Dr. Robert Birch is a professional biosystems engineer (R.Eng), a Fellow of the Institute of Agricultural Engineers, U.K. (FIAgrE), a member of the European Society of Agricultural Engineers (EurAgEng) and a project management professional (PMP) with over 25 years of experience in the agricultural, construction, energy and the higher education industry. Dr Birch qualifications include a BSc (Eng) and MPhil in Agricultural Engineering and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the West Indies. He is a Faculty member and works in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and specializes in machinery design and computer aided drafting and design (CADD). His specific research area of interest is in the design and development of innovative, intelligent earth-working, crop production and agro-processing machinery. Dr. Birch has published 26 papers in both peer reviewed journals and conferences. He is also the chairman of the Continuing Engineering Education Centre (CEEC) of the Engineering Institute of the Faculty of Engineering at UWI, St. Augustine.