Dean Steele

Associate Professor

Faculty

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Dr. Dean Steele

Areas of Study & Research

Irrigation and environmental engineering.

Courses Taught

ABEN 255, Computer Aided Analysis and Design, 3 credits, every fall semester.

ASM 225, Computer Applications in Agricultural Systems Management, 3 credits, every fall semester.

ABEN 464/664, Resource Conservation and Irrigation Engineering, 4 creidts, spring of odd -numbered years.

Professional Associations

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Red River Valley Section of ASABE

University Affiliations

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Minnesota
  • M.S., South Dakota State University
  • Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering, University of Minnesota

Publications

Maisha, R., Steele, D.D., Daigh, A., Heeren, D.M., and Franz, T. (2025). Field calibration of a time domain reflectometry sensor for water content measurement in soils with low content of coarse fragments. Water 2025, 17(8), 1203; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17081203

Delavarpour, N., Koparan, C., Zhang, Y., Steele, D., Betitame, K., Bajwa, S.G., and Sun, X. (2023). A review of the current unmanned aerial vehicle sprayer applications in precision agriculture. Journal of the ASABE 66(3):703-721 https://doi.org/10.13031/ja.15128

Brook, M.J., Svyantek, A., Stenger, J., Auwarter, C., Steele, D., and Hatterman-Valenti, H. (2022). Influence of Hill Configuration on Water Conservation and Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Production in North Dakota. Acta Horticulturae https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2022.1355.48

Becker, S., Franz, T., Abimola, O., Steele, D.D., Flores, J.P., Jia, X., Scherer, T.F., Rudnick, D., and Neale, C. (2022). Feasibility assessment on the use of proximal geophysical sensors to support precision agriculture decision making. Vadose Zone J.http://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20228

Ostrand, M.S. DeSutter, T.M., Steele, D.D., Limb, R.F., and Daigh, A.L.M. (2021). Can a superabsorbent polymer help remediate compaction in frigid, semiarid soils? – a laboratory evaluation on soil physical processes, Arid Land Research and Management, DOI: 10.1080/15324982.2021.1887399 https://doi.org/10.1080/15324982.2021.1887399

Ostrand, M.S., DeSutter, T.M., Daigh, A.L.M, Limb, R.F., and Steele, D.D. (2020). Superabsorbent polymer characteristics, properties and applications. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment 2020;3:e20074 https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20074

Roy, D., Jia, X., Steele, D.D., Chu, X., and Lin, Z. (2020). Infiltration into frozen silty clay loam soil with different soil moisture contents in the Red River of the North Basin in the USA. Water 12, 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020321

Presentations

Maisha, R.M., and Steele, D.D. (2023). Comparative Analysis of Soil Moisture Sensors for Irrigation Water Management. Presented by Maisha at the 2023 South Dakota Student Water Conference, Brookings, South Dakota, USA. 10 Oct.

Maisha, R.M., and Steele, D.D. (2023). Soil moisture sensor charts. Presented at the ND Statewide NRCS Engineering Meeting, Oakes, ND. 26 July. Presented by Maisha.

Steele, D.D., and Maisha, R.M. (2023). Building NRCS technical capacity in irrigation water management for variable rate irrigation. Presented at the ND Statewide NRCS Engineering Meeting, Oakes, ND. 26 July. Presented by Steele.

Maisha, R.M., Steele, D.D., and Tuscherer, S. (2023). Comparison of soil moisture sensors for irrigation water management. Poster presented at the North Dakota State University Graduate Student Council Research Symposium, Fargo, ND, USA. 18 April. Presented by Maisha.

Steele, D.D., Maisha, R.M., Tuscherer, S.T., Maguire, M., Neale, C., Scherer, T.F., Jia, X., Flores, P., Lin, D., Franz, T., and Heeren, D. (2022). NRCS variable rate irrigation project update. Presented by Steele at the 2022 NDSU Irrigation Workshop, Bismarck. 8 Dec.