2007 PSA Awards

Gene Ahlborn

Gene Ahlborn received his BS degree in nutritional science (1999) and MS degree in food science (2002) from Brigham Young University and his PhD degree (2005) from North Carolina State University in food science with minors in food safety and biotechnology. His PhD work involved identifying the components in eggshell membranes responsible for reducing the heat resistance of bacteria pathogens.

He is currently serving as a cooperative postdoctorate with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina State University. His current work includes further characterization of components from the eggshell membrane with their potential application in the biomedical milieu and understanding the impact age, diet, and exposure to environmental carcinogens have on differential gene and protein expression in animal models.

Roselina Angel

Roselina Angel graduated from Iowa State University with a BS degree in animal science in 1984 and completed graduate work in animal nutrition with Jerry Sell at Iowa State University with an MS degree in 1987 and a PhD degree in 1990. During her graduate program, Angel worked in the area of stunting syndrome in turkey poults for her PhD. After leaving Iowa State University, she joined Purina Mills Inc. in St Louis, Missouri, where she worked in the area of exotic, lab, and companion animal nutrition with primary responsibilities for research and development. During her time at Purina, she established an internally known research program in ratite nutrition.

In 1998, Angel joined the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences at the University of Maryland and quickly established a research program with emphasis on the impact of poultry production on the environment. Her research group has concentrated its research efforts on ways to maximize the ability of broilers to utilize dietary phosphorus, in establishing broiler phosphorus requirements, and exploring actual calcium and phosphorus needs considering processing losses rather than bone ash as the need criteria. Recently, Angel has started to work on other aspects of poultry diet changes to minimize nutrient excretion and emissions to the environment. Angel received the National Chicken Council Broiler Research Award in 2006.

Hyun Lillehoj

Hyun Lillehoj received her BS degree in biology from the University of Hartford, MS degree in microbiology from the University of Connecticut, and PhD in immunology under the guidance of Noel Rose from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1979. After graduation, she was a NIH postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University, and conducted research on the immunology of prostate cancer and immunogenetics of autoimmune diseases. In 1981, she was appointed as a staff fellow in the Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, under the direction of Ethan Shevach, where she studied T-cell immunity and immunosuppression. In 1984, Lillehoj was recruited by the USDA-ARS at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Since joining the USDA-ARS, she has progressively risen in the ranks to where she is now the highest grade level, supergrade, ST-1.

Her research career has focused on the immunobiology of host-parasite interactions, vaccine development, mucosal immunology, and immunogenetics using avian coccidiosis and salmonellosis as model systems. Lillehoj developed the first set of mouse monoclonal antibodies detecting chicken lymphocyte subpopulations that have been used by poultry scientists worldwide and have been instrumental for investigation of avian cell-mediated immunity. More recently, Lillehoj constructed the first chicken intestinal cDNA microarray containing 10,000 expressed sequence tags that have been of seminal importance in national and international poultry genomics research. Her research has resulted in more than 250 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 15 book chapters, 200 meeting abstracts, and 6 US patents. She has been awarded more than $5 million in research funding, including 7 CSREES, BARD, IFASA, and FSI grants and 20 formal collaborations (CRADA) with private industry. In addition, she has served on numerous editorial boards, national grant panels, and award and technical committees of the AAAVP and PSA and has chaired multiple sessions at national and international meetings including PSA, AAAVP, AAVP, and International Avian Immunology and International Coccidiosis meetings.

Lillehoj holds adjunct professorships at the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, and the University of Guelph and has guided the research of 20 graduate students and 58 visiting scientists from Asia, Europe, and South America. Her accomplishments have been recognized by the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Technology Transfer Award (1998), the ARS Technology Transfer Award (1999), the FLC Technology Transfer Award (1999), the PSA Helen Cecil Leadership Award (2001), the AAAVP/AVMA Pharmacia/Upjohn Animal Health Achievement Award (2001), the Korean Poultry Science Association Distinguished Research Achievement Award (2001), the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Senior Scientist of the Year Award (2003), the ARS Outstanding Scientist of the Year Award (2004), Merck Achievement Award (2006), and the Levine P. P. Award (AAAVP, 2006).

