bottling “We have found that a handful of soft drinks have a pre- facility. This company disposes of wastes, in limited quantities, servative called sodium benzoate, which inhibits fermenta- through the process of adjusting the pH of the soda waste to tion,” said, Jonathan Lim, biosystems and agricultural meet regulations of the neighboring water treatment plant. engineering sophomore. “Inhibitors in the fermentation

24 July/August 2011 RESOURCE process can be a problem. However, it appears that simply Because of the diversity of soda manufacturers, the adjusting the pH level will counteract the inhibitors.” FAPC research team will continue to conduct similar experi- With daily limits on the amount of wastes sent to water mental trials on other soda varieties. treatment plants, this alternative for waste could significantly “Our next step is to test as many different brands of soda reduce costs at bottling plants. as we can find,” Bellmer said. “It will be interesting to evalu- “Our results show that we can reduce or eliminate costs ate the different kinds of sodas and how easily the sugars can associated with waste removal,” Bellmer said. “The research be converted to ethanol. This study is another example of at the FAPC can help bottling plants in Oklahoma develop an turning a product cost liability into a potential asset.” alternative to their waste disposal. The goal would be to take For more information, contact Mandy H. Gross; this information to bottling plants to set up a conversion alter- [email protected]. native at their facility and to generate some added value.”

Free, online tool developed at ISU For instance, a farmer might discover that certain inputs will result in greater soil erosion. The farmer can use this helps farmers earn more, waste less information to choose different crops. In Brief: A new, free, online tool to help farmers make better- “The software knows the slope of the land because it informed operational decisions has been developed by software uses Google Earth. If the farmer looks at the outcomes and experts at Iowa State University (ISU). sees that he is losing too much soil, he may choose to change crops,” said van Ouwerkerk. “Maybe he shouldn’t plant corn he I-FARM program assists farmers, bankers, here; maybe he should plant a perennial like alfalfa.” extension and cooperative people, and anyone else The software can also help the producer with many dif- interested in farm management in understanding how ferent aspects of the farm. T to get the most out of the land at the least cost. It is “This farming model gives farmers an opportunity to available at i-farmtools.iastate.edu. calculate alternatives to different crop rotations and see the The software was developed by Ed van Ouwerkerk and benefits of each,” he said. “That includes environmental ben- draws on information collected from various state, regional, efits, ammonia release, erosion, perennials instead of annu- and national sources. als, or cover crops instead of only annuals, and different The I-FARM program allows farmers to input various tillage practices.” aspects of their operation along with the location of their farm. The program should help farmers make smart choices The program then predicts and compares farming outcomes. about their operations, said van Ouwerkerk. “This farming model gives farmers opportunities to cal- “Farmers find their information about farming from a culate alternatives and see the benefits of each,” said van variety of sources and often follow patterns because of habit,” Ouwerkerk, a research associate and software developer in the said van Ouwerkerk. “This software will tell them what is sci- department of agricultural and biosystems engineering at ISU. entifically right.” The program starts with the location of the farm. Using Van Ouwerkerk also thinks this tool will be valuable for Google Earth, farmers can locate their farms and highlight up extension agents, bankers, and anyone else who is interested to 20 fields that they want to evaluate. in looking at farming practices and profitability. The farmer then inputs the crops intended for the field, The program includes a short tutorial to help first-time the rotation cycle, the types and amounts of fertilizer, the users. Farmers can go to the site and try it themselves. If they farm equipment, typical yield, and many other factors. have problems, they can contact van Ouwerkerk at ISU. The program then tells the farmer what the costs may be, the The project started as a three-state program to give farm- labor required, the amount of fuel needed, how much soil erosion ers advice on converting their farms from crops-only opera- to expect, the amount of nitrogen and other chemical emissions tions to crop-and-livestock operations. As the scope of the that the farm will produce, the amount of income (this function project grew, more and more people got involved. uses frequently updated market prices), and the subsidy pay- Because the project touches so many aspects of farming ments that the farmer can expect based on the latest Farm Bill. —production, soil management, and fertilizer runoff—the The farmer can input one scenario with one set of inputs, project gained interest from various organizations. The proj- a second scenario with different inputs, and then compare the ect has received funding from the USDA, the U.S. two, according to van Ouwerkerk. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and The program is designed to help the farmer and doesn't the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at ISU. make any choices for the producer. “The program gives infor- For more information, contact Ed van Ouwerkerk, [email protected], mation, and lets the farmer make the decisions,” said van Rob Anex, [email protected], or Dan Kuester, [email protected]. Ouwerkerk. (Photo © Rainer Junker/Dreamstime.com)

