Steven K. Mickelson is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) at Iowa State University. He grew up in northwest Iowa on a farm just north of Storm Lake, IA. From 2011 to 2021 he served as the Department Chair for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and was the inaugural recipient of the Charles R. and Jane F. Olsen Professorship in Engineering. The named professorship was made possible through the generosity of Charles and Jane Olsen of Leawood, KS, to recognize an outstanding faculty member with research and teaching emphasis in the areas of sustainability, clean water, and the environment. During his tenure as Department Chair, the department rose to the top rankings among Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering departments in the United States according to U.S. News and World Report. Dr. Mickelson’s teaching expertise is in engineering computer graphic, engineering design, and engineering workplace competency development and his research focus areas includes evaluation of agricultural best practices for reducing surface water contamination and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Prior to becoming the Chair for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, he was the Director for the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) and the Co-director of Learning Communities at Iowa State for three years. He received his agricultural engineering degrees from Iowa State University in 1982, 1984, and 1991, respectively. Dr. Mickelson also has an honorary doctorate degree from Georgian Technical University in Tbilisi, Georgia. In 2017, he received the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Gilley Academic Leadership Award and the Iowa State University Award for Departmental Leadership. He became a Fellow of ASABE in 2018.
