Greetings from Dr. Bode …December 1997

• Greetings from Dr. Bode• Awards• “The Cutting Edge”• In Memoriam –

H. Paul Bateman• New Faculty• Alumni News and Notes• Donors• Thank You• Let us know• History Book

The 1997-98 academic year is wellunderway and we are optimistic that itwill be an outstanding year. Studentenrollment remains stable with 160agricultural engineering, 77 TSM and42 graduate students.

Dr. Qin Zhang joined our departmentlast August as an Assistant Professorin Power and Machinery. Dr. Zhangwill be initiating a new program in“Mechatronics.” Dr. Bruce Litchfield hasaccepted a two-year appointment inthe College of Engineering as Directorof an AE3 project on teaching. Dr.Kent Rausch has returned to thedepartment as a Visiting AssistantProfessor to teach Dr. Litchfield’sclasses and to collaborate with Dr.Eckhoff on his corn-milling program.

Three of our faculty have beenpromoted to full Professor: PhilBuriak, John Reid and GaryRiskowski. Dr. Peter Bloome has leftthe department to become AssociateDirector for Extension at OregonState University. Dr. KazimierzBanasisk has also joined thedepartment for one year as a VisitingScholar. Dr. Banasisk is from WarsawPoland and is collaborating with thesoil and water faculty.

Both the ASAE Student Branch andthe Illini Agricultural MechanizationClub placed first in the National EMI(Equipment Manufacturing Institute)competition this year at the ASAEInternational meeting held in

Minneapolis, Minnesota August 10-14,1997. This rating is based on thequality of activities conducted by thestudent clubs as judged by the nationalsociety of ASAE.

We need your help in identifying qualitystudents interested in both theAgricultural Engineering and TSMprograms. Many more jobs are availablethan graduates.

Please let us know if you have changedyour mailing address, career path or justlet us know what is happening in yourlife. A quick e-mail is sufficient. We justlike hearing from you.

The holidays are a time for pausing toappreciate the goodwill of others. Iwould like to extend my warmest wishesto you and your families throughout thisholiday season and in the new year tocome!

Loren BodeHead of Department

December 19972

Awards …

At the 33rd Annual Engineering AwardsConvocation which was held on April11, 1997 Ms. Julie Beveridge (May 1997graduate) received the 1997 Stanley H.Pierce Student Award from theStudent Engineering Council AwardsCommittee.

This award is given in memory ofStanley H. Pierce who served as anassociate dean of the College ofEngineering. The award is givenannually to a student who is selected ashaving done the most to developempathetic student-faculty cooperation.

Graduate students Sreekala Gopalapillai,Qing Qu and Yanling Zhao wererecognized at the Gamma Sigma DeltaAnnual Initiation/Recognition dinnerheld on April 10, 1997.

The top 100 Seniors at UIUC werehonored on April 27, 1997 at a banquetsponsored by the College of EngineeringAlumni Association. Amy Russell wasamong the seniors honored at this event.The students were selected for theircontributions through extracurricularand Scholastic achievement.

At the fall picnic on October 5, 1997,the following awards were given to ourstudents:

Ø Adam Cramsey received the AGEoutstanding freshman award forachievement during his freshmanyear.

Ø Michael Curl received the AGEOutstanding Transfer Studentaward.

Ø Vince Reincke received the TSMoutstanding freshman award forachievement during his freshmanyear.

Ø Lindsey J. Schilling and AnnetteZehner were recognized asoutstanding Women inEngineering Scholars.

“The Cutting Edge” …

“The Cutting Edge” is a new series ofengineering and technology fact sheetswritten by members of ourdepartment about the latest cuttingedge technology. Five fact sheets havebeen produced to date. They are:

Geotextiles and Geogrids on theFarm by Ted Funk and GaryRiskowski.

The 1997 Illinois Tillage Report byBob Frazee, Mike Hirschi and DougPeterson.

Compaction: Causes and Effectsby John Siemens and Doug Peterson.