RESOURCE July/August 2011 25 update

Kansas State student builds variable-rate fertilizer applicator In Brief: One of the most promising aspects of precision agriculture is the ability to make variable-rate fertilizer applications. Kansas State University Research and Extension agronomists have been doing research on this, but have not had access to a variable-rate fertilizer applicator built specifically for plot work—until now.

ustom built by graduate student Jarrett Riffel, the equipment is designed to do research on variable- rate nitrogen application, using different nitrogen This isn’t Riffel’s first attempt at building equipment. He Crate prescriptions based on EC (soil electrical built a similar piece for use on his family’s farm in Rooks conductivity) maps, grid sampling, yield maps, and other County, Kan. That applicator used anhydrous ammonia. This factors. new applicator will use liquid nitrogen, but otherwise the “Right now, I’m using coulters and injector tips to place basic concept is similar, he explained. “Making everything fit the nitrogen in the ground on 38 cm (15 in.) centers. It could together is the biggest challenge in building a custom appli- be adapted in the future to use spray nozzles for surface appli- cator.” And his custom-built equipment will benefit produc- cations if the researchers wanted to do a placement method ers in Kansas for many years to come. study, too,” Riffel said. For more information, contact Steve Watson, [email protected] or Riffel has pieced together the equipment from various Jarrett Riffel, [email protected]. (Photo by Patricia Blocksome, sources, starting with a heavy steel tubing frame. It is 4.5 m courtesy of the Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University (15 ft) wide—a good size for plot work, he said. Research and Extension)

propane or natural gas, reducing the greatest operating cost for poultry farmers. Plus, the system may help solve the problem of what to do with excess litter. “Initially, I came to this project as way to protect water- sheds,” Costello said. “We know that applying too much litter to the land over a long period can cause nutrient loading into rivers and lakes, so I wanted to figure out a practical way to help farmers utilize their excess litter. Fortunately, the method will also save them money by reducing operating costs.” Costello said that if the manufacturer makes recom- mended design improvements, his projections indicate that 100 tons of litter per year—an amount easily produced at most farms— could generate 80 percent of the annual space- heating needs for one house. The other 20 percent could come Manure as fuel from traditional sources. The chicken manure fuel is renewable, and its use In Brief: An agricultural engineer has addressed two problems decreases greenhouse gas production by reducing fossil fuel associated with poultry farming using chicken litter. His system consumption. However, it produces an ash containing con- will help protect the environment and could reduce individual centrated phosphorous and potassium, which cannot be farmers’ energy costs by as much as 80 percent. applied to land in sensitive watersheds. Still, litter converted to ash results in a 10-to-1 volume reduction, and there is a SABE member Tom Costello, an associate potential market for the ash to be used elsewhere. Further professor of biological and agricultural engineering work is needed to quantify air emissions and to develop mar- at the University of Arkansas, worked with a kets for the ash, Costello said. furnace manufacturer in Harrison, Ark., to test a A For further information, contact ASABE member Tom Costello, prototype that uses litter as fuel to heat chicken houses. [email protected], or Matt McGowan, science and research communi- Because it is produced on site, poultry litter is easy and cations officer, University Relations; [email protected]. (Photo by inexpensive to obtain. Its can also provide heat in place of Stephen Ausmus, courtesy of USDA-ARS)

