Greg Kiker has been selected to lead the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) as the interim chair. He will begin his new role on Jan. 1.
Kiker, a professor of ecological modeling and management in ABE, has been with the department for 10 years as a graduate coordinated and faculty member, as well as vice chair of the UF Fulbright Committee.
An interim ABE leader is needed due to some leadership changes in UF/IFAS: Current ABE Chair Kati Migliaccio will be moving to become the new UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) dean in January, following a national search to replace current CALS Dean Elaine Turner, as she steps down after ten years at the helm to pursue special projects.
ABE’s focus is on developing, teaching and applying engineering principles to improve agricultural and biological systems now and in the future, both on a local and a global scale. The department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and CALS.
“I am honored to follow professor Kati Migliaccio as the interim chair in 2025. The UF/IFAS ABE department has a successful history of working in cross-disciplinary teams by integrating engineering, science and practical decision-making to address wicked challenges facing our citizens in Florida and across the globe,” Kiker said. “We’re proud to be situated within UF and IFAS, where we together enable and amplify teams to create globally relevant solutions. Biological systems surround us all, and we are deeply invested in balancing our human needs with the world around us. Agricultural and biological engineering is fundamental part of this balancing effort. I am excited to move forward with this group of talented professors.”
Rob Gilbert, UF/IFAS dean for research and executive director for academic affairs, said he’s been impressed by Kiker’s innovative approach to the use of graduate student fellowships via the Pathfinder program. Instead of having the chair select recipients, ABE invites proposals for competitive grants, a process that had been transformative in expanding the boundaries of the ABE discipline. This approach to mini seed-grants uses graduate student fellowships as a tool to encourage new and veteran faculty members to work together.
“It’s a momentous time for a department that last year celebrated its centennial. ABE has emerged as one of the leaders in the UF/IFAS push to develop agricultural applications of artificial intelligence,” Gilbert said.
###
ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
0