Sheila E. Scheideler

Sheila E. Scheideler is the 2007 and last recipient of the Helene Cecil Leadership Award. Scheideler has contributed to PSA in numerous leadership roles over the past 16 years of her professional career as a poultry scientist and extension specialist. Scheideler was the first female section editor for the metabolism and nutrition section of Poultry Science for 2 terms (1999–2005) and has been an associate editor for many years for the journal as well. She served on the board of directors from 1997–2000 and was a section program chair for the PSA meetings in 1994. Scheideler has been the chairperson for the MPF meetings Nutrition Symposium since it's start over 10 years ago. In addition to her professional contribution to PSA, Scheideler has been recognized for her scientific contributions in the field of poultry nutrition, receiving the AFIA Research Award in 2000. Over the years, Scheideler has been recognized by the poultry industry as an applied scientist who excels at problem solving and industry relevant and applicable research. Scheideler's research and extension programs have received both regional and national recognition.

In addition to her tireless service to PSA, Scheideler has also held significant leadership roles on the University of Nebraska campus, serving as academic senate president, 2000–2001. She had advised numerous graduate students now serving in academic and industry positions worldwide and continues to have a very active advising program. At home, Scheideler is a an active 4-H leader for her county extension community, again providing an important role model and leadership position for local young women involved in animal science and equine projects.

Scheideler is a deserving recipient of the award given in remembrance of Helene Cecil for a significant leadership role in the PSA and sustained contribution towards research in poultry science.

2007 was the last year this award was given. Below is Bill Cecil with past recipients of this award.

 

 

Ramesh Ramachandran

Ramesh Ramachandran is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Poultry Science at Pennsylvania State University, University Park. He received a DVM from Madras Veterinary College, India, and an MS in animal science and a PhD in poultry science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Among his major research accomplishments to date is the characterization of adiponectin and its receptors in the chicken. Adiponectin is an adipose tissue-derived hormone that has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of fatty acid and glucose metabolism. It enhances fatty acid oxidation in the liver and skeletal and cardiac muscle while stimulating glucose uptake by these tissues. Adiponectin has tremendous potential for both biomedical and agricultural animal applications and, with funding from the USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (USDA-NRICGP), Ramachandran's laboratory is currently exploring the possibility of using recombinant chicken adiponectin as an agent to enhance carcass leanness and to improve feed utilization in domestic fowl. Both of these performance characteristics are of great economic significance to the poultry industry.

With funding support from another USDA-NRICGP grant, Ramachandran's laboratory is studying the influence of a novel brain-derived hormone, namely gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone, and its receptor on pituitary-ovarian functions in the Leghorn chickens. Furthermore, Ramachandran's laboratory discovered that chicken ovaries express calcitonin and its receptors, which may play an important role in follicular maturation. Collectively, these data have tremendous impact on our understanding of growth and reproduction in domestic chickens.

Ramachandran has published 12 peer-reviewed manuscripts in top-tier biomedical journals. He has given 14 presentations at international and national venues, served as co-chair of the physiology and endocrinology section of the 2007 Joint ADSA/PSA/AMPA/ASAS Annual Meeting, and currently is an associate editor of Poultry Science.

 

Joe Moritz

Joe Moritz received a BS degree in biology from Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania. He then finished a MS degree at Ohio State University under the tutelage of Dave Latshaw. Moritz's MS thesis focused on processing variables associated with by-product feedstuffs and nutritional consequences. This focus laid the foundation for Moritz to continue his education in feed manufacture. Moritz then traveled to Kansas State University, and by the age of 27, he completed a PhD that focused on feed manufacture and poultry nutrition. Due to the applied nature of Moritz's PhD work and the reputation of his advising committee (Scott Beyer, Keith Behnke, and Bob Goodband), employment opportunities in the poultry industry were immediately available. However, Moritz decided to apply for a 9-month assistant professor position in the Division of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at West Virginia University (WVU). West Virginia University was only 100 miles away from family for both Moritz and his wife, Natalie. Additionally, Moritz would have the opportunity to teach.

Moritz was fortunate to have been offered the position at WVU. He knew that the job would be challenging (50:50, research teaching appointment); however, fellow faculty members in the division were extremely friendly and helpful. Moritz needed all the help he could get, because only a month and a half after defending his dissertation, he was given 100% responsibility for course teaching at WVU. During his first semester of employment, Moritz taught a three-credit poultry production and a one-credit poultry production laboratory course. The following semester, Moritz was given the opportunity to teach a three-credit advanced applied nutrition and a three-credit poultry evaluation course. The following year, during his third semester, Moritz picked up an additional three-credit section of poultry evaluation as well as a team teaching opportunity in an agricultural biochemistry graduate course. In addition, Moritz became a regular guest lecturer in introductory animal science, values and ethics, and anatomy and companion animal courses. The impact of Moritz's teaching load was increased due to the necessity of starting a research program to fulfill the other portion of his appointment and the need to obtain external funding for research and summer salary support.