26 July/August 2011 RESOURCE Fresh cassava © Raymond Pauly/Dreamstime.com

Biofuels without competing calculated the economic feasibility of bioreactors in Mozambique and published her assessment in Biofuels claims in Mozambique Bioproducts & Biorefining. One of the conditions for a suc- In Brief: It might not seem the most obvious option to generate cessful introduction is that farmers should have access to energy using biomass in Mozambique, where agriculture barely microcredit to fund the fermenter. manages to feed the population, but Wageningen UR researchers concluded the contrary: small bioreactors can deliver energy as Electricity well as more food. The researchers also investigated the feasibility of local bioreactors at village level. This kind of installation, which tudies on the pros and cons of biofuels continue to be converts cassava and vegetable waste into ethanol and electric- published around the globe. Researchers often start ity, costs U.S. $167,000. The ethanol can then be exported, and by looking at the farming practices in a region and the electricity can be sold to the local villagers. This larger- Sexploring the possibilities they offer. This is what scale option is feasible but is much more complex. The plant scientists and agro- ethanol has to go through an technologists from Wageningen extra processing stage to be ready University and Research Centre, for export, and the villages are The Netherlands, did in a joint not yet on the grid. project in Mozambique. Bioreactors at village level Female farmers in rural would not pose a threat to Mozambique grow maize and regional food security, claims cassava. Maize is their staple Elbersen. “There is enough land crop, and cassava is a reserve crop in this part of Mozambique; it is that they can fall back on if the just that agricultural productivity maize harvest is poor. Cassava is very low. Only 20 percent of processes create large amounts of the community land around a vil- waste, which is currently discard- lage is used each year, while the ed. Yet the cassava skins could be rest lies fallow to restore the soil fermented to produce biogas. If fertility. The limiting factor is fer- farmers did that, they could cook tilizer. The reactor would ensure on gas instead of on firewood, an efficient recycling of fertiliz- which they now spend a couple of ers, making it possible to raise hours a day collecting. Using bio- productivity by 20 percent.” gas could buy them more time for © Onfoot/Dreamstime.com processing cassava. Flexible Cassava roots are conveyed from ranch to truck This research is part of the Soil quality using human labor, bamboo baskets, and a single Competing Claims program at Another advantage is that slab ladder. Wageningen UR, led by the Plant fermentation releases all sorts of Production Systems group. nutrients in the cassava, which makes the waste product a Elbersen argues for a flexible mixing system for biofuels, so useful fertilizer. That would benefit soil quality and produc- that farmers can produce less biofuel when food prices are tivity. The farmers would then be able to grow more cassava high and more when they are low. “That way, bio-energy will and maize. A bioreactor for home use costs U.S. $350, which actually help to counterbalance the price fluctuations on the the farmers would be able to recoup in one and a half years. food market.” These bioreactors are a success in Asia, say researchers For more information, contact the editorial staff of the bi-weekly Edna Zvinavashe and Wolter Elbersen of Wageningen’s newspaper for Wageningen University and Research Centre, Biobased Products program, but not yet in Africa. Zvinavashe [email protected], or the press and science information officer, [email protected].

