As a boy, Porterfield was influenced by viewing the Apollo rocket launches, an opportunity that came with being part of a military family stationed at a naval base nearby NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Science fiction and television also sparked his fascination with space. The original Star Trek series hooked him as a young child, and later, during his undergraduate studies, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation depicting hydroponics in space inspired Porterfield to his calling.

As a trained agricultural engineer, Hoerr says her creative problem solving was cultivated at Purdue and has served her well in her quest to be a part of the solution. "I'm a woman of many passions, but the linkage to food and hunger goes back to my idealistic views of the world from when I was a freshman at Purdue,” Hoerr said. “One of the main reasons I chose agricultural engineering is because I wanted to feed the world.”

The Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture Center (IoT4Ag), now entering its fifth year, is paving the way for affordable technological innovations that help producers make informed management decisions by collecting data across farms in a low-power, long-range approach with the Solar-Powered Remote IoT4Ag Network Gateway (SPRING) project.

"The goal has been to estimate what risks might be present in fresh produce operations from nearby animal operations or other wildlife," Verma said.

Humankind has been drying food to preserve it since prehistoric times. Food dehydration removes the moisture from food to inhibit the growth of bacteria and mold in order to increase its shelf life. Food typically is dehydrated by using heated air in an electric or gas-fired oven; drying in a solar dryer, which concentrates the heat; employing a desiccant; leaving a product to dry in the open air; or sun drying in the open air.

Halis Simsek, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, led three of the studies.

GRYFN - Control the Data, Control the Field

“The so-called ‘middle mile’ of the supply chain, which refers to all the travel heavy-duty trucks have to do to carry goods from one major location to another, is the most challenging part of the transportation sector to decarbonize,” said Nadia Gkritza, a Purdue professor of civil engineering and agricultural and biological engineering.

Ambrose explained, “Dust explosions are one of the most serious hazards that can occur in the grain industry. The explosions can also lead to significant financial and personal losses from downtime, repair, injuries and fatalities.”

"Around my age, people ask what you want to do with your life. I've discovered that figuring out what you want to do and who you are is a journey. Part of that journey is saying, ‘Yes,’ to opportunities that stretch and grow who you are."

- Maddie Milharcic, junior in agricultural and biological engineering