(Ranjan) R. Sri Ranjan, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Professor 
Department of Biosystems Engineering 
University of Manitoba 
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6 CANADA

Phone:(204) 474-9344 
Fax: (204) 474-7512 
E-mail: sri.ranjan@umanitoba.ca

Post-Secondary Education: 
1989 Ph.D. Colorado State University, U.S.A Agricultural Engineering 
1986 M.S. Colorado State University, U.S.A Agricultural Engineering 
1981 B.Sc.(Hon) University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Major in Agric. Engineering

Field(s) in which a specialist: 
Soil and Water Engineering covering the following sub-specialities: 
Irrigation, Drainage, Flow and contaminant transport through porous media, soil remediation. 
 

Teaching Responsibilities: 
BIOE 4500 Water Management (Agriculture Degree) 
BIOE 4600 Design of Water Management Systems (Engineering Degree Lecture + Lab) 
BIOE 4620 Remediation Engineering (Engineering Degree Lecture + Lab)
BIOE 7040 Physical Properties of Unsaturated Porous Solids 

CIVL 2790 Fluid Mechanics (Engineering Degree Lecture + Lab)
BIOE 7140 Advanced Irrigation and Drainage

BIOE 7240 Advanced Remediation Engineering 
 

Memberships in Professional/Technical Societies: 
Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba (APEGM) 
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASAE) 
American Geophysical Union (AGU) 
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 
Canadian Society for Bioengineering (CSBE/SCGAB)

Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA)

Research (brief description):

Integrated drainage/subirrigation systems for sustainable water management 
Overhead irrigation, subirrigation, controlled drainage, and free drainage are being evaluated in corn and potatoes for developing design and operation standards for the Prairies.

Time-domain Reflectometry applications in rootzone water uptake studies 
The TDR has been successfully interfaced with the computer for data acquisition and curve analysis. Mini-TDR probes have been built and calibrated to monitor the water uptake patterns within the root zone of corn and potatoes. 

Application of HYDRUS to water management of potato and corn

Field data has been used to calibrate and validate the HYDRUS model under Prairie conditions.  The validated model could be used to run simulations under different weather conditions.

Evaluation of electromagnetic methods for the detection of nutrients near livestock operations.  
EM-38 meter is being evaluated to monitor nutrient content near livestock operations. This will help in the early detection of potential problems and thereby minimise the chances of groundwater contamination from confined livestock areas.

The use of electrokinetics in conjunction with a surfactant in oil spill clean-up 
This study is being carried out to determine the effectiveness of electrokinetic methods along with various surfactants in cleaning oil spills in clayey soils. The results of the experiment will be useful in determining the field electrode configuration to obtain the maximum removal of the oil contamination. This is the only technique that will help in in situ remediation without the need for any excavation of soil.