Each spring, UF ABE Design II student teams present their capstone design projects to faculty and the ABE advisory board. Projects are judged based on their overall use of engineering, science, and mathematics in design solution, sustainability, and presentation quality.
The Design II course, led by Ziynet Boz, Ph.D., is an opportunity for Biological Engineering students to apply their theories and research into tangible, workable projects. The success of her course has been a result of continued efforts to make sure students complete an engineering design cycle and have an opportunity to reiterate with their prototypes built.
Teams Sterile Step, FertiGators, Egg-ineers, Stella 2.0 and Hydro Sense showcased their capstone design projects for the panel of judges. The FertiGators: Sarah Laboda, Ethan Lantzy, Nicholas Manco, and Quinn White took the win this year. They showcased a mobile app that allows produce farmers using drip fertigation to model water and chemical flow.
The FertiGators were awarded the Joe E. Collins II Excellence in Engineering Design Award- an award certificate and prize of $250 per team member, given in honor of the ABE Alumnus of the same name. The award was presented by Interim Chair Greg Kiker Ph.D., and Joe’s wife Lisa Collins.
Joe Collins, Senior VP of Ag Operations at Lykes Bros. Inc, spent 32 years as a professional agricultural engineer and was responsible for all Ranch and Citrus division operations in Florida and Texas. He received his BS in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Florida in 1991. He was appointed to the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board where he served as chair, was presented with the distinguished alumnus of the University of Florida and was a proud Gator fan.
Joe served continuously on the UF ABE Advisory Board starting in 2011. He was also a member of the Florida Section American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (FASABE) and served as chair 2002-2003, Florida/Highlands County Cattlemen’s Association, Florida/Highlands County Farm Bureau, Florida Forestry Association board member, and Heartland Agriculture Coalition.
The Joe E. Collins II Excellence Award preserves the memory of our late alumnus and honors his significant contributions both to our department and to Agricultural Engineering.
0
