LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (UK BAE) at the University of Kentucky made a strong showing at the 2025 ASABE Annual International Meeting, held July 13–16 in Toronto, Ontario. Faculty, staff, and students contributed to the international gathering through award-winning research, presentations, and professional recognition.

Honors and Recognition

UK BAE graduate students Keya Roy, Ryan Sarhan, and Suvro Talukdar took first place in the Bioprocessing pitch competition with their startup, Mycillage. Faculty member Dr. Joe Dvorak earned a Superior Paper Award for his publication with Bo Smith titled “Powering In-Field Continuous Robotic Systems Using Solar Energy Systems,” published in the Journal of the ASABE.

Additional honors included:

• Dr. Carmen Agouridis was named an ASABE Fellow.
• Dr. Akinbode Adedeji was recognized by the African Network Group of ASABE (ANGASABE) with the title “ANGASABE ICON” for years of dedicated service.

Research Presentations

Members of the UK BAE community delivered oral and poster presentations on a wide range of topics, from sustainable distilling practices to AI in agricultural safety.

Oral Presentations:

• Circular Bioeconomy Systems (Hybrid Session):
  • Case Study: Recycling Dairy Manure Solids into Pelletized Products – Tyler Barzee, Abdolhossein Edalati, Ian Nielsen, Allan Chio, Yike Chen, Hamed El-Mashad, Ruihong Zhang
• Drainage Design, Monitoring, and Modeling:
  • Quantifying the Impact of Management Practices on Surface and Subsurface Flow from Tile-Drained Fields Using LSTM Modeling – Bill Ford, Nabil Al Aamery, Kevin W. King
• Energy Systems:
  • Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvents for Pulping Applications – ASM Sayem, Yuxuan Zhang, Jian Shi
  • Life Cycle Assessment of Small- and Craft-Scale Bourbon Distilleries – Tyler Barzee, Yosselin Castro Islas, Czarena Crofcheck, Bradley Berron
• Exploring Safety in the Era of Autonomous Agriculture (Hybrid Session):
  • Using Low-Cost Inertial Measurement Units for Orientation Monitoring and Supervised Safety Interlocking in Small Agricultural Equipment – Mason Bradley, Michael Sama, Wayne Sanderson
• NRES Distinguished Lecture Series:
  • Ramping up AI in the Classroom, for Student Success, and in Extension – Carmen Agouridis
• Physical and Chemical Properties of Food, Agricultural and Biological Materials:
  • Deep Learning-Based Hyperspectral Model Reconstruction from RGB Data for Gluten Detection and Quantification in Foods – Akinbode Adedeji, Adewale Oloyede
• Processing Systems:
  • Development of a Solid-State Pure Mycelium Material Production System for Sustainable Textiles from Agricultural Byproducts – Tyler Barzee, Zachary Byrd, Michael P. Sama
  • Improving Feedstock Quality of Non-Recycled Municipal Solid Waste Toward Thermochemical Conversion – M.M. Mahdi Hasan, Jian Shi
• Unmanned Ground and Aerial Robots for Agricultural Applications (Lightning Panel):
  • Active Ground Control Points for Georeferencing Automation in UAS-Based Photogrammetry – Karla Ladino, Luis F. Pampolini, Michael P. Sama
• Water Resources in Circular Bioeconomy Systems (Hybrid Session):
  • Ecological Engineering Solutions Validated Through High School Programming Efforts for Local Drinking Water Source Impairments – Tiffany Messer
  • Evaluating the Impact of Recycled High-Osmotic Strength Water on Sustainability in Spirit Distilleries – Ryan Sarhan, Brad Berron, Glenna Joyce-Welsko, Tyler Barzee

Poster Presentations:

Topics ranged from green pulping methods and AI-driven session planning to anaerobic digestion and stream restoration.

• Circular Bioeconomy Systems:
  • Greener Pulping with Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvents – ASM Sayem, Yuxuan Zhang, Jian Shi
  • Improving Feedstock Quality of Non-Recycled Municipal Solid Waste Toward Thermochemical Conversion – M.M. Mahdi Hasan, Jian Shi
• Education, Outreach & Professional Development:
  • Come Rain or Shine: An Inventory of Climate Entities at U.S. Public Universities – Abbie Davidson, Myranda Hentges, Noah Lane, John McMaine, Ashfaq Ahmad
• Energy Systems:
  • Microbiome Insights for Improved Stability and Biomethane Production During Anaerobic Digestion of Heterogenous Organic Wastes – Victoria Holliday, Tyler Barzee, Minjae Kim
• Processing Systems:
  • Development of a Multispectral Real-Time System for Gluten Detection and Quantification in Gluten-Free Products – Adewale Oloyede, Akinbode Adedeji
  • Effect of Microwave-Assisted Pre-Drying and Deep-Fat-Frying Conditions on Some Quality Attributes of Akara Ogbomoso – Akinbode Adedeji, Abiodun James Adeyan
• Information Technology, Sensors & Control Systems:
  • AI Tools and Text Embedding for Session Organization at ASABE’s Annual International Meeting – Joseph Dvorak
  • Automated Cleaning Systems Effects on Long-Term Oxygen Sensor Preservation – Benjamin Shacklett
  • Automatic ASABE AIM Session Creation Using Machine Learning and Generative AI – Joseph Dvorak
  • Improving 3D Point Cloud Volume Estimation for Livestock Monitoring – Karla Ladino, Tara Bose, Michael P. Sama
• Natural Resources & Environmental Systems:
  • Monitoring and Modeling Sedimentation Dynamics in River-Tributary Confluences Using High-Frequency Remote Sensing Data and Numerical Modeling – Tiffany Coogle, Katye Berry, William Ford
  • Wading in the Stream: Industry Insights from Stream Restoration Professionals – Noah Lane, John McMaine
  • Quantifying Sediment Source Dynamics in Tile-Drained Depressional Midwest Watersheds – Tyler Botts, William Ford, Mark Williams
  • Rooting for Resilience: Assessing Soil Function in Reforested Riparian Areas – Myranda Hentges, Noah Lane, Abbie Davidson, Kenton Sena, John McMaine
  • Assessments of Statewide Surface Water Samples for Data Deserts – William Rud, Tiffany Messer
  • Lake Surface Water Quality Assessment for Central Kentucky Distilleries – Katherine Ristola, Tiffany Messer

Leadership and Engagement

Several UK BAE members played key roles as moderators and panelists. Dr. Joe Dvorak moderated an advanced machine learning session, while Dr. Alicia Modenbach and Karla Ladino participated in and helped lead the Young Professionals Community (YPC) Career Path Panel. Dr. Modenbach also moderated the Circular Bioeconomy Systems poster session.

The strong presence and performance of the UK BAE community at ASABE AIM 2025 highlighted the department’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and global collaboration in biosystems and agricultural engineering.