Auburn Biosystems again looms large at annual ASABE International Meeting
Published: Jul 21, 2025 2:00 PM
By Jeremy Henderson
Auburn never fails to show up at the intersection of agriculture and engineering — nor show out.
The university's Department of Biosystems Engineering once again loomed large and took charge at the 2025 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Annual International Meeting, held recently in Toronto.
With 30 attendees, Auburn was, as always, one of the most represented institutions at the conference. The department combined for 35 presentations reflecting its continued influence in the field and also brought home a bumper crop of awards.
Doctoral student Edith Ngoupeyou earned third place in the Boyd-Scott Graduate Research Award competition in the Ph.D. category. Ngoupeyou also joined fellow graduate students Vivian Usha and Natacha Kakama in taking third place in the Bioprocess Startup Competition for their team’s project, BioCore Shield — a concept that merges sustainability with innovation in bioprocessing.
Auburn also secured second place in the same competition thanks to a team comprised of Ayden Kemp, who last year won the K.K. Barnes Student Paper Award, Dale Hartman, Clay Dorrill, Privakana Boini, Sagar Kafle and Sudip Kapota for their startup concept, Bioseal Mulch.
“These student recognitions are not just individual triumphs — they reflect the strength of our academic mentoring and the collaborative spirit of the department,” said Oladiran Fasina, biosystems engineering department head. “I’m grateful to our faculty — Dr. Hossein Jahromi, Dr. Hassan Khodaei, Dr. Nitesh Kasera and Dr. Sushil Adhikari — for the guidance and support they’ve provided to help students turn creative ideas into competitive concepts.”
Several Auburn faculty members were also recognized at the meeting.
Associate professor Simerjeet Virk, who in 2024 was honored as an Outstanding Manuscript Reviewer, this year received the Larry W. Turner Young Extension Professional Award, celebrating his impactful outreach and service work. Professor Jeremiah Davis was elected to a three-year term on the ASABE Board of Trustees, just as Fasina completed his own term on the board. Associate professor Brendan Higgins, last year’s New Holland Young Researcher Award winner, was elected to the ASABE Nomination Committee, furthering Auburn’s leadership at the national level.
Assistant professor John Linhoss, associate professor Matt Dougherty, senior lecturer Jon Davis and Megan Slatton, an instructional designer for the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, collaborated to earn the Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award for their innovative approach to enhancing undergraduate research experiences through the URISE (Undergraduate Research Improving the Student Experience) program.
The department's student leadership initiatives also received top honors. For the second consecutive year, Auburn’s Delta Beta chapter of Alpha Epsilon, the honor society for agricultural and biological engineering, was named Most Outstanding Chapter in the nation.
“We’re trying to build a culture around more than just excellence in research,” Fasina said. “I think that going back-to-back as the nation’s top chapter really speaks to the passion our students have for serving not just their profession, but their community.”
Auburn's Department of Biosystems Engineering was represented by 30 faculty members and graduate students at the 2025 ASABE International Meeting.
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