Compaction Cures by John Siemensand Doug Peterson.

Boosting Visibility of AgEquipment by Chip Petrea, BobAherin, Irene Miles.

To order copies of the “Cutting Edge”publication, call 217.333.3570.

Julie Beveridge and Loren Bode

Dr. John F. Reid, Professor inthe Power and MachineryDivision, received the 1997Engineering Council Award forExcellence in Advising.

Happy Holidays andBest Wishes for

1998!

December 1997 3

H. Paul Bateman and Jeannie Bloome (BS’92)Bateman Congeniality Award Recipient

In Memoriam …

H. Paul Bateman was bornSeptember 21, 1910 near Mansfield,Illinois and graduated from UrbanaHigh School in 1928. Fromthe University of Illinois hereceived a bachelor of sciencedegree in agriculture in 1932and a bachelor of sciencedegree in agriculturalengineering in 1934. Bothdegrees were awarded withhigh honors. He was one ofthe first two graduates inagricultural engineering at theUniversity of Illinois. Hecontinued with graduatestudies at the U of I andearned a master’s degree inmechanical engineering in1948. He married LorennieBerry in 1968.

From 1934 to 1936, Paul was anengineer with the Federal CivilianConservation Corps camps in westernIllinois and became a faculty memberof the Agricultural EngineeringDepartment of the University ofIllinois in 1936. His early professionalinterests were on the advantage ofusing tractors in place of horses onfarms, then on proper tractor serviceand maintenance procedures, and fieldcapacity and cost of field operations.

His long term professional career andinterest began when he started andtook charge of the AgriculturalEngineering Research Farm at theUniversity of Illinois in 1950. Eachyear he conducted field experimentson several tillage planting methods forproduction of corn, soybeans andother crops, the effects of soilcompaction on crop growth and yield,nitrogen application rates, planterperformance, and combines for cropharvesting. He was involved in theearly work on using the combine toharvest soybeans and the feasibility ofusing a combine to harvest corn.Professor Bateman’s greatestprofessional contribution was his

knowledge and publications on thedevelopment and evolution of thevarious tillage/planting systems forcorn and soybeans. When herbicidesto control weeds became available in

the early 1950's, he was one of the firstresearchers in the United States toconduct experiments on reducing thenumber of tillage operations used forplanting corn and soybeans. At firstthe experiments included “reduced tillagesystems” and then “minimum tillage.”

For minimum tillage in the late 1950's,he proved that only one fieldoperation was needed. The operationincluded moldboard planting, applyingfertilizer, planting corn, and sprayingherbicides. The system was called“plow-plant” and was promotedthroughout the Midwest as a means ofreducing soil erosion and saving laborand fuel, and reducing cropproduction costs. The practice waswidely promoted by the University ofIllinois Cooperative Extension Service.

In the 1960's, Professor Bateman’stillage/planting experiments includedchisel plow, disk, rotary tiller, ridge till,and no-tillage systems. He was one ofthe first researchers in the UnitedStates to conduct experiments onridge-till and no tillage systems forproducing corn. Farmeradoption of no-tillage was slow at first.But as new and improved herbicides

became available, the no-tillage systemhas been adopted by many farmers inthe Midwest, due in part to ProfessorBateman’s early work on no-tillplanting equipment. No-till is now

widely accepted as the mostcost effective crop productionsystem for reducing soilerosion in sloping fields.

Professor Bateman’s interestsin farm machinery continuedafter his retirement from theUniversity. As a consultant hecollected farm machineryrepair cost records fromfarmers. These records wereused in textbooks and in theStandards of the AmericanSociety of AgriculturalEngineers. He also worked asa consultant corn planter forseveral major farm machinerymanufacturers. He spent many

tedious hours in the fields planted tocorn measuring seed planting depthand spacing. For several years a reportwas prepared for each manufacturerwith a copy sent to each farmer.

