Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Assistant Professor/Environmental Quality Engineer
Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Department
South Dakota State University
Box 2120
Brookings, SD 57007-1496
605.688.5144 Phone – 605.688.6764 Fax
russell.persyn@sdstate.edu

Vita

Introduction

Dr. Russell Persyn is an Assistant Professor in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at South Dakota State University and serves as the Environmental Quality Engineer for the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service. Dr. Persyn is also a Registered Professional Engineer. Professionally, Dr. Persyn is an active member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers serving and organizing technical meetings, symposiums, continuing professional development sessions, and promoting engineering licensure.

Dr. Persyn has worked on water quality issues and evaluation of best management practices and waste treatment technologies and has received funding from numerous state and federal agencies. Specifically, Dr. Persyn has worked on evaluating composted organics from various sources for use in erosion control on construction projects, focusing on movement of sediment, nutrient and heavy metal transport, and development of model parameters. Dr. Persyn also has considerable experience in the design and evaluation of treatment technologies such as constructed wetlands, sand filters, trickling filters, and aerobic treatment units and land application technologies including, spray distribution, drip distribution, and subsurface treatment.

Education

Ph.D. / Agricultural Engineering and Civil Engineering, 2003, Iowa State University, Ames
M.S. / Agricultural Engineering, 2000, Texas A&M University, College Station
B.S. / Agricultural Engineering, 1998, Texas A&M University, College Station

Research/Extension Activities

Waste Treatment and Management
Water Quality and Watershed Management
Stormwater and Erosion Control

Teaching

AS/AST 463, Agricultural Waste Management
ABE 792, Special Topics in Ag Waste Management

Professional Licenses

Licensed Professional Engineer, State of Texas

Awards & Honors

Rev. Paul Taiganides Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University
PACE Tuition Award for Outstanding Students, Iowa State University
Robert E. Stewart Graduate Student Award, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University
Robert E. Stewart Engineering Humanities Award, American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE)
J.W. Sorenson Undergraduate Student Award, Texas A&M University
President’s Citation – ASAE International Meeting, Outstanding recognition awarded by ASAE President
Outstanding Student Engineer Award – Texas Section of ASAE

Professional Organizations