Behnaz Molaei, Ph.D.

Behnaz Molaei

Behnaz Molaei, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist of Irrigation Engineering

Department of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering

College of Agriculture

214F Farrell-Westbrook Agricultural Complex
3500 John A Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209
E-mail:  bmolaei@tnstate.edu  
Office Phone: (615) 963-2171

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XA1lbsgAAAAJ&hl=en

Twitter: @Behnaz_Molaei

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/behnaz-molaei-555a1055

Education and Experience:

Ph.D. (2022) Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Washington State University, USA
M.Sc. (2013)  Agricultural Engineering, Irrigation & Drainage Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

B.Sc. (2009) Water Engineering, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran  

Research Area:
Mapping Evapotranspiration Energy Balance Modeling

Efficiency of Irrigation Systems

Irrigation Scheduling
Automation and Precision Irrigation
Smart Irrigation Scheduling for Agricultural Water Management
Crop Sensing (ground/aerial system) for Precision Irrigation Management 

Academic Teaching:

AGSC 5830 Precision Agriculture, Graduate Level (Fall 2025)

Extension Training:

Drip Irrigation Systems

Sprinkler Irrigation Systems

Sensors for Precision Irrigation Management

Awarded Grants:

Lead PI, Funding Agency: USDA-NIFA-AFRI, Program Area Priority Name: Engineering for Precision Crop and Water Management, Partners and Sub-awardees: University of Georgia, USDA-ARS PA CPRL Conservation & Production Research Laboratory, Title: PARTNERSHIP: Improving Crop Water Use Estimation with UAS-Based Models and Controlled Automated Temperature Reference Surfaces, Award Amount: $727,944, Award Number: 2024-67022-43792, Project Duration: 2024-2028

Lead PI, Funding Agency: USDA-NIFA-CBG, Sub awardee: University of Tennessee, Collaborators: USDA-ARS, Title of Project: Capacity Building of Irrigation Systems Engineering and Precision Water Management for Sustainable Agriculture at Tennessee, Award Amount: $599,842.00, Award Number: 2025-38821-45498, Project Duration: 2026-2030

Co-PI, Funding Agency: USDA-NIFA-CBG, Title: Advancing Climate-Smart Agriculture through Nitrogen and Water Management in Cover Crop- Based No-till Crop Production Systems, Award Amount: $499,998, Award Number: 2024-38821-42058, Project Duration 2024-2027

Co-PI, Funding Agency: USDA-NIFA-CBG, Title: Sustainable Production Practices for Field-grown Nursery Crops, Award Amount: $598,950, Award Number: 2025-38821-45499, Project Duration 2026-2029

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article:

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:

National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA), Communication award, Computer generated presentation, Southern Regional Finalist, 2024

Tennessee Association of Agricultural Agents and Specialists (TAAA&S) Communication award, Computer generated presentation, 1st place, 2024

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Best oral presentation within Machinery Systems Technical Community at ASABE Annual International Meeting in Houston, Texas, https://bsyse.wsu.edu/people/students/ , 2022

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

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

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

Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University, Outstanding Graduate Student, Arnie & Marta Kegel Fellowship, 2022

Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University, Outstanding Graduate Student, Walter and Vinnie Hinz Endowed Scholarship, 2022

Irrigation E3 Program Travel Award of 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 , 2021

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

Date joined staff:   May 2023