Dr. Amir Verdi received the 2026 Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for his entry, Advancing Precision Agriculture in Southern California. The award recognizes excellence in educational and extension materials that improve understanding of agricultural and biological engineering topics beyond the traditional classroom.

"Dairy farms produce large amounts of two things: milk and poop. Milk finds its way into delicacies like hot cocoa and grilled cheese sandwiches but the poop just piles up. Dairy farmers bulldoze the mess into artificial ponds called manure lagoons, where anaerobic microbes break it down into methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Methane traps...