Biological systems engineering or biosystems engineering is a broad-based engineering discipline with particular emphasis on non-medical biology. It can be thought of as a subset of the broader notion of biological engineering or bio-technology though not in the respects that pertain to biomedical engineering as biosystems engineering tends to focus less on medical applications than on agriculture, ecosystems, and food science. The discipline focuses broadly on environmentally sound and sustainable engineering solutions to meet societies' ecologically related needs. Biosystems engineering integrates the expertise of fundamental engineering fields with expertise from non-engineering disciplines.
Background and organization Many college and university biological engineering departments have a history of being grounded in agricultural engineering and have only in the past two decades or so changed their names to reflect the movement towards more diverse biological based engineering programs.For example the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was established as agricultural engineering in 1920, and renamed in 1992 to reflect new focus areas in the teaching, research and extension programs.The Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln began within Mechanical Engineering, awarded its first degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1908, and changed its name to Biological Systems Engineering in 1990. http://engineering.unl.edu/bse/history/ This major is sometimes called agricultural and biological engineering, biological and environmental engineering, etc., in different universities, generally reflecting interests of local employment opportunities.
Since biological engineering covers a wide spectrum, many departments now offer specialization options. Depending on the department and the specialization options offered within each program, curricula may overlap with other related fields. There are a number of different titles for BSE-related departments at various universities. The professional societies commonly associated with many Biological Engineering programs include the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)Website American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE),Website Institute of Biological Engineers which generally encompasses BSE. Some program also participate in the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Website Biomedical Engineering Society, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).Website American Institute of Chemical Engineers,
A biological systems engineer has a background in what both environmental engineers and biologists do, thus bridging the gap between engineering and the (non-medical) biological sciences – although this is variable across academic institutions. For this reason, biological systems engineers are becoming integral parts of many environmental engineering firms, federal agencies, and biotechnology industries. A biological systems engineer will often address the solution to a problem from the perspective of employing living systems to enact change. For example, biological treatment methodologies can be applied to provide access to clean drinking water Website http://www.jbioleng.org/content/5/1/2/ Biological approaches for addressing the grand challenge of providing access to clean drinking water or for sequestration of carbon dioxide.Website http://www.jbioleng.org/content/5/1/14/ Addressing the Grand Challenge of atmospheric carbon dioxide: geologic sequestration vs. biological recycling
Specializations Land and water resources engineering Food engineering and bioprocess engineering Machinery systems engineering Natural resources and environmental engineering Biomedical engineering
Academic programs in agricultural and biological systems engineering Below is a listing of known academic programs that offer bachelor's degrees (B.S. or B.S.E.) in what ABET and/or ASABE terms "agricultural engineering", "biological systems engineering", "biological engineering", or similarly named programs. ABET accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ASABE defines accredited programs within the scope of Ag/Bio Engineering.
North America
Institution Program Web site Auburn University Biosystems Engineering www.eng.auburn.edu/ CalPoly San Louis Obispo BioResource and Agricultural Engineering www.brae.calpoly.edu/ California State University, Bakersfield BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Clemson University Biosystems Engineering Colorado State University Chemical and Biological Engineering Cornell University Biological Engineering bee.cornell.edu/ Environmental Engineering Dalhousie University Engineering www.dal.ca Florida A&M University Biological Systems Engineering Illinois Institute of Technology Chemical Engineering/Food Process Engineering Iowa State University Agricultural Engineering www.abe.iastate.edu/ Biological Systems Engineering Kansas State University Biological Systems Engineering www.bae.ksu.edu/home Laval University Agri-Environmental Engineering Food Engineering Louisiana State University Biological and Agricultural Engineering www.bae.lsu.edu Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chemical-Biological Engineering www.be.mit.edu McGill University Environmental Engineering www.mcgill.ca/bioeng/ Mercer University School of Engineering Bioresource Engineering Michigan State University Biosystems Engineering www.egr.msu.edu/bae/ Mississippi State University Biological Engineering www.abe.msstate.edu Biomedical Engineering Montana State University Biological Engineering Civil Engineering Environmental Engineering