BEE News & Updates

Latest Updates

New BEE Faculty Search in Controlled Environment Agriculture:https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/29031
Three new BEE Faculty Search Positions:
Water and Sustainabilityhttps://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/26284
Sustainable Transitions for Climate-resilient Future https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/26334
Norman R. and Sharon R. Scott Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/26335
In January 2023, the Tanzania subteam traveled to Sunuka, Tanzania to do an on-site evaluation and assessment of an in-progress irrigation system. This video showcases our adventures! Team - Tammo Steenhuis (faculty advisor), Josh Umansky-Castro (advisor), Krisha Jivani (team lead), Aisha Brundan, Janeth Manyalla, Jenna Rotheram, Ajay Sunkara Photography and videography - Krisha Jivani, Josh Umansky-Castro Written, produced, and edited - Krisha Jivan
Assoc. Prof. Jillian Goldfarb has been selected as one of the College of Engineering's outstanding teachers and is the winner of the James and Mary Tien Excellence in Teaching Award, the highest award for teaching in the college.
Sabrina Marcos, Ph.D. student in the Barstow lab receives Cornell Atkinson thematic grant
Alexa Schmitz, Ph.D., is the recipient of an inaugural ‘Rising Women Innovator Award.’ Alexa is a post-doctoral research associate in the lab of Buz Barstow, Assistant Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and In the Barstow lab, she is working on engineering microbes to extract rare earth elements. Her work has been funded by multiple sources, including The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, the Cornell Energy Systems Institutes, and the Burroughs Welcome Fund. Video produced by Cornell alumna Shira Evergreen '02 from Uplifted Ithaca.
New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado visits the Barstow lab
Barstow lab receives climate solution grant
Welcome to the Water Resources Institute’s Year of Water – an educational effort to inform students and Tompkins County residents.

2021 News

BEE March Lab Collaboration: In a collaborative effort, a team from Cornell working with a team from Einstein College of Medicine have published results from a study on building synthetic molecules that have similar structure to microbial metabolites normally found in the gut. Using this approach, termed “metabolite mimicry,” the team was able to demonstrate that making indole-based molecules could significantly reduce intestinal inflammatory markers in both murine and human organoid models.
BEE Prof. Jung awarded NSF funds to help design COVID-19 masks
DOE ARPA selects Prof. Barstow collar. topic for Solicitation on Topics Informing New Program Areas Funding Opportunity Announcement
Walter Lab paper selected as the Best Paper for the Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment in 2020
Prof. Datta Lecture at IFT Food Engineering Division, 2020 Annual Meeting
BEE Professors Barstow and Wu receive $1M DOE award
BEE Prof. Jung and incoming BEE Prof. Roh receive NSF award
Prof. Goldfarb named associate editor of Fuel, one of the top journals of the fuel science community.
BEE FA 21' PhD student Briana Hackos receives 3-year Cornell Sloan/Coleman Graduate Diversity Fellowship
Prof. Jung in National Geographic: How cat tongues work-and can inspire human tech

More BEE News

Sunny Jung (standing), professor of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, helps Alisha Stahl, a middle school teacher from Durgee Junior High School in Baldwinsville, New York, at a workshop for teachers on July 29.

News

August 10, 2026

NYS teachers take on microplastics with snail-inspired robot

Researchers and extension staff translated complex research into a hands-on curriculum – including the construction and deployment of floating robots – for New York State teachers and their students.

New York Sea Grant Institute
Biological and Environmental Engineering

News

June 29, 2026

Two doctoral students selected as FFAR Fellows

Doctoral students Divyanth Loganathan Girija and Sumit Sharma were selected for the 2026-2029 Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Fellows Program.

Animal Science
Biological and Environmental Engineering

A team of Cornell students work on a prototype of their weed-killing robot

News

June 22, 2026

Undergrads’ weed-killing robot wins top prize

A team of Cornell students bested the competition with their invention: an autonomous robot that kills weeds with electricity.

Agriculture Sciences Major
Biological and Environmental Engineering
Agriculture

Lirong Xiang/Provided Cornell researchers stand with an autonomous biosecurity system in a tomato greenhouse. With support from a 2026 Academic Venture Fund, they will develop robotic and diagnostic technologies to improve early detection of plant diseases and strengthen climate-resilient greenhouse agriculture.

News

June 11, 2026

Cornell Atkinson awards drive progress in tech, ag, sustainability

Cornell Atkinson has awarded $900k to support six new research projects that seek to protect coral reefs, improve greenhouse agriculture and understand whether wildfires affect disease spread.

Cornell Atkinson
Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment
Biological and Environmental Engineering

Cornell facilities staff answer questions from students in a tour of Olin Hall's mechanical room.

News

April 28, 2026

From the Living Lab: Rooftop heat recovery slashes Cornell’s energy use

For the latest advance in sustainability on Cornell’s campus, look to the new heat recovery systems atop Olin Hall, Duffield Hall and the Biotechnology Building.

Biological and Environmental Engineering
Environment

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2021 News

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