CEA Program Courses
PLP 150C1 - Mushrooms, Molds, and Man, 3 units (Spring) – Dr. Barry Pryor
An overview of how organisms in the Kingdom Fungi (mushrooms, molds, yeasts, rusts, mildews) impact individuals and society. Content will include contemporary and historical contributions of fungi or fungal products as they relate to food, medicine, religion, famine, industry, and basic science, and how these contributions have changed the way we live, the quality of our lives, and cultural development.
Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: None
Units: 3.00
BE/PLS 217 – Introduction to Hydroponics Lecture, 3 units (Fall) - Dr. Triston Hooks
Introduction to hydroponics and hydroponic systems for various crops: an historical perspective and current trends; basic plant physiology and anatomy; general cultural practices; plant protection (insects and diseases); traditional and organic hydroponic production systems; pollination, fertilization and bee management; plant nutrition and disorders; irrigation systems and nutrients; transplant production; greenhouse site selection, structures and control systems; fruit harvest; food handling and safety; marketing and economics of a hydroponic business.
Offered in: Fall
Prerequisites: None
Units: 3.00
View Syllabus: UA
BE/PLS 217L - Introduction to Hydroponics Lab, 1 unit (Fall) - Dr. Triston Hooks
This is a hands-on course, teaching hydroponic tomato production from seedling through harvest using commercial style high-wire production techniques. Students apply what they have learned in BE 217 Lecture to real plants in a greenhouse setting. Course covers plant cultivation techniques such as clipping, stem pruning, leaning and lowering, cluster pruning and clipping, leaf maintenance, and harvesting techniques. Course also includes gaining skills in plant spacing, making nutrient tanks, monitoring plant health, pollination, and irrigation and climate control factors important for a successful crop. Observations of other hydroponic production systems in use at the UA-CEAC facility are also included.
Offered in: Fall
Prerequisites: None, co-enrolled in BE 217
Units: 1.00
View Syllabus: UA
BE 284 – Biosystems Thermal Engineering, 3 units (Fall) - Dr. Murat Kacira
This course provides an integrated introduction to basic thermal engineering topics. A structured problem-solving approach emphasizes the interrelated roles of Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, and Heat and Mass Transfer relevant to real-world engineering analyses.
Offered in: Fall
Prerequisites: MATH 129, PHYS 141
Units: 3.00
BE 334 - Aquaponics Design, 3 units (Summer) – Dr. Mathew Recsetar
This course begins with an introduction into the field of aquaponics -- the culture of fish and plants together and then provides an in depth guide into designing and building aquaponics systems. Various types of aquaponics systems and their parts will be discussed in addition to learning about water pressure and flow in aquaponics systems. The course provides students with hands-on learning activities and offers students the opportunity to engage in an online, group project.
Offered in: Summer 1
Prerequisites: None
Units:3.00
View Syllabus: UA
BE 350 – Advanced Hydroponic Crop Production, Lecture, 3 units (Spring) - Dr. Triston Hooks
This is an advanced level course, building on the basic principles covered in BE 217: Introduction to Hydroponics lecture. Students will gain experience in nutrient formulation, fertigation management, and plant health monitoring; design, operation, and cultivation of crops in various types of hydroponic systems and environments (ex. Nutrient Film Technique, Deep Water Culture, aeroponics, aquaponics, gourmet mushrooms, vertical farming, supplemental and sole source lighting); and understanding of the principles and challenges in developing organic hydroponic systems. Students will read and analyze primary literature involving hydroponic systems and develop the ability to troubleshoot and solve grower problems.
Offered in: Spring
Prerequisites: BE 217
Units:3.00
View Syllabus: UA
BE 350 – Advanced Hydroponic Crop Production Lab, 1 unit (Spring) - Dr. Triston Hooks
This is an advanced level course, building on the basic principles covered in BE 217: Introduction to Hydroponics. Students will gain hands-on experience with various hydroponic and specialty crop production systems such as Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Deep Water Culture (DWC), bag culture, aquaponics, and gourmet mushroom production. Course will cover nutrient and irrigation management, climate control, integrated pest management, crop scheduling, seeding, transplanting, harvesting, and packaging using GHP/GAP food safety protocols.