After Professor Bateman's retirementin 1968, he and his wife Lorenniecontinued a loving, caring relationshipthat involved travel in the UnitedStates and overseas, participation in 17Elderhostels, a joint interest inagriculture, in the sponsorship of aJonathan Baldwin Turner Scholarshipat the University of Illinois each yearsince 1983, and sponsorship of theBateman Congeniality Award to astudent in Agricultural Engineeringand a student in Technical SystemsManagement at the University ofIllinois. Professor Bateman’s servicesto the Agricultural EngineeringDepartment, to both the College ofAgricultural, Consumer andEnvironmental Sciences and theCollege of Engineering, and tonumerous other organizations weremany and of integrity. His colleaguesand many personal friends will misshis patient and helpful counsel in theyears to come.

December 19974

Dr. Kazimierz Banasik is a visiting faculty member inthe Soil and Water Division until June 1998. Banasikarrived in the department in August to work onmodeling sediment and water quality for smallwatersheds. The research is being conducted within theLittle Vermilion River Research Group under thedirection of Dr. J. Kent Mitchell.

Banasik is an Associate Professor/Lecturer and Research Engineer in theDepartment of Hydraulic Structures, Faculty of Land Reclamation andEnvironmental Engineering, Warsaw Agricultural University and Professor,College of Environmental Protection, Radom, Poland. His areas of researchinclude reservoir sedimentation, sediment yield, water quality and rainfallrun-off modeling, managing field investigations in a small agriculturalwatershed: rainfall run-off, sediment yield, and water quality.

Dr. Banasik received his Ph.D. of Science in Technology in 1983 from theWarsaw Agricultural University. His field of study was hydraulics/hydrologyand his dissertation was on land use effect on watershed sediment yield.

New Faculty …

Dr. Qin Zhang has joined thedepartment as Assistant Professor in thePower and Machinery Division. He waspreviously a Research Associate in thedepartment from 1992 to 1994 workingon intelligent controls for biologicalsystems.

Zhang is originally from Hangzhou,China where he completed hisundergraduate work at the ZhejiangAgricultural University in 1982. Hereceived his masters degree from theUniversity of Idaho and his Ph.D. fromthe University of Illinois, finishing in1991. Dr. Zhang worked as a ProjectEngineer at Automated AnalysisCorporation and a Senior ResearchEngineer at Caterpillar Incorporatedbefore joining the department in August.

His current research interests are vehicleguidance and controls, off-highwaymachinery systems, robotics, fluidguidance power systems, fuzzy andneural network controls, mechatronics,smart sensors, and prognostics.

Dr. Zhang will be teaching AGE 311 inthe spring and a graduate level modelingand simulation course in the fall.

Also joining the faculty this fall asVisiting Assistant Professor in theFood and Bioprocess EngineeringDivision is Dr. Kent D. Rausch.

Dr. Rausch comes from Kansas StateUniversity where he worked inExtension with food processors for2½ years. He was briefly aPostdoctoral Research Assistant in thedepartment from June to August 1993assisting in developing a procedure

used for small samples of hybrid cornto determine wet millingcharacteristics. From 1989 to 1993 hewas a Graduate Research Assistant inwhich he was actively involved in wetmilling research projects. Rauschreceived his Ph.D. in Food andBioprocess Engineering from theUniversity of Illinois in 1993. Hereceived his BS and MS degrees inAgricultural Engineering from theUniversity of Missouri in 1987 and1989.

Dr. Rausch's current research interestsinclude impact of corn quality on thewet milling process; engineering designof the wet milling process to create orimprove co-product value and quality;recovery of biosolids from foodprocesses; and corn qualitymeasurement and characterization.

Rausch will be teaching AGE 383 inthe fall and AGE 385 in the spring.

December 1997 5

On August 21, 1997 Randy Fonnerbegan work for the CooperativeExtension Service within theBioenvironmental EngineeringDivision as Extension Specialist,Certified Livestock Manager ProgramFacilitator.

