Technology & Engineering Overview
and advancement affect our lives in two different ways—through
new policies and regulations that provide broad national
direction and through new products and processes that enhance
our lives and communities. Technology and engineering translate
scientific knowledge into action. At the same time, technological
innovations often require further research into materials,
devices, and processes. NIFA programs support engineering
research and new technology development, as well as academic
training and technology transfer. Together, these efforts
result in safer, higher-quality foods; more efficient and
environmentally sound agricultural practices; and better
educated and more economically capable communities.
Rapid advances in biological, chemical, and
physical sciences continue to expand our knowledge of agricultural,
food, and environmental systems. This new knowledge may apply
to a wide variety of national problems, including sustainability,
safe and high-quality food, ecosystems, and rural economies.
Before those problems
can be solved, however, new knowledge needs to be formulated
into workable processes, products, devices, and technologies.
This is the role of engineering research—a companion activity to scientific
investigation. Because the NIFA mission is to “advance
knowledge”—meaning to promote, expand, and spread
knowledge, including useful technologies—not just create
it via basic science, NIFA programs aim to support and
engage engineering communities.
The importance of engineering as a scientific
discipline was reflected in the 1965 legislation authorizing
the National Research Initiative (NRI, Public Law 89-106).
One of the six high-priority research areas identified in
that legislation was:
(E) engineering, products, and processes,
including new uses and new products from traditional and
non-traditional crops, animals, byproducts, and natural
resources; robotics, energy efficiency, computing, and
expert systems; new hazard and risk assessment and mitigation
measures; and water quality and management.
While the other five priority research areas
in the NRI remained intact until only recently (when NIFA
moved toward issue-focused priorities), the engineering emphasis
in (E) became somewhat muted over time. However, given the
ever-increasing reliance on technology in agriculture, it
is even more important that engineering and technology capabilities
keep pace with scientific advances.
and their application cut across most current research
areas in NIFA—plant
systems, animal systems, natural resources and the environment,
food and fiber system, and economic systems. Some examples
of where engineering can make a contribution include:
- Physical properties of agricultural products.
- Food and feed processing.
- Technologies for value-added products.
- Waste treatment and use.
- Industrial products from biological materials.
- Automated inspection systems.
- Mechatronics and robotics.
- Instrumentation and controls.
- Pest control.
- Chemical applications.
- Soil properties and dynamics
- Machinery management.
- Identity preservation.
- Precision farming.
- Controlled environments.
- Farm safety.
Traditional university programs in agricultural
engineering have transitioned into broader biological (or
biosystems) engineering programs, often having close ties
to chemical and electrical engineering and food engineering/technology.
Software engineering and civil engineering programs provide
cross-disciplinary links. Fundamental research programs in
biotechnology and genomics rely heavily on instrumentation
developed by biomedical or biological engineers. Contributions
by engineering research and technology development are widespread
The four NIFA programs constituting this
national emphasis area are described below:
Agricultural & Biological
Traditionally, agricultural engineering has been synonymous
with power machinery and equipment—such as tractors
and field implements—with a secondary emphasis on structures
and indoor environments. That has changed dramatically over
the past 30 years, however. Because other fields of engineering—for
example, chemical, mechanical, civil, and electrical—have
historically not dealt with biological systems, agricultural
engineering has recognized its unique capabilities and filled
that biology void. Many university departments of agricultural
engineering now include the term “biological” in
their title. These departments now offer a wide variety of
new specializations, in addition to the traditional ones:
- Biological engineering.
- Food and bioprocess engineering.
- Information and electrical systems.
- Natural resources and environment.
- Forest engineering.
- Energy systems.
- Safety and health.
- Nursery/greenhouse engineering.
NIFA support for agricultural engineering's
expanded specializations is spread across many programs of
research, education, and extension.
Information Technology Education:
Because agriculture and its allied industries rely increasingly
on information technology, skills in that area need to be
present in the current and future workforce. Rural areas,
where most agricultural jobs reside, have traditionally lagged
in information technological sophistication. This program
helps youth attain competencies in newer information technologies,
assists the current workforce and commercial enterprises
to apply information technology for economic success, and
provides older residents with the skills necessary to use
information technology to enrich their lives.
Nanotechnology: While nanotechnology
research began more than 20 years ago, it wasn't until fairly
recently that laboratory tools and techniques advanced to
the point where nanoscale manipulations could be accomplished
readily. Sub-micron structures exhibit unique properties
that disappear if one tries to create similar structures
from larger-scale elements. These nanoscale capabilities
offer the promise of:
- New materials from agricultural products.
- Smaller sensors and other devices.
- Better methods of drug delivery.
- New enzymes and catalysts for improved processing.
- Better energy conversion efficiencies.
Another closely aligned NIFA program is Bio-Based
Products/Processing (link to that program page), which aims
to expand the use of agricultural and forest materials in
commercial and industrial products. Manufacturing these new
products often requires considerable technological innovation
and expanded engineering capabilities in bioprocessing. These
new products add value to raw material resources in rural
areas and promote economic prosperity.
we look, sensors are becoming important aspects of our daily
lives. The infusion of this new technology is just as apparent
in the nation's agricultural and food sectors. Sensors and
their accompanying instruments and software allow producers,
processors, managers, and distributors to inspect, monitor,
track, and control the materials and resources that make
up our agricultural and environmental systems. As these enabling
technologies become more capable and make their way into
widespread use, a new type of agricultural professional will
be required, and current members of the workforce will need
training and skills development.