BEE Department History

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This is a collection of materials concerning the history of the Department of Biolgical and Environmental Engineering. Pictured above are founders, Howard W. Riley and Byron B. Robb.

For more information go to the BEE Web Site.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 25
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    A Few Things I Remember Or At Least That I’ll Admit!
    Furry, Ronald B. (East River Editorial, 2018)
    Autobiography of Ronald Bay Furry.
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    Memorial Statements for the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering (1939 through 2016) Cornell University Faculty
    Cooke, J. Robert; Furry, Ronald B. (Internet-First University Press, 2017-04-20)
    The University Faculty has always followed the practice of including within the faculty records a memorial resolution on the death of one of its members. This is a collection of just such memorials.
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    ASAE NORTH ATLANTIC REGION'S FIRST FIFTY YEARS
    French, O. C. (1974-08-18)
    A brief history of the North Atlantic Region ASAE, with a listing of Annual Meeting dates and locations, names of chairmen and secretaries . Includes a few historical photograph reproductions.
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    Reflections on an Academic and Commercial Career
    Jewell, William J. (Internet-First University Press, 2014-12)
    William Jewell, Professor Emeritus in Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, traces the arc of his professorial career as a teacher and researcher. His early interests in environmental issues, under-girded by his early interests in utilizing higher plants as a remediation tool, led him to some unique areas of research and teaching interests. He was one of the early explorers of how to blend his academic interests in environmental and ecological engineering with an entrepreneurial direction. He reflects upon the joys and miseries associated with his pioneering work that straddles the two distinctly different cultures of academia and the world of commerce.
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    Bill Irish Reminisces
    Irish, Wilmont Wheeler; Furry, Ronald Bay (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-04)
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    Bill Jewell Reminisces
    Jewell, William J.; Ahner, Beth (Interviewer) (Internet-First University Press, 2014-06-10)
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    Yves Parlange Reminisces
    Parlange, Jean-Yves; Scott, Norman R. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-04)
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    Ev Markwardt Reminisces
    Markwardt, Everett D.; Scott, Norman R. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-03)
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    Lou Albright Reminisces
    Albright, Louis D.; Scott, Norman R. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-04)
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    Bob Cooke Reminisces
    Cooke, J. Robert; Scott, Norman R.; King, Kenneth M. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-11-10)
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    Ron Furry Reminisces
    Furry, Ronald B.; Rehkugler, Gerald E. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-10-04)
    This 50-minute oral history interview traces the life of Ronald Bay Furry from his early days near Niagara Falls, NY and his college days at Cornell University (BS 1953, with Distinction; MS 1955) through his early days in the Department of Agricultural Engineering in teaching and Extension; then, on to a leave at Iowa State University to earn a PhD (1965), followed by a return to Cornell where he spent the balance of his professional career, encompassing 42 years. His doctorate experience allowed him to be a very early leader in the use of digital computers and the teaching of very large and popular courses in digital computer programming. His Cornell career gave particular emphasis to the design of agricultural structures, especially dairy facilities, where he helped design a major Animal Science Teaching and Research Center (ASTARC), and his research on controlled-atmosphere storage of crops, such as cabbage, contributed to the preservation of that industry in the State. He served as the seventh chair of his academic department during 1990-1994. He also served the department as Coordinator of Research and Graduate Faculty Representative, participated in a wide variety of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Engineering and University responsibilities, including the University Senate and the Faculty Council of Representatives, and established and conducted the department’s undergraduate recruitment program from 1974 to his retirement in 1995.
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    Mike Walter reminisces
    Walter, Michael F.; Rehkugler, Gerald E. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-03)
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    Gilbert Levine Reminisces
    Levine, Gilbert; Rehkugler, Gerald E. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-03)
    This video is about Gilbert Levine's recollections of his experiences with the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University.
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    Norman R. Scott Reminisces
    Scott, Norman R.; Cooke, J. Robert (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-03)
    This video is about the legacy of Norman R. Scott.
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    Gerald E. Rehkugler Reminisces
    Rehkugler, Gerald E.; Scott, Norman R. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-03)
    This video is about the legacy of Gerald E. Rehkugler.
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    Lynne H. Irwin Reminisces
    Irwin, Lynne H.; Scott, Norman R. (Internet-First University Press, 2013-09-04)
    This video is about Lynne H. Irwin and his stewardship of the Local Roads Program.
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    A Conversation with James W. Spencer
    Spencer, James W.; Cooke, J. Robert (Interviewer) (Internet-First University Press, 2012-11-17)
    The legacy of Professor Emeritus James W. Spencer is traced from his days as a Cornell undergraduate in civil engineering. In 1951 Jim began his work as a faculty member in agricultural engineering at Cornell on farm-to-market roads in New York State. Then he progressed through administrative assignments in Cornell Cooperative Extension, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and at the university level as Vice Provost with a focus on financial matters. After retirement he guided a national philanthropic program in U.S. higher education for the Atlantic Philanthropies. Jim Spencer's career was distinguished by his quiet and responsible attention to academic management with consistent follow-through and a talent for working across the traditional academic boundaries. His sustained collaboration with (Dean and then Provost) W. Keith Kennedy is legendary. Spencer's reflections were recorded twenty-five years after his 'retirement' at Cornell.
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    Simulation and model verification of agricultural tractor overturns
    Davis, Denny C. (Thesis (Ph. D.) - Cornell University, 1973-08)
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    Riley-Robb Hall at Cornell University: Celebrating It's Opening
    Cooke, J. Robert; Furry, Ronald B. (Internet-First University Press, 2007-06-28)
    In the fall of 1953, 46 years after the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell was founded (in 1907) as Division of Rural Engineering and Architecture, ground was broken for what would become its own home, Riley-Robb Hall, named after its founding fathers, Howard W. Riley and Byron B. Robb. The building was dedicated on October 6, 1954, and in 1956 the Agricultural Engineering Department, as it was then named, occupied its new 2 1/4 acre facility for teaching, research and extension. By Fall Semester 1957, 38 professorial and non-professorial staff, 6 graduate students and 12 office professionals were on the roster, as shown in the new directory of September 25, 1957 in the Appendix. Pictures of many of these individuals can be seen in the photographs included in this album. The appendix contains a listing of this 1957 directory.
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    In Their Own Voices: A Conversation with Howard W. Riley: Early Agricultural Engineering at Cornell University
    Colman, Gould P. (Internet-First University Press, 2007)
    In August of 1963, Dr. Gould Colman, University Archivist Emeritus, interviewed Professor Howard W. Riley, who was the head of the Department of Agricultural Engineering from 1907-1945. In these interviews, Professor Riley candidly records his accomplishments and mistakes, describes his limited access to educational resources that now seem primitive, and repeats his commitment to the overriding goal of teaching and research in the College at the time, and helping New York's rural people improve life's quality in farm and home life.