Cornell University
Department of Biological
and Environmental Engineering
Ithaca, New York 14853-5701

Overview
Ezra Cornell founded Cornell University in 1865. It is both a land-grant institution of the state of New York and a privately endowed university. The University is comprised of 13,400 undergraduate and 5,200 graduate and professional students. Currently, there are 400 full-time graduate and undergraduate students in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. Today, the faculty in the graduate field of ABEN consists of 26 distinguished members.

The Community
Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York, the heart of New York's Finger Lakes region. The beautiful countryside, with its gorgeous lakes, rolling hills, and state parks, offers a magnificent setting for outdoor recreation. In addition, there is a blend of rural practicality, urban ambiance, and international flavor that produces the warmth and friendliness of a small town combined with rich cultural complexity, which is usually available only in metropolitan areas.

Programs of study and degree requirements
The Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering is uniquely characterized by its integration of physical and biological sciences in the engineering of microbial, plant, animal, human, and environmental systems. The graduate field of agricultural and biological engineering (ABEN) offers four degrees: the doctorate (Ph.D.), the Master of Science (M.S.), the Master of Engineering (M.Eng.), and the Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.). Generally, admission into the Ph.D., M.S., and M.Eng. programs requires a B.S. degree in engineering. This ensures adequate background in engineering-level calculus, physics, and chemistry as well as core engineering course work such as thermodynamics, fluid and solid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, etc. The graduate engineering course work at Cornell requires these types of prerequisites. Within these three degree programs students can choose from nine specializations, including biological engineering, environmental engineering, international agriculture, soil and water engineering, energy, local roads, food-processing engineering, machine systems, and structures and environment. Both M.S. and Ph.D. degree candidates are required to select at least one minor subject from outside the field. The M.S. and Ph.D. research degrees require submission of an acceptable thesis or dissertation.

The professional degree of Master of Engineering (agricultural and biological) is intended primarily for students who plan to enter engineering practice. This program is intended to develop students' backgrounds in engineering design as well as to improve their fundamental engineering knowledge. Additional information is available at the ABEN Web site (listed below) and the College of Engineering's M.Eng. Web site (http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/grad/MEng/index.html).

The Master of Professional Studies is a one-year professional degree that requires 30 credits of course work, including 6 credits of project research. In addition to the nine areas of study listed above, students in the M.P.S. program can choose from a tenth option, environmental management (Web site: (http://cfe.cornell.edu/cfe/education/MPS-EM.html). The Master of Professional Studies (Agriculture) is intended for those who want to further their technical training but do not intend to become involved in engineering design or research. The program also has a Peace Corps option (Web site: http://iap.cornell.edu/iap/html/mps_pc.html).

Facilities & Resources
Riley-Robb Hall is the center for graduate studies in the field of agricultural and biological engineering at Cornell. Major laboratories in Riley-Robb include those for research in composting, controlled-atmosphere storage of agricultural products, small-animal calorimetry and environmental physiology, secondary roads and materials properties, biochemical engineering, soil and water engineering, food and biological engineering, and energy applications as well as structural and environmental research related to agricultural buildings. Within the building, there is a microcomputing center with three classrooms containing more than sixty Windows and Macintosh personal computers and a Scientific Computing Center used for modeling and fluid-dynamics studies. A well-equipped machine shop is available to develop prototype machines and research equipment, as is a newly developed biotechnology laboratory. Students are able to use the National Nanofabrication Facility on campus and also have access to greenhouses, plant-growth chambers, and plots to study water runoff and nutrient movement through the soil. In addition to these facilities, there is the Animal Science Teaching and Research Center in Harford, New York (20 minutes away). The Agricultural Waste Management Laboratory and Pilot Plant and the new Aquaculture Research Center are located right outside of Cornell's campus within a 2-mile radius. Furthermore, the Cornell University library system is a Federal Repository and one of the twelve largest academic research libraries in the United States.

Expenses and Aid
Costs: Tuition for full-time study is $22,910 for the academic year.

Financial Aid: Fellowships, teaching assistantships, and graduate research assistantships are available. Assistantships receive a stipend and tuition fellowship. All M.S./Ph.D. students in ABEN are enrolled full-time and more than 50 percent receive full financial support with tuition waiver.

