UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Paul Heinemann, head of the agricultural and biological engineering department at Penn State, was recently elected to the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) board of trustees.
He will serve a three-year term beginning July 2015.
"I am very pleased to have this opportunity to serve in this capacity which is very important to the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers," said Heinemann. "This will also help keep Penn State in the forefront of leadership within the society. What ASABE represents – food production, water relations, biologically based energy and products – will continue to grow in importance in the 21st century and I am looking forward to helping advance ASABE's mission."
Heinemann joined the Penn State faculty as an assistant professor of agricultural engineering in 1988, became an associate professor in 1994 and achieved the rank of full professor in 1999.
He was named head of the department in 2010.
Heinemann's research has focused on specialty crop mechanization and automation, applications of artificial intelligence to agricultural systems management and control and mushroom production.
His awards and honors include the 2010 Penn State Engineering Alumni Society Outstanding Advising Award and the 2008 College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society Excellence in Advising Award and Penn State's Undergraduate Program Leadership Award.
Heinemann received his bachelor's degree in meteorology and his master's degree in agricultural engineering from Penn State and his doctorate in agricultural meteorology, with a focus in agricultural engineering, from the University of Florida.
The ASABE is an educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in St. Joseph, Michigan, the society comprises 8,000 members in more than 100 countries.