North Carolina State University Biological Engineering www.bae.ncsu.edu/ North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University Biological Engineering North Dakota State University Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering www.ndsu.edu/aben/ Northern Kentucky University Biosystems Engineering Oklahoma State University Biosystems Engineering biosystems.okstate.edu Oregon State University Ecological Engineering bee.oregonstate.edu/ Forest Engineering Penn State University Biological Engineering abe.psu.edu/ Purdue University Agricultural Engineering www.purdue.edu/abe Biological Engineering Rutgers University Bioenvironmental Engineering State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Bioprocess Engineering Environmental Resources Engineering South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Bioprocess and Biochemical Engineering South Dakota State University Chemical and Biological Engineering www.sdstate.edu/abe/ Texas A&M University Biological and Agricultural Engineering baen.tamu.edu/ Ohio State University Agricultural Engineering fabe.osu.edu Food, Biological, and Ecological Engineering University of Alabama Biological Engineering University of Arizona Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering cals.arizona.edu/abe University of Arkansas Biological Engineering www.baeg.uark.edu/ University of California, Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering bae.engineering.ucdavis.edu/ University of Colorado at Boulder Chemical and Biological Engineering University of Florida Agricultural and Biological Engineering www.abe.ufl.edu/ University of Guelph Biological Engineering Environmental Engineering Water Resources Engineering University of Georgia Agricultural Engineering www.engr.uga.edu Biological Engineering University of Hawaii at Manoa Biological Engineering University of Idaho Biological Engineering uidaho.edu/ Environmental Engineering University of Illinois Agricultural and Biological Engineering abe.illinois.edu/ University of Kentucky Biosystems Engineering jokko.bae.uky.edu/BAEHome.asp University of Nebraska–Lincoln Agricultural Engineering bse.unl.edu Biological Systems Engineering Environmental Engineering University of Maine Bioengineering University of Manitoba Biosystems Engineering http://umanitoba.ca/ University of Maryland Bioengineering University of Minnesota Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering www.bbe.umn.edu/ University of Missouri Biological Engineering bioengineering.missouri.edu/ University of Puerto Rico Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering University of Saskatchewan Biological Engineering Chemical Engineering University of Tennessee Biosystems Engineering bioengr.ag.utk.edu University of Washington Bioresource Science & Engineering University of Wisconsin Biological Systems Engineering bse.wisc.edu/ Utah State University Biological Engineering be.usu.edu Virginia Polytechnic University Biological Systems Engineering www.bse.vt.edu Washington State University Biological Systems Engineering bsyse.wsu.edu
Central and South America Institution Department Web site Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral Food Industry Engineering Federal Institute of São Paulo (Campus of Avaré), Brazil Biosystems Engineering Federal University of Campina Grande, Brazil Biosystems Engineering Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Food Industry Engineering National University of Colombia Agricultural Engineering Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico Irrigation Department portal.chapingo.mx/irrigacion/ Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi Food Engineering Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering University of Campinas, Brazil Agricultural Engineering Universidad de Cartagena Food Engineering Universidad de las Américas Puebla Food Industry Engineering Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon Food Industry Engineering University of São Paulo (Campus of Piracicaba), Brazil Biosystems Engineering University of São Paulo (Campus of Pirassununga), Brazil Biosystems Engineering São Paulo State University (Campus of Tupã), Brazil Biosystems Engineering
Europe Institution Department KU Leuven, Belgium Department of Biosystems University of Liege, Belgium Biosystem engineering Aarhus University, Denmark Faculty of Agricultural Sciences Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Germany Biosystems Engineering Leibniz University Hannover, Germany Biosystems and Horticultural Engineering, University of Hohenheim, Germany Agricultural Engineering Technological Institute Of Larissa, Greece Biosystems Engineering Mechanics, Agricultural, Food Science and Engineering, Biorobotics University College Dublin, Ireland Biosystems Engineering University of Maribor, Slovenia Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences Technical University of Madrid, Spain Agricultural, Food and Biosystems Engineering UPC-BarcelonaTech, Spain Agri-Food and Biosystems Engineering Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands Biosystems Engineering Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University, Turkey Agricultural Engineering Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Bingöl University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Bursa Uludağ University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Düzce University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Erciyes University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Iğdır University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Turkey Biosystems Engineering
Asia