Due to the extremely supportive Division of Animal and Veterinary Science faculty, Moritz was not only able to survive the first few years at WVU but actually excel. Collaborations with WVU and other university faculty have led to successful grant proposals and research publications. In addition, Moritz has been recognized by his division and college as an outstanding teacher. Moritz has worked long hours to assist in achieving these accomplishments but has also been fortunate to have had the opportunity to instruct several outstanding graduate and undergraduate students. The attitude and work ethic of WVU students has undoubtedly meshed with Moritz's own philosophy, making teaching at WVU one of the most rewarding occupations that a person could have.

Layi Adeola

Olayiwola (Layi) Adeola is a professor of animal science at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Born in Nigeria, Adeola received a bachelor's of agriculture degree in animal science with first class honors from the University of Ife, Nigeria, in 1982. He earned both MS and PhD degrees with distinction from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in 1986 and 1989, respectively. In November 1991, he accepted a faculty position as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University. He was promoted to associate professor in 1996 and full professor in 2001. Adeola has served as nonruminant nutrition program chair for the American Society for Animal Science national meeting, as nonruminant nutrition section editor for the Journal of Animal Science, and on the editorial board of Poultry Science. Adeola received the American Feed Industry Association Poultry Nutrition Research Award in 2005.

Before Adeola's pioneering development of methods for accurately collecting contaminant-free excreta from ducks (published in Adeola, O., D. Ragland, and D. King. 1997. Feeding and excreta collection techniques in metabolizable energy assays for ducks. Poultry Science 76:728–732), nutrient and energy utilization values for ducks were less reliable. Problems are normally encountered in collecting highly liquid excreta for assays of nutrient utilization and metabolizable energy in ducks. The practice of total excreta collection in trays placed under ducks housed in cages is subject to error due to splatter arising from contact of forcefully ejected excreta with trays and as a result of contamination of excreta with feed, dander, or scales. Adeola developed tube-feeding and harness-aided excreta collection methods that provided the means of precisely feeding known amounts of ingredients and accurately collecting contaminant-free excreta, which are essential for obtaining reliable values in nutrient utilization and metabolizable energy assays. The technique provides a viable alternative to pan collection and is currently being used to provide data on nutrient utilization, metabolizable energy, and amino acid digestibility values for a variety of feed ingredients and by-products. This fits into the long-range goal of Adeola's research program to reduce the environmental impact of manure nutrients. One of the approaches for reducing manure nutrients is to have reliable energy and nutrient utilization data on feed ingredients used in formulating duck diets. Several studies have been conducted through the years to determine nutrient and energy utilization in a variety of grains, meals, and by-products for ducks in Adeola's laboratory. The results of these duck studies appeared in 23 publications in several journals including Poultry Science, Journal of Animal Science, British Poultry Science, Journal of Poultry Science (Japan), and British Journal of Nutrition.

Adeola teaches Nonrunminant Animal Nutrition and Proteins and Amino Acids in Nutrition. Adeola has authored or coauthored 236 publications, including 95 refereed papers, five book chapters, 95 abstracts, and 41 conference proceedings or technical articles. Fourteen students have received advanced degrees under his direction, and four others are currently pursing advanced degrees in his laboratory.

Adeola and his wife, Mopelola, a registered nurse on faculty at Purdue University School of Nursing, are blessed with one son, Oluwatola.

Michelle J. Jendral

Michelle J. Jendral received her first undergraduate degree in biology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Upon graduating, she accepted a position as a research assistant in an immunology laboratory, where she remained for three years. She then moved to Germany and began work in an animal research facility and pharmacology laboratory. There, she conducted research developing the 3R concept of Russell and Burch (replacement, reduction, refinement) in medical, veterinary, and biological studies. Having found her true calling in animal welfare research, but recognizing her lack of training in animal science, she returned to Canada and completed a second undergraduate degree in animal science at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In her final year, she developed a special interest in poultry production and welfare issues facing the poultry industry. This interest led her to begin a graduate degree in poultry science at the University of Alberta, and she is currently working towards completing her PhD.