The position is in response to theLivestock Management Facilities Actpassed by the Illinois GeneralAssembly on May 21, 1996. With thepassage of this act, Illinois livestockproducers were suddenly faced withnew state environmental regulations.Among them was a requirement thatproducers obtain an operatingcertificate for all farms having morethan 300 animal units. Randy isresponsible for coordinating thetraining sessions required forcertification by the IllinoisDepartment of Agriculture. In thefuture, the program is expected toexpand to include manure nutrientmanagement planning workshops andcontractor workshops.

From March 1993 until August ofthis year, Randy was with thedepartment as a Coordinator ofResearch Programs. Randy receivedhis Bachelor and Master degreesfrom the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign and is a native ofChampaign, Illinois.

Alumni News and Notes …

Gerald J. Voss (BS '58) is currentlyworking as an Account Executive forAgri Communicators in Columbus,Ohio. Mr. Voss retired in 1987 after27 years with John Deere.

James A. Holmes (BS '68) recentlye-mailed to report that after serving inmany facets of the Navy, from dieselmechanic to Supply Lieutenant, hecontinues to provide naval support asa Senior Engineer with the TMACorporation. The firm providesmaintenance and modernizationplanning support for the Naval SeaSystems Command in Arlington,Virginia.

H. Chandler Taylor (BS '74) recentlyaccepted a position with the MonetaGroup, Inc., Clayton, Missouri, as aprincipal of the firm.

Dennis D. Bachman (BS '84) beganhis second year in January 1997 asWoodford County, Illinois Engineer.Among his many duties, Bachman is incharge of maintenance and keeping allof the 159 miles of county roads ingood shape. He is also in charge ofkeeping bridges in good condition, aswell as overseeing the construction ofnew ones, if needed.

David P. Ramp (BS '88/MS '90)recently moved to the Moline area.Dave started his new position withDeere as a Supply ManagementEngineer in the John Deere SeedingGroup. Dave and his wife, Kathy, arenow at home in Hampton, Illinois.

Shufeng Han (Ph.D. '93) is a SeniorEngineer with Case Corporation inBurr Ridge, Illinois.

Rene J. Denhart (BS '93) and DanielJ. Shunk (BS '96) were married June28, 1997 in St. Joseph, Illinois. Theywill be making their new home inAnkey, Iowa. Rene is working forDuPont Quality Grains and Dan isworking for Ag Leader Technology.

John Schweitzer (BS '94) hasaccepted a new position in themarketing department of the JohnDeere Seeding Group in Moline. Asof December 15, the Schweitzer's aremaking the Quad Cities their newhome.

Lori R. Hummel (BS '95) and RobertS. Younker were married November30, 1996 in Urbana, Illinois. Theycurrently reside in Creston, Iowa. Loriis employed by the USDA/NRCS inCreston, Iowa.

Bingcheng Ni (Ph.D. '96) is a SeniorEngineer with Case Corporation inBurr Ridge, Illinois.

Zhiwei Li (Ph.D. '96) e-mailed that hehas accepted a position in August withABB, Allen Town, Pennsylvania. It isa development engineer positionwhich involves both hardware andsoftware development.

Chia-Hui Chou (MS '97) hasreturned to Taiwan and is working as aProject Engineer with the Far EastMachinery Company in Chiayi. He isin charge of design of cooling systemsfor the company’s machines.

Julie A. Beveridge (BS '97) and JasonT. Abbott (BS '97) were marriedNovember 1, 1997 in Metamora,Illinois. The Abbotts will be makingtheir new home in Metamora. Julie isemployed by Morton Buildings andJason is a test engineer withCaterpillar.

Mark Chaney (BS '97) and his wife,Laura, are the proud parents of a newson, Grant Michael, born August 19,1997.

Benjamin L. Erickson (BS '97) hasstarted working for Lipton makingRagu and Five Brothers Sauce inOwensboro, Kentucky.

December 19976

Donors …

During the past year the followingalumni have donated money to thedepartment. These funds are used tohelp provide scholarships to deservingstudents, defray travel costs toprofessional meetings and supportspecial student projects for our openhouses each spring. Some donationshave been specifically designated toone of several special funds in ourdepartment. For more information ondonor opportunities, please contactthe department at 217.333.3570.

