It can be confusing for two colleges to share biosystems engineering, but Adhikari said it makes sense as “we are engineers, trying to solve the problems related to agriculture.”
A sign hangs from the front of the Corley Building, proclaiming the department is developing solutions to life’s essential challenges: “Food, Water, Energy, Environment and Health.”
If that doesn’t clarify the type of work being done inside, Adhikari says, “we try to say that we solve these big problems related to water, food and fuel.”
While his office neighbor, Associate Professor David Blersch, is looking at algae growth in high-nutrient wastewater, Adhikari is focused on bioenergy, deriving energy like electricity and biofuel from organic materials (biomass), such as plants and wood.
Adhikari, in collaboration with agriculture faculty, is currently using biochar for agriculture uses for improving soil and water health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and even killing cockroaches. Biochar — the result of heating biomass like wood, crop residue and manure — is black (like charcoal), extremely light (like Styrofoam) and resembles finely shredded mulch.
Even in their interim roles, Adhikari and Appel can discuss their common work, as Appel is evaluating the efficacy of biochar for killing cockroaches.
With such work happening in the center, researchers like Adhikari and his graduate students seek campus experts in water, soil and horticulture, to name a few, for assistance.
“You need a multidisciplinary approach to solving these problems because these problems are complex,” said Adhikari.
When it comes to biochar, Adhikari believes researchers, like himself, are finding answers to multiple issues. For instance, biochar holds carbon in the soil for hundreds to thousands of years, preventing its release into the atmosphere. 
“At the same time, you can improve soil properties with it,” he said. “Capture some of the nutrients from runoff, and you’re looking at other benefits to the ecosystem.”
It boils down to engineering the biochar properties differently to serve unique needs.
Biochar designed by Adhikari’s team to help farmers minimize the effects of drought will be engineered differently than the team creating biochar to capture excess phosphorus in the soil and slowly release it to benefit plant growth.
Talk about impact.