Rate My Professor James Beier

James Baier is Assistant Professor of Agricultural Engineering Technology in the School of Agriculture within the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology at Tennessee Technological University, where he has been on faculty since 2004. He currently serves as Assistant Dean of the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology and Interim Director of the School of Agriculture, positions he has held since 2022. Previously, Baier was Assistant Professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at Auburn University from 1997 to 2004. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (1997), an M.S. in Agricultural Engineering (1991), and a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering (1987), all earned from the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Baier's research specializations in Agricultural and Veterinary Science center on agricultural engineering technologies, including subsurface drip irrigation, trickle irrigation design, chemical soil additives for stabilization such as polyacrylamide, water quality impacts from off-road vehicles and forest roads, erosion and sediment control, thrown object hazards in forestry, butterfly feeding preferences on landscape plants, and waste management like methane production from leachate recycling in pig slurry. Key publications include “Use of Chemical Soil Additives to Stabilize Off-Road Vehicle Trails” (Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 2007), “Butterfly Feeding Preferences for Buddleja Selections in the Landscape” (Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 2006), “Development of a Test Device for Evaluation of Thrown Object Hazards” (Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 2003), and “A Physical and Chemical Properties of Screened-flushed Pig Slurry Waste” (Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 2000). Baier has earned numerous honors for teaching and advising, such as the National Delta Tau Alpha Outstanding Advisor Award (2018), College of Agriculture and Human Ecology Outstanding Teaching Award (2017), NACTA Teaching Award of Merit (2016), multiple School of Agriculture Outstanding Faculty Member awards (2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016), and several outstanding teacher recognitions from Auburn University including Mortar Board Favorite Teacher (2000–2001).