Jendral's research concerns alternative housing systems for laying hens, and she is interested in developing sustainable cage and alternative housing systems that balance hen productivity, health, and welfare. In addition to her research, Jendral is very involved in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students in poultry production, behavior, and welfare and takes every opportunity to share her research findings with audiences ranging from public school children to producers and industry members. Jendral is a member of PSA, the World's Poultry Science Association, and the International Society of Applied Ethology.

 

 

 

Kenneth N. May

Kenneth Nathaniel May was born in Livingston, Louisiana, to Robert William and Mary Hulda May. In 1953, he was married to Patsy Jean Farr of Baton Rouge. He is a graduate of Doyle High School and Louisiana State University, where he earned BS and MS degrees, both in poultry science, and Purdue University, where he earned a PhD in food technology in 1959. He served as assistant state poultry supervisor for the Louisiana State Department of Agriculture in 1954; as a research associate at Louisiana State University, 1955–1956; and as graduate assistant at Purdue University, 1956–1958. He became an assistant professor in the departments of Food Science and Poultry Science at the University of Georgia in 1958 and, over the next decade, progressed in these same departments to the rank of associate professor and then full professor. In 1968, he joined the faculty of the Poultry Science Department at Mississippi State University as a full professor, where he served through May 1970.

In June 1970, May joined Holly Farms Poultry Industries Inc. in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, as director of research and quality assurance. He was instrumental in Holly Farms' move to become the world's first company to market branded fresh packaged chicken to be sold in retail stores. In 1973, he became vice president of research and quality assurance. In 1985, he was named president and chief executive officer of the company, a position he retained until 1988, when he was elected chairman and chief executive officer.

Following his retirement from Holly Farms in 1989, May served as a consultant for the National Broiler Council, a trade organization for the poultry industry, until 2001. He also served as a board member and scientific advisor to Hudson Foods Inc. in Rogers, Arkansas, and as board member of Alcide Corporation, Redmond, Washington, and Embrex Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina.

In addition to his industry-related activities, he was also an adjunct professor of poultry science at North Carolina State University, Raleigh (1975–1985), a director of the National Broiler Council (1982–1989), a director of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation Inc. (1982–1983), and a member of the board of trustees of Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina (1987–1991), including one year as chairman.

During his career, he published over 60 scientific papers and won numerous research and industry service awards. Among these were the PSA Research Award in 1963, the Georgia Egg Commission Egg Award (1964), the Institute of American Poultry Industry Service Award (1971), and the North Carolina Agribusiness Council Governor's Award (1986). He was elected to the American Poultry Historical Society National Hall of Fame in 1992. He also served as president of PSA (1978–1979) and the Poultry Historical Society (1986–1987). In 1988, he was also awarded an honorary doctor of agriculture degree from Purdue University.

Mark Berrang

Mark Berrang graduated from Virginia Tech in 1986 and began to pursue a MS degree in food microbiology at the University of Georgia. Upon completion of his MS, he took a job with the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) working in Nelson Cox's lab. While working full-time for ARS, he completed a PhD program focused on poultry microbiology. Upon completion of his PhD, Berrang took a job as a senior scientist with ARS and has been working for a total of more than 18 years in the area of poultry food safety microbiology.

Berrang is known for his expertise in poultry food safety microbiology at all stages of production and processing ranging from the hatching egg to further-processed ready-to-eat poultry meat. His research and knowledge spans the breeder farm, transport of eggs, the hatchery and incubation and hatching, the grow-out farm, the slaughter and processing plant, and further-processing facilities. Berrang has a unique holistic view of poultry food safety microbiology. During the course of his career, Berrang has conducted research resulting in authorship on 88 peer-reviewed articles published or accepted for publication in scientific journals and 90 scientific abstracts. He has made more than 30 scientific presentations on poultry microbiology at regional, national, and international meetings and given 20 invited talks. Berrang has been a co-principal investigator or co-author on 6 funded grant proposals.

Berrang has extensive experience and training in microbiology, food science, poultry production, and poultry processing. His previous assignment involved work on broiler and turkey grow-out farms and hatcheries. In this capacity, he developed novel methods to detect airborne Salmonella contamination in hatching cabinets, measure bacterial penetration of eggshells, and determine the relationship between membrane density, hen age, and penetration of the shell membrane complex by salmonellae. More recently, Berrang revealed leakage of fecal matter from the cloaca during defeathering as the most important step in early processing for contributing to the contamination of the outer surface of broiler carcasses with Campylobacter. Using this finding, several novel intervention techniques in around the defeathering machine have been designed and tested; an international poultry processing machine manufacturer used these data in the development of a new piece of processing equipment that is now ready for placement in commercial plants.

