Dr. Batchelor earned a BS and MS in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Georgia in 1986 and 1987. He served on the faculty of the University of Georgia from 1987-1990 as an Instructor, where he taught courses and conducted research in expert systems and simulating the effects of pest damage on crop growth. In 1993, Dr. Batchelor received a Ph.D in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Florida, followed by a post doctorate at Virginia Tech. In 1994, Dr. Batchelor joined the faculty of Iowa State University and established a nationally and internationally recognized program in crop growth modeling, working in areas including precision farming, biotic and abiotic stress physiology, crop management, yield forecasting and climate change. Dr. Batchelor served as the head of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Mississippi State University from 2005-2010. He also helped establish and served as Director of the Sustainable Energy Research Center and the Energy Institute at Mississippi State University. He led a team of over 50 faculty members to develop renewable energy from biomass feedstock. In 2010, Dr. Batchelor was appointed Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University and served in this role until May, 2015. Dr. Batchelor currently serves as Professor of Biosystems Engineering at Auburn University.
During his career, Dr. Batchelor secured over $50 million in funding, published 75 peer reviewed journal articles and has given numerous presentations in over 20 countries. He served as the President of the Institute of Biological Engineers, Editor of the Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, served on the editorial board of the Journal Agricultural Systems and has received numerous paper awards. He has received numerous honors including being appointed a Hearin Eminent Scholar by Mississippi State University, named a Distinguished International professor by the University of Hohenheim, awarded the prestigious New Holland Young Researcher of the Year by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, received the Early Achievement in Research award from Iowa State University, and was selected by the National Academy of Engineering as one of the top 100 young engineers in the US in 2003. In 2009, Dr. Batchelor was elected as a Fellow in the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for his contributions to information and electrical technologies and biological engineering.