Offered in: Spring
Prerequisites: BE 217, co-enrolled in BE 350
Units:3.00
View Syllabus: UA
BE 444/544 - Aquaponics Engineering, 3 units (Spring) – Dr. Mathew Recsetar
This course begins with an overview of aquaponics "the culture of fish and plants together" and then provides an in depth guide into properly designing, building and troubleshooting aquaponics systems, especially on the commercial scale. Engineering aspects of aquaponics systems will be thoroughly discussed in addition to biochemical processes, filtration and designing for various flow rates, fish species and plants. The course provides students with numerous hands-on learning activities and offers students the opportunity to advance their knowledge of aquaponics well beyond the basics.
Offered in: Spring
Prerequisites: Fluid Dynamics, Math 111 and Math 112 are recommended
Units: 3.00
View Syllabus: UA
BE 452/552 - Globalization, Sustainability and Innovation, 3 units (Spring) – Dr. Joel Cuello
Globalization, sustainability and innovation constitute the three principal forces that drive the world of the 21st century -- economically, politically, socially and culturally. Aimed at engineering and science students, the objective of the course is to foster among them global intelligence (or global smarts), defined as an inclusive and cross-disciplinary working knowledge of how the globe operates today - including (1) how global infrastructures in communication, transportation and information technology have transformed how nations and corporations conduct business, (2) how nurturing sustainability ensures competitive advantage while ignoring it imperils nations as well as the planet, and (3) how technological innovation is critical both in maintaining competitive advantage and in providing the essential sustainable solutions to many of our current global challenges. In a flat world, fostering global intelligence has become a vital component of a well-rounded engineering and science education.
Offered in: Spring
Prerequisites: None
Units: 3.00
View Syllabus: UA ABET
BE 456/556 – Irrigation Systems Design, 3 units (Spring) – Dr. Peter Waller
Introduction to soil and water relationships, irrigation systems, irrigation water supply, and irrigation management; basic designs.
Offered in: Fall
Prerequisites: Adv. Standing; Engineering major; Junior or Senior status; CE 218 or AME 331
Units: 3.00
PLS/BE – 475A/575A - Applied Plant Physiology, 3 units (Spring) – Dr. Tanya Quist
Students will learn the major environmental factors affecting plant growth and development and will understand interactions between plants and their microenvironments, including light penetration and CO2/H2O diffusion. Students will learn energy and mass balance of leaves and canopy and correlate these phenomena with plant productivity and related plant physiological mechanisms. Lectures cover critical controlled environment issues and practices of plant production in greenhouse, plant production factory, tissue culture vessels and post-harvest storage, with an introduction to the current research status in these areas. This course will be offered in spring of even years.
Offered in: Spring
Prerequisites: None
Units: 3.00
BE/PLS 479/579 – Applied Instrumentation for Controlled Environment Agriculture, 3 units (Spring) - Dr. Murat Kacira
Students will learn principles, methods, and techniques related to the measurement and control of environmental factors affecting plant growth and plants' surrounding climate under controlled environments. Light intensity, light quality, temperature (air, plant), relative humidity, carbon dioxide, water, air current, and related factors are important variables in controlled environment plant production systems to measure and control since they affect and determine plant growth and development and processes such as heating, ventilating and air conditioning, fertigation etc. Therefore, students will learn application of sensors, instrumentation and designing of a simple system to measure and control environments for plant production systems.
Offered in: Spring
Prerequisites: Adv. Standing; Engineering major OR PLS major or minor; Junior or Senior status; MATH 113 and PHYS 102
Units: 3.00
View Syllabus: UA ABET
BE 482/582 - Integrated Engineered Solutions in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus, 3 units (Fall) – Dr. Joel Cuello
Integrated engineered solutions in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus are transformational integrated designs -- drivers of change -- that are necessary to make feeding an increased global population this century possible, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective.
Offered in: Fall
Prerequisites: Adv. Standing; Engineering major;
Units: 3.00
View Syllabus: UA
BE/PLS 483/583- Controlled Environment Systems, 3 units (Fall) - Dr. Gene Giacomelli
An introduction to the technical aspects of greenhouse design, environmental control, hydroponic crop production, plant nutrient delivery systems, intensive field production systems, and post-harvest handling and storage of crops.
Offered in: Fall
Prerequisites: Adv. Standing; Engineering major or minor; PLS major; Junior or Senior status
Units: 3.00
BE/ENTO/AGTM 497c/597c CEA Integrated Pest Management, 3 units (Spring) - Dr. Triston Hooks
Pest management skills development in the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC) teaching/research greenhouses, with hands-on assignments, and group discussion covering pest management principles, methods, and current practice.
Prerequisites: None
Offered in: Spring
Units: 3.00
Syllabus: UA