Berrang has demonstrated substantial creativity in the design of several studies conducted in commercial further-processing plants to determine source of and harborage points for Listeria monocytogenes. These data have led to a change in thinking by researchers and poultry processors relative to the importance of this pathogen on raw poultry meat. As further evidence of original thinking, several studies to measure the importance of Campylobacter contamination in live broiler transport cages led to the conception of and testing of a very unique means of sanitizing these cages with minimal use of water. Berrang's expertise in the field of poultry microbiology is well-recognized nationally and internationally.

Bud Malone

Bud Malone, a native of Maryland, earned his BS degree in general agriculture from the University of Maryland in 1972 and his MS in animal science from the University of Massachusetts in 1975. He joined the University of Delaware in 1975 and worked for 22 years as an associate scientist and the last 10 years as an extension poultry specialist. His primary applied research and extension programs have focused on litter management and best management practices to address broiler waste and air quality issues. He has been a member of the Poultry Association since 1975 and has served on numerous professional, university, industry, and agency committees.

Over the years, his efforts and achievements have been recognized by the University of Delaware and the poultry industry. In 1991, Malone received the University of Delaware Superior Performance Award; in 1992, the Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. Metal of Achievement Award; in 2000, the Epsilon Sigma Phi National Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Program of Excellence; in 2005, the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension Positively Outrageous Service Award of Excellence; and in 2006, the Ratledge Family Award for Outstanding Public Service to the State of Delaware.

During the past five years, Malone has continued to shift his extension and applied research efforts to address emerging issues. Following passage of Delaware's nutrient management law, he developed the state's waste management plan, developed curriculum for poultry nutrient generator certification, and co-taught classes to certify all 1,200 poultry growers in Delaware. He continues to assist with continuing education programs for recertification of growers. His expertise in waste management, particularly composting both routine and catastrophic mortality, is well recognized, and he is frequently requested to speak on the subject nationally and worldwide.

To address emerging neighbor relations and environmental concerns on the Delmarva Peninsula, Malone implemented and has conducted numerous demonstrations on planting trees around poultry farms. This initiative has been well received and supported by the poultry industry and various agencies. It is recognized as a cost-effective technology to abate numerous concerns, particularly making the poultry industry more compatible with its urban neighbors. As a direct result, the regional poultry industry trade association has hired a person to implement planting these vegetative environmental buffers around poultry farms.

In 2004, Malone was Delmarva's poultry industry team leader for disposal of avian influenza-infected flocks using in-house composting. While responding to this event, he conceived and has since worked with a team of researchers in the development of water-based foam for mass depopulation of flocks. This technology has recently received USDA and AVMA approval and is quickly becoming the method of choice for depopulating meat-bird flocks having a zoonotic disease in the United States. During the past two years, he has provided leadership on a national training program on options and procedures for depopulating and disposing of poultry flocks with avian influenza. He has conducted 33 training sessions in 27 states as well as five programs in Canada and two in Brazil. This training has been timely, very well received, and a major factor in helping the poultry industry prepare for a disease emergency.

 

 

Brian Fairchild

Brian Fairchild is a native of North Carolina and received his PhD in poultry science from North Carolina State University. He is currently an assistant professor with a primary extension appointment in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia. In the short time since his appointment to the faculty at the University of Georgia, Fairchild has developed a highly effective extension program. He has published 19 applied refereed journal articles, 1 book chapter, 29 scientific abstracts, 57 extension educational newsletter articles, 5 refereed extension bulletins, and 4 popular press articles. The quality of his work is evident by the fact that his extension publications have been reprinted in the popular press or in poultry company newsletters over 40 times.

Fairchild has coordinated 18 extension educational conferences and workshops and has given 30 educational presentations at these meetings. In addition, he has been invited to give presentations at five state, five national, and six international poultry conferences. Fairchild has attracted over $400,000 in extramural funding to support his extension program. All of this support has been directed at critical issues facing the poultry industry.

Fairchild has served on many important professional society committees. He is an associate editor for Poultry Science and a reviewer for the Journal of Applied Poultry Research. He has served or is serving on the PSA Support Personnel Award Membership Committee and Alltech Research Manuscript Award. He has provided excellent leadership as a member of the International Poultry Exposition Education Program Committee.

Fairchild was the recipient of the Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agents Young Professional Award in 2005. He was elected to serve as a director of the Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agents in 2006. Poultry science undergraduates at the University of Georgia honored him with the 2003 Henry Marks Award for Outstanding Teaching.