RESOURCE July/August 2011 27 update

Portable technology might provide drinking water, power to villages The potable water could be produced for about U.S. In Brief: Researchers have developed an aluminum alloy that $1 per 3.8 L (1 gal), and electricity could be generated for could be used in a new type of mobile technology to convert non-potable water into drinking water while also extracting about 35 cents per kWh. hydrogen to generate electricity. “There is no other technology to compare it against, eco- nomically, but it’s obvious that 35 cents per kWh is cheap mobile technology might be used to provide power compared to building a power plant and installing power and drinking water to villages and also provide for lines, especially in remote areas,” Woodall said. military operations, said Jerry Woodall, a Purdue The unit, including the alloy, reactor, and fuel cell might A University distinguished professor of electrical and weigh less than 45 kg (100 lb). computer engineering. “You could drop the alloy, a small reaction vessel, and a The alloy contains aluminum, gallium, indium, and tin. fuel cell into a remote area via parachute,” Woodall said. Immersing the alloy in freshwater or saltwater causes a spon- “Then the reactor could be assembled along with the fuel cell. taneous reaction, splitting the water into hydrogen and oxy- Polluted water or seawater could be added to the reactor, and gen molecules. The hydrogen can then be fed to a fuel cell to the ensuing reaction will convert the aluminum and water generate electricity, producing water in the form of steam as into aluminum hydroxide, heat, and hydrogen gas on a byproduct, he said. demand.” “The steam would kill any bacteria contained in the water, The aluminum hydroxide waste is non-toxic and could and then it would condense to purified water,” Woodall said. be disposed of in a landfill. “You are converting undrinkable water to drinking water.” The researchers have a design but haven’t yet built a Because the technology works with saltwater, it might prototype. have marine applications, such as powering boats and robot- For more information, contact Emil Venere, [email protected] or ic underwater vehicles. The technology also might be used to Jerry M. Woodall, [email protected]. desalinate water. A patent on the design is pending. Woodall envisions a new, portable tech- nology for regions that aren’t connected to a power grid, such as vil- lages in Africa and other remote areas. “There is a big need for this sort of technol- ogy in places that lack connectivity to a power grid and where potable water is in short supply. Because aluminum is a low- cost, non-hazardous metal that is the third- most abundant metal on Earth, this technol- ogy promises to enable a global-scale potable water and power tech- This diagram illustrates the potential uses of a theoretical mobile technology that would use an alu- nology, especially for minum alloy to convert non-potable water into drinking water and also extract hydrogen to generate off-grid and remote electricity. Such a lightweight, portable system might be used to provide power and drinking water to locations,” he said. villages and provide for military operations as well. (Courtesy of Jerry Woodall, Purdue University)

28 July/August 2011 RESOURCE professional listings

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RESOURCE July/August 2011 29 last word

