After complications due to university budget cuts, the chairman of the agricultural and biosystems engineering department has been named .

Ramesh Kanwar, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, will begin a five-year term as chairman of the department on Sept. 15.

He will replace Stewart Melvin, professor and head of agriculture and biosystems engineering.

Dick Ross, dean of the College of Agriculture, said he began a national search for the position, but budget cuts and financial problems forced him to do an internal search.

Ross said the decision to appoint Kanwar came with minimal pressure.

“He is a strong scholar,” he said. “I recommend that students meet him in person.”

Ross said Kanwar will be administrating the department’s teaching, extension and research.

“[Kanwar] will also be raising private funds for the department,” Ross said.

Kanwar said he plans to raise the co-administered agricultural engineering and biosystems engineering department to be the best in the nation. He said he feels this is an attainable goal with the faculty that he works with.

“I want to do good for Iowa State University,” Kanwar said, “I have been looking forward to this challenge.”

Melvin announced his resignation from the position last year.

“There was also a search for a new dean and I felt that it would be best if I left then,” Melvin said.

“[The search] fell through … and since I had already announced my resignation, I decided not to change my mind.”

Aside from his new position, Kanwar still will teach and stay involved with research.

He specializes in water quality, water drainage, irrigation and erosion.

“I am concerned with the impact that agriculture has on the environment,” Kanwar said.

Before being appointed as chairman, Kanwar said he worked on several major projects for Iowa State.

One of the projects included extensive work with the World Bank to establish jobs in India, Kanwar’s home country. Since then, Kanwar said he has been giving his expertise to the World Bank for eight years.

“I plan to cut down on the work because of my new job,” he said.