Housing/Living Expenses: Living expenses vary from $10,000 to $13,000 for a single graduate student for the academic year. This includes room, meals, personal expenses, and incidentals.

How to Apply
Applications for graduate study in the field of agricultural and biological engineering are considered on a rolling admission basis throughout the year. The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test scores are required by the field of ABEN for all applicants applying to the M.S. and Ph.D. programs. Applicants to the M.S. and Ph.D. programs must have a baccalaureate degree in an area of engineering, physical science, or biological science with a strong preparation in mathematics and physics. Deficiencies in undergraduate training must be made up early in the advanced degree program.

Applicants to the Master of Engineering (agricultural and biological) program must have a baccalaureate degree in engineering or its equivalent. GRE General Test scores are required for non-U.S. citizens.

Applicants to the Master of Professional Studies (Agriculture) program must have a baccalaureate degree in agricultural technology or a related physical or biological sciences–oriented curriculum. GRE General Test scores are advised.

Students wishing to apply for University fellowships must take the GRE. The graduate admission application deadline to be considered for Graduate School fellowships is January 15. Students from countries where English is not the native language must submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum score for admission to the field is 550 on the paper-based exam or 213 on the computer-based exam.

Beth A. Ahner, Ph.D. Biological indicators of environmental stresses, toxicity and nutrition of trace metals.

Louis D. Albright, Ph.D. Greenhouses and agricultural buildings, energy management, simulation and control of aerial environment.

Daniel J. Aneshansley, Ph.D. Electronic instrumentation, sensors, machine-vision applications in agricultural and biological engineering.

Antje J. Baeumner, Ph.D. Analytical biotechnology, biosensors, bioanalytical microsystems.

James A. Bartsch, Ph.D. Post-harvest storage systems for horticultural crops, products damage, properties of food and biological materials, international agricultural engineering, physical properties.

Philippe C. Baveye, Ph.D. Physics of porous media, aquifer bioremediation, cation exchange in soils.
Wilfried H. Brutsaert, Ph.D. Hydraulics, hydrology, groundwater flow.

J. Robert Cooke, Ph.D. Biological engineering, plant-water relationships, engineering properties of biological materials, mathematical engineering analysis, microcomputers, and educational software.

Ashim K. Datta, Ph.D. Heat and mass transfer in food and biological systems, microwave applications.

Kifle G. Gebremedhin, Ph.D. Structural analysis and design, animal-housing systems, thermal environment, heat and mass transfer.

Douglas A. Haith, Ph.D. Environmental-systems analysis, solid waste management, water resources.

Jean B. Hunter, D.Eng.Sci. Bioprocess engineering, fermentation and enzyme technology, bioseparations, food engineering.

Lynne H. Irwin, Ph.D. Highway engineering, highway materials evaluation, soil stabilization, structural evaluation of pavements.

William J. Jewell, Ph.D. Renewable energy and waste treatment, toxics bioremediation, rural environmental engineering, agricultural-waste management.

John L. Lumley, Ph.D. Fluid dynamics, turbulence and turbulence modeling, geophysical turbulence, stochastic processes.

Carlo D. Montemagno, Ph.D. Microscale physics of multiphase systems, image processing, biosensors, environmental engineering.

Jean-Yves Parlange, Ph.D. Mathematical modeling of physical and biological systems, applications of thermodynamics, water movement in soils.

Richard H. Rand, Ph.D. Biomechanics, theoretical and applied mechanics, dynamic systems.

M. Anandha Rao, Ph.D. Heat transfer in food processing, energy use and conservation in food processing.

Andy L. Ruina, Ph.D. Friction laws and instabilities, geomechanics.

Norman R. Scott, Ph.D. Biomathematical modeling of animal systems, animal calorimetry, environmental physiology, bioengineering, electronic instrumentation.

Christine A. Shoemaker, Ph.D. Pest management, water-resource systems, mathematical ecology.

Tammo S. Steenhuis, Ph.D. Soil and water engineering, water management, watershed hydrology, groundwater quality engineering.

Michael B. Timmons, Ph.D. Aquacultural engineering, engineering entrepreneurship and management.

Larry P. Walker, Ph.D. Agricultural and environmental bioprocess engineering, enzyme engineering, microbial degradation, sustainable bio-based industries.

Michael F. Walter, Ph.D. Water resources, tropical-water management, small-watershed hydrology, drainage.

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