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Biosystems Engineering
at Oklahoma State University
Graduate Programs in
Bioprocessing and Biotechnology
Master’s and doctoral programs are available in Bioprocessing & Biotechnology within the School of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering. The program is designed to train students with a background in engineering or the life sciences. Students will have an option to choose courses from several departments including biochemistry, microbiology, biosystems & agricultural engineering and chemical engineering.
The Bioprocessing and Biotechnology program encompasses thermal and chemical processing together with aerobic and anaerobic fermentation. The option emphasizes the engineering aspects of biological and biochemical processes, which may involve plant systems, mammalian systems, bioenvironmental systems or industrial biological processes.
Developing biobased technologies is a component of the Bioprocessing and Biotechnology option. The purpose of this program is to provide students with skills necessary for developing a biobased economy in the United States. The lack of an educational infrastructure is a major barrier to the successful development of a biobased products industry. The program is designed to provide students with a multidisciplinary graduate education and to integrate knowledge from science and engineering fields. Students with training in the life sciences and engineering will enroll into a degree program via their home department. Participating departments include biochemistry, chemical engineering, civil engineering, biosystems & agricultural engineering, microbiology and plant & soil sciences.
All plans of study are tailored to individual students based on their interests and the guidance of the advisory committee. Master’s students must complete 24 credit hours of course work and 6 hours of research, including a thesis. A minimum of 60 credit hours of research beyond the M.S. degree is required for each Ph.D. student.
Students commonly start by taking three classes per semester. Master’s students generally take one and a half years to two years to complete their programs. Ph.D. students with a M.S. degree are expected to complete their programs within three years with course work usually completed by the end of the second year. Upon completion of the majority of courses and preparation of a research proposal, Ph.D. students take a written and oral qualifying examination covering the entire area of the student’s graduate study. In addition, M.S. thesis and Ph.D. dissertations must be successfully defended before the advisory committee at the completion of the research program. A non-thesis degree option is available for M.S. students, which require a creative component, including a written and oral report.
AREAS
OF RESEARCH
• Biomass collection and storage
• Gasification
• Aerobic fermentation
• Anaerobic digestion
• Fermenter design & system optimization
• Process economics
• Process modeling
• Waste minimization and utilization
CORE COURSES
CHE 5123: Advanced Chemical Reaction Engineering
BAE 5413: Instrumentation in Biological Process Control System
STAT 5303: Experimental Design
CHE 5283: Bioengineering
MICR 3224: Advanced Microbiology
BIOC 3653: Biochemistry
BAE 5500/CHE 5990: Biobased Seminar / Lab
FACULTY
Danielle Bellmer, Associate Professor
Gasification and fermentation
Timothy Bowser, Associate Professor
Gasification
Nurhand Dunford, Associate Professor
Food, oil/oilseed, and bioprocessing
Doug Hamilton, Associate Professor
Waste management
Ray Huhnke, Professor
Biomass processing
Carol Jones, Assistant Professor
Biofeedstock transportation, handling and storage
Jessie Mao, Assistant Professor
Bio-nano techonolgy
Mark Wilkins, Assistant Professor
Gasification and fermentation
In addition to the above faculty in Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, collaborative faculty from other departments participating in the bioprocessing and biotechnology option include the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the School of Chemical Engineering, the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.
The main Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering Department laboratory is a 28,000 sq.ft. facility, equipped with electronic, electric and machine shops. An addition, an outlying research facility has been dedicated to research on gasification and the syngas cooling and conditioning system. Equipment at this site includes a gasifier capable of 75 lb/hr biomass feed rate, mass spectrometer for real-time syngas analysis, gas chromatograph capable of analyzing both liquid and gas samples, oxygen probe, spectrophotometer, centrifuge, and data acquisition software. A 320-sq. ft. laboratory houses the bench-scale bioreactor. Three new laboratories of 18,000 sq.ft. will contain state-of-the art equipment dedicated to biotechnology research. Equipment in this new facility includes the bioreactor with pH control, bioreactor equipment (pumps, etc.), two gas chromatographs, ion chromatographs, high performance liquid chromatograph, two anaerobic glove boxes, warm and cold rooms, steam sterilizer, spectrophotometer, computers, and supporting non-perishable items.