As Cornell's Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering (BEE) enters its second century, a professor emeritus has chronicled its early roots in agricultural studies and its many changes over the years.

"A Pioneering Department: Evolution From Rural Engineering to Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, 1907-2007" is a 176-page history written by BEE Professor Emeritus Ronald B. Furry. Published by The Internet-First University Press, the publication is available at the Cornell Library eCommons Web site at http://hdl.handle.net/1813/7642.

In short chapters, the publication traces the history of BEE, from its roots in agricultural mechanics first taught in the College of Agriculture in 1900, to its present-day home in Riley-Robb Hall, named after Howard W. Riley and Byron B. Robb, the department founders and first department heads.

From 1988 to 2001, the department was called Agricultural and Biological Engineering. In 2001 it took on its present name because of its continued evolution into the integrated focus areas of biological and environmental engineering. The department currently focuses on ways to use biology as an engineering tool.

Shaped from studies in agricultural science and mechanics, the department also has deep historical ties with Cornell's land-grant mission, according to Furry.

"What began as a farm-oriented discipline, directed mainly by bright American men with rural backgrounds, has broadened into a theoretical and applied discipline made up of men and women from around the world who work to discover how best to make use of and preserve the resources of the Earth," Furry writes.