Behnaz Molaei

Dr. Behnaz Molaei
Assistant Professor
Irrigation Engineer and Water Management
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
College of Agriculture
214F Farrell-Westbrook Agricultural Complex
3500 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209
E-mail: bmolaei@tnstate.edu

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XA1lbsgAAAAJ&hl=en
Twitter: @Behnaz_Molaei
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/behnaz-molaei-555a1055
Curriculum vitae

Education
Ph.D. (2022) Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, USA
M.Sc. (2013) Agricultural Engineering, Irrigation & Drainage Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran 
B.Sc. (2009) Agricultural Water Engineering, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran   
 
Research/Extension/Teaching Interests
Evapotranspiration
Efficiency of Irrigation Systems
Automation and Precision Irrigation
Smart Irrigation Scheduling for Agricultural Water Management
Remote Sensing (ground/aerial system) for Irrigation Management 

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Molaei, B., A.K. Chandel, R.T. Peters, L.R. Khot, A. Khan, F. Maureira, C.O. Stöckle. 2023. Investigating Practical Artificial Hot and Cold Reference Surfaces for Improved ET Estimation Using the UAS-METRIC Energy Balance Model. Agricultural Water Management. 284(30), 108346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108346

Molaei, B., R.T. Peters, L.R. Khot, C.O. Stöckle. 2022. Assessing Suitability of Auto-Selection of Hot and Cold Anchor Pixels of the UAS-METRIC Model for Developing Crop Water Use Maps, Remote Sensing Journal, Remote Sensing-Based Evapotranspiration Models. 14(18), 4454. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14184454

Mohamed, A. Z., Peters, R. T., Sarwar, A., Molaei, B., and McMoran, D. 2021. Impact of the Intermittency Movement of Center Pivots on Irrigation Uniformity. Water, 13(9), 1167;  https://doi.org/10.3390/w13091167

Molaei, B., A. Chandel, R.T. Peters, L.R. Khot, and J.Q. Vargas.  2022.  Investigating Lodging in Spearmint with Overhead Sprinklers Compared to Drag Hoses Using the Texture Feature from Low Altitude RGB Imagery.  Information Processing in Agriculture. 9(2): 335–341 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2021.02.003

Chandel, A.K., L.R. Khot, B. Molaei, R.T. Peters, C.O. Stöckle, P. W. Jacoby. 2021. High-Resolution Spatiotemporal Water Use Mapping of Surface and Direct-Root-Zone Drip-Irrigated Grapevines Using UAS-Based Thermal and Multispectral Remote Sensing. Remote Sensing. 13(5), 954. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13050954

Molaei, B., R.T. Peters, Mohamed, A.Z., Sarwar, A. 2021. Large Scale Evaluation of a LEPA/LESA system compared with MESA on Spearmint and Peppermint. Industrial Crops & Products. 159: 113048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.113048

Chandel, A.K., B. Molaei, L.R. Khot, R.T. Peters, C.O. Stöckle. 2020. High-Resolution Geospatial Evapotranspiration Mapping of Irrigated Field Crops Using Multispectral and Thermal Infrared Imagery with METRIC Energy Balance Model. Drones. 4(52); https://doi.org/10.3390/drones4030052

Vargas, J. Q., L.R. Khot, R.T. Peters, A.K. Chandel and B. Molaei. 2019. Low Orbiting Satellite and Small UAS based High-Resolution Imagery Data to Quantify Crop Lodging: A Case Study in Irrigated Mint Crop. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters. p. 1–5. 10.1109/LGRS.2019.2935830

Honors and Awards
2022 Best oral presentation within Machinery Systems Technical Community at ASABE Annual International Meeting in Houston, Texas, 2022, https://bsyse.wsu.edu/people/students/

2022 Graduate Student Leadership Award, College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, https://cahnrs.wsu.edu/academics/2022-student-award-winners/

2022 The Karen DePauw Leadership Award, awarded by two different organizations: the Association for Faculty Women (AFW) and the Graduate School at Washington State University, https://afw.wsu.edu/awards/outstanding-students-in-graduate-studies/previous-recipients/

2022 College Representative of the Year, Awarded by Graduate and Professional Students Association of Washington State University https://www.gpsa.wsu.edu/programs/excellence-awards/

2022 Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University
• Arnie & Marta Kegel Fellowship
• Walter and Vinnie Hinz Endowed Scholarship 

2021 Irrigation E3 Program Travel Award to Attend the Irrigation Show and Education Week, IA-ASABE 6th Decennial National Irrigation Symposium, San Diego, California, December 6-10, 2021. https://www.irrigation.org/IA/Workforce_Development/Irrigation_E3/Irrigation_E3_Winners/IA/Workforce_Development/Irrigation_E3/Irrigation-E3-Winners.aspx?hkey=6281d892-77a6-4c72-8d13-a1d866897f77

2020, Honorable Mention Group (Smart CougChard), WSU Digital Agathon 2020, organized by Microsoft and Washington State University

Date joined staff: May 2023