BAE welcomed Drs. Dan Flippo, Trisha Moore, Ajay Sharda, Isaya Kisekka, Mei He and Yu Deng during the past year. Drs. Flippo, Moore and Sharda are on the Manhattan campus, Drs. He and Deng are part of the Olathe campus, and Dr. Kiseka is works at the K-State Research and Extension’s Garden City Center.
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Dan Flippo’s interests are the blending of automation and agriculture, which includes the transfer of power, automation, mechatronics and wheels to soil interaction. He received his doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 2009, his Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Wichita State University in 2005 and his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University in 1994. He grew up on a small farm near Douglass, Kansas, and has worked in industry for 12 years. He is currently building a home between Wabaunsee and Zeandale with his wife, Angela, and two boys, Zeke 10, and Judah 7. Click here for more information on Dr. Flippo.
Mei He comes to K-State from the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she was a senior scientist. She did her postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, after she earned her doctorate from the University of Alberta. Her research is centered on the integration and design of nano/biotechnology and bioengineering, with particular interests in disease diagnostics, personalized cancer medicine and biologically inspired devices. She moved to Kansas in 2012 with her husband, Yong Zeng, a KU faculty member. Their son, Albert Zeng, was born the same year. For more information on Dr. He, please click here.
Yu Deng comes to Kansas State University Olathe from New Hampshire, where he was a postdoctoral researcher at Dartmouth College. Before joining Dartmouth, he earned his doctorate from Virginia Commonwealth University, majoring in chemical and life science engineering. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from Jiangnan University, China. Yu’s experience with the biotechnology industry complements and is an ideal fit for his teaching and research position at K-State. More information on Dr. Deng is available here.
Ajay Sharda has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering in farm power and machinery from Punjab Agricultural University, India. He worked as an assistant professor of farm power and machinery in the College of Agricultural Engineering at Punjab Agricultural University for four years. He received his Ph.D. from Auburn University in the field of precision ag/machinery systems. His work at Auburn focused on boom pressure-flow dynamics and control system response dynamics on agricultural sprayers. At K-State, he is developing an integrated research, extension, and teaching program on the development and evaluation of control systems on variable rate planting, spraying and nutrient application; sensors and automation to improve efficiency and efficacy of machine systems; and an SUAS sensor packages to assess crop status and implement precision ag technologies. Click here for more information on Dr. Sharda.
Trisha Moore joined the Kansas State Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department in December 2013, marking her return to her home state (and department; Trisha obtained her B.S. and M.S. degrees in the KSU BAE department in 2006 and 2008, respectively) following a postdoc with the University of Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (2011-2013) and Ph.D. in the North Carolina State BAE department (2008-2011). Her current research interests in ecologically engineered systems for water quality stem from her graduate research in which she evaluated ecosystem health and ecosystem service provision by urban green infrastructure. Her current work includes assessing vulnerability and resilience of urban stormwater infrastructure and hydrologic systems to climate change to facilitate community adaptation planning. She is also working with a small company to develop tools to estimate the carbon footprint of urban landscapes and associated stormwater infrastructure toward the goal of designing systems that are more sustainable.
She and her husband, Joe, – also a Kansas State alum – are excited to return to Kansas as she continues to pursue her research and teaching interests in ecological engineering. As an assistant professor she plans to build a research program centered on developing sustainable, ecosystem-based systems for water and soil quality, and will look for opportunities to partner with Kansas communities and industry in her research. Through her teaching and graduate program, she is also looking forward to educating and mentoring the next generation of biosystems engineers. In her spare time, she can most likely be found running around the roads of Keats, where she and Joe just bought a house. For more information on Dr. Moore, please click here.
Isaya Kisekka is an assistant professor. He received his doctorate from the University of Florida. He is originally from Kampala, Uganda, and enjoys sports, including soccer and basketball. His research focus is on the development of water management strategies and irrigation technologies that can help producers optimize net returns in limited water situations. His current research involves using multisensor data fusion to improve irrigation scheduling. He also is working on application of dynamic computer simulation models for assessing irrigation management strategies in limited water situations. More information on Dr. Kisekka is available here.