Picking the Low Fruit Tony Grift

s a scientist and engineer, I wonder about many Fit and forget things, but recently the driving forces behind The counterpart of the modeling madness paper is the fit research in agricultural engineering have been on and forget paper, in which data are collected and a curve is Amy mind. Most of us are under the impression that fitted without attempting to understand the underlying we do research to improve the world, elevate or at least main- process. The researcher measures something, records some tain our standard of living, increase productivity and efficien- data, and does an ordinary least squares fit, preferably with a cy, secure the future for our successors, or some other lofty high R2 value. The result is often termed a “statistical model,” goal. However, over the last two decades, I’ve noticed that our which I find insulting to those who create models that have a research output does not always address such worthy prob- basis in physics, but let’s leave that discussion for another lems. Instead, in too many research papers, the authors are try- time. The question here is why the authors of fit and forget ing to solve the lesser problems of finishing a degree, keeping papers do not take it further and try to find a justification for a job, getting a promotion, or pleasing a department head. that parsimonious model with the high R2. If we do not try to To explore the current state of ag research, I thought it discover the underlying mechanism, then what have we real- might be more interesting to look at what is wrong rather than ly learned? The obsession with high R2 values can also result looking at what works. To obtain some objective data, I in completely illogical results. I remember reviewing a paper searched the ASABE Technical Library using ag-related in which the researchers fitted an exp(exp(x)) curve through terms in titles and keywords (the complete list can be found their data. It certainly yielded a high R2 value, but nature does in the sidebar). Here is a sample: “water” resulted in 3834 not create these kinds of relationships. What is the point of hits, “soil” in 2375, “manure” in 1077, “corn” in 933, “ener- plotting such lines without contemplating their real meaning? gy” in 854, “fertilizer” in 249, “ethanol” in 244, “GPS” in 218, “health” in 209, and “robot” in 167. In addition, Proof of concept “model” resulted in 3179 hits and “simulat” (to cover both In a typical proof of concept paper, the researcher uses “simulate” and “simulation”) resulted in 1171, for a total PVC tubes to represent real corn stalks, simulates sunlight 4356. Now guess how many hits “validation,” the necessary with halogen lamps, and represents weeds with pieces of counterpart of modeling, produced. Look it up in the sidebar cardboard. In a particularly egregious example of this – that is not a typo! This discovery made me wonder why approach, two years of university research were wasted there is so much emphasis on modeling. Could there be ulte- because the PI on a project was adamant about “harvesting rior motives at work? I am afraid so. Modeling is inexpensive the crop indoors” to avoid having to do the real thing. The and controllable, whereas measurements can be tedious, reason was simple: harvesting Miscanthus takes place in the expensive, erroneous, and yield unexpected results. This rea- winter—not a fun time to be outside in the Midwest. I have soning drove me to categorize papers that in my view are yet to see a paper in which someone brought a “proof of con- below par. Here are a few of these categories: cept” to fruition. Making a concept work outdoors is a huge step, and yet, as with the validation of models, it is hugely Modeling madness downplayed by researchers. In modeling madness papers, the researchers conveniently focus on modeling and leave validation for “future research.” Testing Many journals no longer review papers that are solely about In testing papers, a product such as a GPS receiver is modeling, and with good reason: they have literally seen driven around on a four-wheeler to assess its accuracy. Am I enough of them. NASA has gone through a similar process in wrong in assuming that this is the manufacturer’s job? Sure, I funding modeling work. I am not arguing that modeling is use- understand that agriculture places some constraints on GPS less (I wouldn’t dare; my department head is a modeling “enthu- accuracy, but not only have we produced 218 papers on GPS siast”!), and I know and agree with some of the arguments in accuracy, we have devoted entire sessions at our national favor of it. Nevertheless, the numbers show that validation is too meetings to this perceived “problem”! Could it be that the often downplayed or not even attempted, as if it were an after- low cost of GPS receivers has something to do with their pop- thought. To me, unvalidated models are like modern art: color- ularity as a researchable device? Are we solving a problem ful, even beautiful to some, but useless to the rest of us. here or just creating one?

