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Saied Mostaghimi

H.E. and Elizabeth F. Alphin Professor
  • CALS Associate Dean for Research
  • Research areas: Nonpoint source pollution control; watershed management; Impacts of management practices
Saied Mostaghimi, Virginia Tech Department of Biological Systems Engineering Faculty
104 Hutcheson Hall
smostagh@vt.edu
(540) 231-6336

Education

Ph.D., Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982

M.S., Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1979

B.S., Irrigation Engineering, Pahlavi University, Shiraz, Iran, 1976

Experience

December 2009 - present - Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and Director of Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Virginia Tech

July 2003 - November 2009 - Head, Biological Systems Engineering Department, Virginia Tech

September 2000 - present - H.E. and Elizabeth F. Alphin Professor, Virginia Tech

July 2009 - present - Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech

July 1989 - June 1994 - Associate Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech

September 1984 - June 1989 - Assistant Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech

March 1984 - August 1984 - Assistant Scientist, University of Minnesota, stationed at the USDA-ARS North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, Morris, MN

June 1982 - March 1984 - Research Associate, Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Selected Major Awards

  • 2009 - Alumni Award for Excellence in Outreach, Virginia Tech, team award to the Center for Watershed Studies for its outstanding contributions to outreach and community engagement.
  • 2008 - Hancor Soil and Water Award, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Award given by ASABE to those who have had significant impact on the discipline through their research, teaching and outreach activities.
  • 2006 - Elected a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)
  • 2004 - Natural Resources and Environmental Management Flagship Award by the Virginia Cooperative Extension (Team Award to the Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies) for TMDL Development and Education Program.
  • 2004 - Merit Award from Soil and Water Conservation Society, Virginia Chapter,  as a Member of the Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies in Recognition of TMDL Development and Related Training and Outreach Activities, 2004
  • 2004 - Alumni Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising, Virginia Tech
  • 2003 - Outstanding Faculty Award from the Virginia ETA Chapter of Alpha Epsilon.  (Also received the award in1998 and 2002)
  • 2000 - H.E. and Elizabeth F. Alphin Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
  • 1997 - Merit Award, Soil and Water Conservation Society for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Soil and Water Conservation
  • 1997 - College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, Virginia Tech
  • 1997 - Merit  Award by the Virginia Chapter of Soil and Water Conservation Society for Continued Leadership, Education, Research and Development of Graduating Professionals in the Field of Soil and Water Conservation
  • 1993 - Engineering Achievement Young Researcher Award by ASABE for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Knowledge in the Field of Agricultural Engineering
  • 1993 - Alpha Epsilon Recognition of Excellence in the Profession of Agricultural Engineering, by the Virginia ETA Chapter
  • 1992 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator’s Pollution Prevention Award in Recognition of Efforts Contributing toward the Chesapeake Bay Nonpoint Source Pollution Program (A Team Award)

Courses Taught Last Five Years

  • BSE 3134 - Undergraduate Seminar

Program Focus

My research program focuses on Nonpoint source pollution control; Design of water quality monitoring systems; Design and assessment of management practices at watershed scale; Simulation models for water quality assessment; Fate and transport of pathogens and nutrients to surface and ground water.

I also serve as the Director of Biodesign and Bioprocessing Research Center (BBRC). The mission of BBRC is to enhance the capabilities and economic viability of farmers by conducting cutting-edge basic and applied research for conversion of agricultural crops and agricultural/animal wastes to value-added products such as fuels, bio-oils, fertilizers, and other industrial products.   During the past 5 years, the Center has supported about 30 projects for a total funding of over $3.2 million.

I have also led an international collaborative project entitled “Policy Oriented Measures in Support of the Evolving Biological Engineering Studies in USA-EU.” This collaboration between institutions in Europe and the U.S. was focused on enhancing Biosystems Engineering educational programs, including linking with research. The goal was that the exchange of information between more mature U.S. programs and emerging European programs will enhance both types of programs and lead to the development of policy measures to facilitate the continued development and recognition of Biosystems Engineering educational and research programs. Investigators from Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy and the U.S.A participated in this project.

