Fasina tapped to head Department of Biosystems Engineering

Oladiran Fasina has been selected to lead Auburn University's Department of Biosystems Engineering, Paul Patterson, dean of the College of Agriculture, announced Thursday. He will officially step into the role April 16. Fasina is currently a professor in the department and served in 2016 as the College of Agriculture's interim associate dean for research and interim assistant director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.

"Dr. Fasina's background in research, teaching and academic administration makes him an ideal fit for this position," Patterson said. "He has advanced the research programs of his department and the college in excellent ways through his previous roles, and his extensive professional and academic work outside Auburn have given him a depth of experience that will be valuable. I look forward to working with him as well as our colleagues in the College of Engineering to further advance the academic and research efforts of our biosystems engineering department."

The Department of Biosystems Engineering is operated collaboratively through colleges of Agriculture and Engineering.

Fasina came to Auburn as an assistant professor in 2002. He was named an associate professor in 2007 and a full professor in 2012. He was honored with the distinction of Alumni Professor in 2015 for his exceptional contributions to his department and to the university. Before coming to Auburn, Fasina had served as a food process engineer for the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.

"Dr. Fasina is an outstanding scholar and educator, and I am very pleased that he will be leading the Department of Biosystems Engineering," said Christopher B. Roberts, dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. "I am looking forward to working closely with Dr. Fasina to further the educational and research opportunities of our students in this department. Furthermore, I look forward to a continued close working relationship with Dean Patterson as both of us work with Dr. Fasina to elevate our biosystems engineering programs to even higher levels."

Fasina completed a bachelor's and a master's degree in agricultural engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where he also served as an assistant professor from 1988 to 1990. He later completed his doctorate in agricultural and bioresource engineering from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatchewan, Canada, where he served as a postdoctoral fellow from 1994 to 1998.