1. WHATBIOLOGICALENGINEERINGGRADUATES CANDO
The Biological Engineering ABET accredited bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas has recently been
revised in response to the changing needs of industry. Therefore, the engineering communitymay not be fully aware
of the current capabilities of our graduates. Rather than telling you what they know, we believe the best way to describe
our graduates is to tell you what they can do. Our graduates have specific capabilities that can help companies in sectors
related to water, food, energy, and sustainability. Below is a list of specific engineering workthat our graduates can do
based on the required courses. Students may also take electives that add to this list of capabilities.
OVERARCHINGSERVICES
•Graphical software (AutoCAD).
•Geo-spatial software (ArcGIS).
•Collect data and conduct statistical analysis.
•Economic analysis including time value of money, rate of return, cost/benefit analysis, and annual-lifetime costs/profit.
•Script programming (MATLAB).
•Select sensors (thermocouples, dissolved oxygen, pressure, and flow).
•Select and apply controllers (including PLC’s).
•LabVIEW software.
•Calibrate and evaluate measurement and control instruments.
•Size and select pumps/motors/pipes and fans/motors /ducts.
•Utilize the psychrometric chart and equations in design.
•Size refrigeration systems and heat pumps including coolant selection and flow rates.
•Heat transfer analysis including determination of energy flow rate and temperature distribution in building walls, floors and ceilings
for heater and air conditioner load sizing for buildings, and size insulation.
•Integrate thermal radiation and convection in thermal modeling.
•Estimate life cycle costs for comparing design alternatives.
•Actively engage communities and stakeholders in development of engineering solutions.
•Manage projects.
•Professional communication including engineering reports, client and stakeholder presentations, and ability to work effectively on teams.
WATER SECTOR SERVICES
•Hydrology and hydraulics.
•Water management including sources, scarcity, and allocation by industry sector.
•Modeling evapotranspiration for plants and crops (Penman-Monteith method).
•Estimate precipitation duration and frequency for modeling hydrologic processes.
•Model water infiltration (Horton Infiltration Model), runoff (SCS method, hydrographs), erosion, and sediment transport/delivery.
•Model water quality including nutrient transport, stream in-channel processes, and load estimation including phosphorus index.
•Agricultural water management including water supply and irrigation, pumps /hydraulics, and conservation practices.
•Urban watershed management including low impact development (LID) and green infrastructure.
•Streamrestoration, corridor processes, erosion control, and water quality regulations.
•Size water aeration systems.
•Measure BOD and oxygen uptake rate of environmental and waste water.
•Determine diffusion rates and concentration of chemical pollutants in soil.

2. FOOD/FEEDPROCESSING SECTOR SERVICES
•Design drying and storage systems for grain, food and bioproducts.
•Size and select solid material conveying systems: belt conveyors, augers, bucket elevators, pneumatic conveyors and dust collection
systems.
•Heating/cooling bioproducts.
•Heat exchanger design including steam pipes and food processing equipment.
•Determine the effects of temperature of foods and bioproducts on reaction rates responsible for quality changes during processing
(kinetics).
•Mass transfer analysis to determine flow rates of: oxygen and moisture through bioproducts and packaging films; flavor chemicals,
nutrients and color through foods; and oxygen through composting waste materials.
•Analyzing inputs and outputs of energy and water to process biomass for applications including food, energy, and
environmental pollution prevention/cleanup.
•Utilizing or deactivating enzymes, cells, tissues and organisms to preserve the quality and safety of food and other bio-products.
•Design thermal sterilization time-temperature process for food safety.
•Size systems to pump non-Newtonian fluids.
•Size freezing, refrigeration, evaporation and dehydration systems for food products.
SUSTAINABILITY SECTOR SERVICES
•Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of products and processes for quantifying their impact on the environment (water, greenhouse gases, soil,
and carbon footprint).
•Defining, quantifying, and utilizing sustainability metrics.
•Integrating scientific/social bases of engineering design for decision-making to holistically address the triple bottom line in
sustainability, i.e., economy, environment, and social.
•Engineer processes and products holistically using system analysis and environmental impact assessment tools.
ENERGYEFFICIENCY ANDALTERNATIVEENERGY SECTOR SERVICES
•Size renewable remote power systems (photovoltaic, wind, micro-hydro) including off-grid applications.
•Compute energy use for agricultural production systems, including tractor/combine fuel consumption for field operations and harvesting,
grain drying, process water heating, artificial lighting, irrigation, fleet fuel use for trucking commodities in the supply chain.
•Analyze buildings for energy audits.
•Design processes for conversion of biomass to usable fuels including commodity inputs/outputs/by-products, gross energy inputs and
losses.
•Designing biomass conversion processes including: combustion, gasification/ pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and biological
fermentation (i.e., ethanol).
•Design and analyze for proper utilization of alternative energy and reduction of carbon footprint.
•Evaluate solar and wind energy resources at a specific site or region.
THEBOTTOMLINE:
BIOLOGICALENGINEERING GRADUATES HAVETHEHANDS-ONEXPERIENCEANDSKILLSNEEDEDTOBEJOB-READY.
They bring all of the above skills togetherwith hands on projects, and the engineering design process to create a
solution to meet the needs of a client. This includes: defining design objectives and constraints; establishing
functions and performance criteria; generating and evaluating alternatives; modeling and prototype testing;
exploring performance efficiency, costs, environmental impacts, sustainability/stewardship, safety, ethics and
professionalism.