Resource: Engineering & Technology for a Sustainable World articles from January 2009

Resource: Engineering & Technology for a Sustainable World archives from January 2009

Delivering on the societal role of engineer.(FROM THE President)
January 1, 2009... Who and what we are today is the product of our predecessors and our own experiences. The rich and sometimes turbulent 100-year history of our association has shaped the look, feel, and culture of ASABE today. How we adapt to the future is...

Reader forum.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Editor, The central message given by Mark Riley in the October issue of Resource, that a systems approach is necessary in order to appreciate fully the outcomes of engineering applied to biology, is one that I agree with very much. As Mark...

Success with natural-air grain drying.(Interview)
January 1, 2009... Natural-air grain drying offers an unusual opportunity for shelled corn, soybean, and specialty crop producers to participate in the green revolution by reducing their consumption of fossil fuels. It is a low-energy drying system that typically...

Physical aspects of applying wireless sensors: short range, UHF radio waves and antennas in natural environments.
January 1, 2009... Complex algorithmic data processing and networking schemes gathered in the digital realm of integrated circuitry often dominate the world of wireless sensors. However, no wireless device is useful unless it can establish a radio link in the...

Risk-based process development: the food safety objective approach.(FOOD SAFETY)
January 1, 2009... As more consumers demand nutritious, fresh-like, prepared ready-to-eat, and heat-and-eat foods in convenient packaging, scientists and engineers have fueled a surge in the development of new processing technologies aimed at delivering numerous...

Converting biomass into fuels: expanding commercial applications and developing new technologies.(ENERGY ISSUES)
January 1, 2009... The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the past 25 years has become increasingly involved in developing new biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, biobutanol, and renewable diesel fuel as a way to benefit farmers, the biofuels industry,...

The pearl of Africa.(MARCO POLO)
January 1, 2009... Winston Churchill described Uganda as the pearl of Africa; however, many of us remember the country more for the brutal regime of Idi Amin. Uganda has 30 million people yet is the size of Oregon (population 3.7 million). Our recent trip to this...

Communities of practice.
January 1, 2009... Agricultural and biological engineers, and the value they contribute to our society, are more important today than ever before. Witness the events of just the past year--record-level prices for commodities, such as wheat, soybeans, and corn;...

Building the next generation of engineers, one volunteer at a time: it's all about water as middle school students focus on conservation, reuse, and self-sufficient systems in Future City Competition.(UPDATE)
January 1, 2009... In Brief: In a semester-long project, middle school students from across the United States use engineering principles to design and build cities of the future with a focus on self-sufficient water systems. Regional competition winners travel to...

Retooled approach may make bio-based butanol more competitive with ethanol.(UPDATE)
January 1, 2009... In Brief: ARS researchers have modified a method of producing biobutanol that could make the fuel more competitive with ethanol as a clean-burning alternative to gasoline. According to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemical engineer...

MSU-led team finds new type of fuel in Patagonia fungus.(UPDATE)
January 1, 2009... In Brief: A team led by a Montana State University professor has found a fungus that produces a new type of diesel fuel, which holds great promise as an alternative to fossil fuels and is at its earliest stage of development. Calling the...

Scientists model the scaling laws of water uptake by plant roots.(UPDATE)
January 1, 2009... In Brief: With changes in climate, farmers and ranchers must contend with diminishing water resources. One of the best ways to deal with this challenge is to maximize the efficiency of plant root systems, and researchers in North Dakota are...

Adding value to biofuel waste.(UPDATE)
January 1, 2009... In Brief: Ramon Gonzalez, the William W. Akers Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Syed Shams Yazdani, postdoctoral research associate, Rice University, have identified the metabolic processes and conditions that...

Branding a legacy ...: ... built on expectation.(LAST WORD)
January 1, 2009... "ASABE members define the engineers needed to handle today's challenges in sustainable food, fiber, and fuel production. building on a 100-year-old legacy of diversity, ASABE is positioned to emerge from this decade as the ideal society to...