RESOURCE

Engineering & Technology for a Sustainable World

FEATURES

Engineering Gone Nuts ... 7
Dan Guyer, a "nutty professor" at Michigan State University, sees beyond the traditional holiday chestnut to a nutritious and delicious year-round table staple. In a pilot project at MSU, chestnuts are being "scaled up" from a family-Christmas tradition to a profitable industry involving multiple facets of agricultural and biosystems engineering input.

O Tannenbaum ... 9
Christmas Trees 101: it could be a class taught by Joe Schilling and David Burner, who have designed and orchestrated construction of a tractor-drawn rig with remote, walk-behind operation. Its specific application is shearing "O Tannenbaum," but other possibilities may appear on the drawing board.

A New Year's Paradigm for Modeling Soil Water ... 11
With implications for water flow, contaminant transport, and soil water management, Rabi Mohtar and Erik Brandeau consider the swelling and shrinkage properties of aggregates within the soil in concert with the hydrostructural properties. Ringing out the old and bringing in the new, their research presents a systemic process-based approach to characterize and parameterize the soil medium using its volume changes.

MWPS: Auld Lang Syne ... 13
Celebrating 75 years of MidWest Plan Services, Bill Koenig and Jay Harmon take a nostalgic trip down memory lane highlighting the growth of an organization that successfully filled needs of the American farmer at crisis points in many eras. MWPS now faces a crisis of its own.

INSIDE ASAE

Candidates for ASAE's 2004 Election ... 15
ASAE's Nominating Committee has put together a platform of highly qualified individuals for ASAE's 2004 election. This issue provides candidates' position statements and other background information.

Candidates for Board of Trustees ... 16
Vincent F. Bralts, Paul H. Heinemann, Terry A. Howell Jr., David G. Isaacs, William T. (Billy) Lawson, Lawson (Mac) Safley, Ernest W. Tollner

Candidates for Nominating Committee ... 17
ESH -- David L. Hard
Gary T. Roberson

SE -- David R. Bohnhoff
Larry D. Jacobson

District 1 -- GSV M. (Vijay) Raghavan
Philippe M. Savoie

District 3 -- R. Vance Morey
Kenneth A. Sudduth

District 5 -- Conly L. Hansen
Joan Q. Wu

International -- Zachary A. Henry
Fedro S. Zazueta

Nominations Sought for 2005 ASAE Election ... 20

Graduate Student Research Award ... 20

From the President ... 21
Input Needed in Updating Our Society's History Document, What ASAE Membership Means to You

Apply Now for Student Engineer of the Year ... 21

ASAE Membership Provides You With Many Benefits ... 22

Member News ... 23
Steven E. Taylor, Saied Mostaghimi, John V. Perumpral, Jeffrey C. Lorimor, Wesley F. Buchele, Bradley A. King, Thomas B. Whitaker, Lalit R. Verma

In Memoriam ... 24
Gilbert L. Corey, Louis M. Glymph, Glen E. VandenBerg, Roger R. Yoerger

Welcome New Members ... 25

DEPARTMENTS

Events Calendar ... 2nd cover

Reader Forum ... 2

Update ... 3

Personnel Service ... 26

Professional Listings ... 28

Last Word ... 29

Return to Resource Magazine Issues Page