30 July/August 2011 RESOURCE Technical Library Hits Tool time Water 3,834 Environment 709 Fertilizer 249 Over the years, cameras have become so ubiquitous and Model 3,179 Spray 646 Ethanol 244 inexpensive that we find them all over the ag engineering Soil 2,375 Test 641 GPS 218 Air 1,929 Animal 628 Milk 213 landscape. I agree that there are areas where cameras are use- Quality 1,861 Precision 606 Implement 211 ful and that machine vision itself is a respectable field. In fact, Irrigation 1,432 Drainage 592 Health 209 high-speed video of agricultural processes can be literally eye- Analysis 1,303 Image 577 Calibration 207 Crop 1,204 Tillage 508 Bacteria 205 opening for those who are under the delusion that the mind Simulat 1,171 Tractor 474 Biological 184 can accurately predict how stuff works in agricultural Application 1,167 Safety 440 Electronic 172 Process 1,088 Vision 429 Robot 167 machines. For example, I never realized the chaotic behavior Manure 1,077 Fruit 424 Validation 145 of fertilizer particles being accelerated along a vane until I saw Design 1,067 Food 416 Statistic 136 high-speed video of the process. However, in spite of my Measure 989 Housing 379 Optic 134 Waste 955 Soybean 348 Regression 116 enthusiasm for visualization as a way to get our minds around Corn 933 Forest 333 Orchard 104 a complex problem, cameras are overused. I am sure this is a Energy 854 Infrared 322 Guidance 85 skewed number, but the number of graduate student applica- Erosion 847 Economic 310 Fish 81 Plant 803 Material 306 Ergonomic 41 tions that get past my inbox filter and state that the applicants Agriculture 757 Structure 290 have machine vision expertise runs high. This is clearly a pop- Sensor 714 Remote 278 ular field, especially in Asia, and I wonder why. The answer might be related to why the field of mathematics is very ful it could be if we understood the underlying reason why it advanced in Russia but not so much in the Caribbean. What works: we could not only segment vegetation from backgrounds would you work on when there is little money, nothing else to but possibly distinguish skin cancer from healthy skin. do for eight months of the year, and no palm trees in sight? The scientific method is “a body of techniques for inves- tigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting Simulation and integrating previous knowledge.” Where is the word In simulation papers, the authors try to find a reason to “model” in that statement? How often do we find papers in use their favorite simulation software, such as MATLAB, which researchers dare to correct themselves or others? And ANSYS, or FLUENT. I have seen quite a few papers in which few papers bother to repeat research. Repeating older research the researchers are clearly trying to find a hole for their makes a lot of sense, but it’s not glamorous. Researchers pre- favorite peg. It’s the old “if you only have a hammer, every- fer to develop new and innovative devices, which is laudable, thing looks like a nail” conundrum. EDEM is the latest tool but unfortunately more and more often we merely integrate that allows discrete element modeling with sometimes spec- off-the-shelf components. As a result, more and more research tacular results. Note the word “spectacular.” The outputs of involves integrating or testing off-the-shelf components. The these dynamic models sure are fun to watch, but how does one new research paradigm seems to consist of obtaining a large validate them? If the model’s output looks similar to the grant, buying an expensive instrument, mounting it on a four- process that it mimics, then is that a sufficient measure of the wheeler, collecting data (preferably on a warm sunny day), model’s appropriateness? analyzing the data with some fun new tool, and then publish- ing five papers about it. Safety in numbers We are becoming less and less “applied” in our research, In safety in numbers papers, an idea is milked until the probably because the word “applied” does not have good con- cow dies. With similar research reported in a variety of jour- notations. Mathematics is the queen of sciences, and maybe nals, there is bound to be some overlap, which is understand- that’s why we assume that abstract ideas are somehow supe- able. However, relentless reporting of small incremental steps rior. I must admit that I am in awe of mathematics. However, on the same topic results in a huge number of papers, only a mathematics is only useful when it’s applied to the betterment few of which have rigor and value. The term “salami science” of human (and animal) kind, and that’s where engineers come is also appropriate here. in. We should take pride in being applied, in our ability to build useful instruments and machines, and to come up with Nothing lost, nothing gained tangible results that really do some good in the world. If we I have always regarded with suspicion any paper in which keep pushing ourselves away from the workshop, away from an index is defined. I call such efforts nothing lost, nothing the field and farm, away from manure and steel, then we will gained papers. What do we really learn from an index? Sure, I become mere theorists who talk brilliantly about the chal- understand that we do not want to wait until an idea is set in stone lenges facing the world but who don’t really do anything before using it, especially if it has some utility. For instance, the about them. I don’t want to be part of that club. normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) has been used ASABE member Tony Grift is an associate professor of agricultural widely, and successfully. However, imagine how much more use- and biological engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, Urbana, USA; [email protected].

RESOURCE July/August 2011 31 Make plans to attend this symposium sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Seventeen cosponsors have signed on to make this an outstanding event. It will be held in conjunction with the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists’ Annual Meeting. In addition to presentations by many of the world’s leading experts, you will find great exhibits, interesting tours, and outstanding keynote speakers. Session Topics: • Erosion Processes • Prevention and Control of Upland and In-Stream Erosion • Highly Disturbed Areas, Urban Areas, and Arid Lands • Erosion Processes in Wetlands, Coastal Areas, and Glacial Areas • Aeolian Erosion and Fugitive Dust Emission • Impact of Global Change on Erosion Processes and Landscape Evolution For more information, visit www.asabe.org/meetings.

Inside photos courtesy of ACVB, Dave Bauer, Jody Overstreet, Cathryn Posey, and Mike Robinson.

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