Stuart O. Nelson, ASABE Fellow, was honored with the prestigious Career Excellence Award at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference in Torino, Italy, in May. The award is sponsored by the Instrumentation and Measurement Society of the IEEE.
Nelson worked as a research agricultural engineer for the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, at the University of Nebraska and at the Russell Research Center in Athens, Ga. He retired with 55 years of federal service in 2007. He conducted pioneering research on measuring the dielectric properties of grain, seed, fruits and vegetables, insects, and other materials and their applications in treatment of agricultural products with radio-frequency and microwave energy. The studies included treatment of seed to improve germination and seeding growth, to control insects in grain and pecans through selective dielectric heating, to improve nutritional value of soybeans, and to preserve the quality of pecans in storage. The dielectric properties of grain and seed are used universally throughout the world for rapid measurement of moisture content, the most important characteristic of these products for safe storage and quality preservation.
Nelson grew up on a family farm in Stanton County, Neb., graduated from Pilger High School, served in the US Navy near the end of World War II, and earned several degrees in engineering and physics at the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University. He has held professorial appointments at the University of Nebraska and The University of Georgia. He was named Federal Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1985 and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1990.
He is a 67-year member of ASABE.