Current Projects

  • Biodesign and Bioprocessing Research Center at Virginia Tech. USDA-NIFA

Selected Recent Publications

(* undergraduate student, ** graduate student, *** post-doc)

  • Soupir**, M.L and S. Mostaghimi. 2011. Escherichia coli and Enterococci Attachment to Particles. Water Air Soil Pollution (2011) 216:167–178
  • Cho**, J., S. Mostaghimi, and M.S. Kang. 2010.  Development and Application of a Modeling Approach for Surface Water and Groundwater Interaction. Agricultural Water Management 97(2010): 123-130.
  • Cho J.** and S. Mostaghimi. 2009. Dynamic Agricultural Nonpoint Source Assessment Tool (DANSAT): Model Development. Biosystems Engineering 102(4): 500-515.
  • Cho** J. and S. Mostaghimi.  2009. Dynamic Agricultural Nonpoint Source Assessment Tool (DANSAT): Model Application. Biosystems Engineering 102 (4): 486-499.
  • Cho** J., V. Barone*, and S. Mostaghimi. 2009. Simulation of land use impacts on groundwater levels and streamflow in a Virginia watershed. Agricultural Water Management 96(1): 1-11.
  • Cho** J. and S. Mostaghimi. 2009. Evaluating cell-based components of DANSAT for predicting surface and subsurface transport of pesticides. Biosystems Engineering 102(4):473-485.
  • Krometis L., T. Dillaha, N. Love, and S. Mostaghimi. 2009. Evaluation of a filtration/dispersion method for enumeration of particle associated E. coli. Journal of Environmental Quality 38(3): 980-986.
  • Cho** J., J. Chun, and S. Mostaghimi. 2009. Development of a comprehensive modeling system for assessing impact of temporally and spatially changing BMP. Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers 51(2):1-13.
  • Cho** J., S. Mostaghimi, and S. Hwang. 2009. Three-dimensional Sensitivity Analysis of Dynamic Agricultural Nonpoint Source Assessment Tool, Journal of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers 51(1):1-13.
  • Soupir** M. and S. Mostaghimi. 2009. A comparative study of stream-gaging techniques employed during low flows. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 45(1):110-122.
  • Cho** J., S. Mostaghimi, M. Kang, and J. Chun. 2009. Sensitivity to Grid and Time Resolution of Hydrology Components of DANSAT. Transactions of ASABE  52(4):1121-1128.
  • Soupir** M., S. Mostaghimi, and J. Lou. 2009. Die-off of E. coli and enterococci in dairy cowpats. Transactions of the ASABE 51(6): 1987-1996.
  • Soupir** M., S. Mostaghimi, and N. Love. 2008. A method to partition between attached and unattached E. coli in runoff from agricultural lands. Journal of the American Water
    Resources Association 44(6): 1591-1599.
  • Mishra** A., B. Benham, and S. Mostaghimi. 2008 Bacterial transport from agricultural lands fertilized with animal manure. Water Air Soil Pollution, 189:127–134.

Selected Recent Funding

  • “Biodesign and Bioprocessing Research Center. PI: S. Mostaghimi. USDA-NIFA, $3,234,256, 2006-2013
  • “Policy oriented measures in support of the evolving Biological Engineering Studies in USA-EU.” PI: S. Mostaghimi, Co-PI: M.L. Wolfe, U.S. Department of Education, $65,000, 2006 – 2008.
  • “Fate and Transport of Pathogen indicators from pasturelands”, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, $17,171, 2006 – 2009
  • “Measuring and assessing soil carbon sequestration, PI: S. Mostaghimi, K. Brannan, University of Hawaii subcontract for Regional Soil Carbon Assessment in West African Agricultural Systems. $137,471, 2004 - 2007.
  • “Model-based clustering for classification of aquatic systems and diagnosis of ecological stress”, PI: P. Diplas, Co-PI: S. Mostaghimi, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, $276,040, 2003 2006.
  • “SANREM CRSP: Watershed Systems”, PI: S. Mostaghimi, U.S. Agency for International Development, $129,199, 2004 – 2006.