We would like to extend our gratefulappreciation to all of you for yourgenerous support of our programs.

Mr. Mervin G. AdenNaurin E. AhmadMr. & Mrs. Frank W. AndrewMrs. Alice A. ArchibaldMr. & Mrs. Richard Ayers

Mr. Christopher A. BehmeMr. & Mrs. Wendell BowersMr. Donald L. BrakensiekMr. Kirk A. Brower

Dr. Richard G. CarlsonMr. & Mrs. Ming ChanMr. Douglas D. CharltonMr. David W. CloseMr. & Mrs. Kim E. CramerMr. & Mrs. Edward J. Cunningham

Dr. & Mrs. Richard D. DerksenDr. Floyd E. DowellMr. & Mrs. Jesse M. Dowell, Jr.

Dr. & Mrs. Ronald L. ElliottMr. & Mrs. James D. Erickson

Mr. & Mrs. Robert T. Fulk

Mr. K. Dale GettingsDr. & Mrs. Carroll E. GoeringMr. Carl L. Gowler

Dr. Walter Cecil HammondMr. & Mrs. Stanley E. HarrisMr. Wayne E. HartmanMr. James G. HartsockMr. Brad L. HolsappleMr. Lynn K. HuffmanMr. & Mrs. Larry F. HugginsMr. & Mrs. Robert C. HughesDr. Raymond L. HuhnkeMr. & Mrs. Albert L. HumkeDr. & Mrs. Donnell R. Hunt

Dr. & Mrs. Marvin L. JanssenMr. & Mrs. Paul C. JohnsonDr. & Mrs. Benjamin A. Jones, Jr.

Dr. Paul J. KlazuraMr. Robert W. KrumwiedeMr. David A. Kuhl

Mr. Thomas D. LangstonMr. & Mrs. Paul R. Luedke

Mr. & Mrs. Kelvin K. MakMr. Fred F. ManhartMr. John R. MarshMr. Hector G. McAllisterMr. Daniel C. MillsDr. & Mrs. Edwin J. MonkeConrad S. MooreMr. Carlyle G. Mueller

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin R. NiemannMr. & Mrs. Don M. Nixon

Mr. & Mrs. David J. Olson

Mr. & Mrs. Leroy K. Pickett

Mr. Kenneth RamsayMr. & Mrs. Martin S. RedshawMr. & Mrs. Lyle G. ReeserMr. & Mrs. Dwight J. RobertsRowena T. Romano

Mr. Reuben O. SchlegelmilchMrs. Jane Herman SchultzMr. & Mrs. John M. SchweitzerDr. & Mrs. John C. SiemensMr. Dale H. SinclairMr. & Mrs. Roger M. SmithMr. William S. StamosMr. & Mrs. James R. SteffenMs. Christine StengerMr. Philip StengerMr. & Mrs. Jon D. StolzMr. & Mrs. David W. Sucoe

Mr. & Mrs. Eric M. ThomasNicole L. ToomeyMr. & Mrs. John C. Tunnell

Mr. Kashmir S. Virk

Mr. & Mrs. Jay J. WaitMs. Audrey Williams-Lee

Thank you …

The Food and Bioprocess Engineering Division and the department extends a “thank you” to the SeedburoEquipment Company for the use and donation of the PQ 100 Single Kernel Moisture Tester. The instrument isvery valuable and has helped with the research on a single kernel moisture measurement. The moisture tester willbe used for the annual AACC Corn Wet Milling Short Course and for moisture measurement laboratories. Thestate-of-the-art equipment adds immensely to our teaching and research programs.

December 1997 7

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History Book …

Walt Lembke and Ben Jones havedevoted countless hours incompleting the history of ourdepartment at UIUC. Theprinting press is warming up andwe will be providing details aboutthe book in our next newsletter.Watch for it next spring!