 

 

 

 

Alejandro Corzo

Alex Corzo, Department of Poultry Science, Mississippi State University, is the 2007 recipient of the Early Achievement Award for Research. Corzo, native of Colombia, received a BS in animal science (1997) from Universidad de La Salle in Colombia, a MS in animal science from Oklahoma State University (2000), and a PhD in poultry science from Auburn University (2003). During his graduate program, Corzo worked with Ed Moran in the area of amino acid needs for heavy broilers. In 2003, he joined Mississippi State University as a postdoctoral scientist. In 2004, he accepted a position as assistant research professor at Mississippi State University's Department of Poultry Science. He is currently leading research in the area of nutrition with emphasis on body composition and carcass quality. In addition to closely collaborating with Michael Kidd and Bill Dozier in the area of broiler nutrition, he also collaborates with Shane Burgess in the area of nutritional proteomics.

Corzo has been an author in 43 peer-reviewed publications, 64 scientific abstracts, 1 book chapter, 18 popular press and extension publications, 14 conference proceedings, and has been an invited speaker for 8 meetings, in 5 different countries. His research has shown the importance of fine-tuning amino acid needs as a way to optimize dietary balance and diet cost. His functional genomics research has shown the impact that certain nutrients have on protein expression in blood and skeletal muscle tissues. Other collaborative efforts have shown the impact of nutrients on other areas such as waste management, immunology, and stress.

Corzo is a member of the PSA, Southern Poultry Science Society, Mississippi Poultry Association, and World's Poultry Science Association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Batal

Amy Batal received her BS degree from California Polytechnic State University, her MS from Iowa State University, and her PhD from the University of Illinois. She joined the Poultry Science faculty at the University of Georgia in 2002. She has had primary responsibility for teaching Introductory Poultry Science and Poultry Nutrition at the undergraduate level. She has also contributed significantly to the quality of the undergraduate experience in the Department of Poultry Science by encouraging students to conduct undergraduate research projects in her laboratory. She has worked with and assisted students on internships and undergraduate teaching experiences. On the graduate level, Batal has taught Proteins and Amino Acids and portions of Poultry Nutrition with Application to Avian Medicine.

Batal's teaching evaluations have been outstanding. Students in her courses have consistently rated her as one of the best instructors not only in the Department of Poultry Science but at the University of Georgia. She has received especially high rankings for her knowledge of her subject and her enthusiasm. The almost universal positive comments provided in her teaching evaluations indicate the genuine respect and admiration her students have for her teaching ability.

Batal serves as the academic advisor of approximately 35 undergraduates, and she does an excellent job giving students guidance. She is particularly adept at empowering students to make decisions relative to their academic program. In a very positive way, she encourages students to take personal responsibility for their future.

In addition to her undergraduate and graduate teaching assignments, Batal has also been a leader in departmental undergraduate recruitment efforts. She has mentored high school students in the college's Young Scholars Program (a very successful program designed to encourage minority students to pursue science majors in agriculture-related fields). She has also been one of the developers of an innovative summer program within the department called Avian Adventures designed for high school students who have shown an interest in poultry science through 4-H and Future Farmers of America poultry judging activities.

Batal has served on the Department of Poultry Science, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and University of Georgia curriculum committees. She chaired the PSA Land O'Lakes Teaching Award Committee. She has not only excelled in the classroom but contributed to the broader aspects of teaching through her service on these committees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia

The faculty of the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia took on the responsibility of recruiting undergraduates with a renewed and reinvigorated sense of purpose beginning in 2002–2003. Enrollment in poultry science at the University of Georgia has ebbed and flowed over the years; however, the increasingly higher admissions requirements at the University of Georgia resulting from the Hope Scholarship have dramatically affected the demographics of the student body. The students from rural communities who have poultry backgrounds find it more and more difficult to compete for admission with students from urban/suburban communities who have access to more advanced placement and college preparatory courses. The higher admission standards have also impacted the ease at which students from two-year colleges can transfer to the University of Georgia, and transfer students had always been a strong component of the department's recruiting strategy.

In an innovative and bold move, the faculty recommended that the poultry science major options be revised and renamed. For decades, two options were offered to poultry science undergraduate majors – a business option for students who wanted to pursue careers in the poultry industry immediately following graduation and a science option for students who think they may wish to pursue a professional or graduate degree in poultry science. Enrollment in the science option had never been very high, and the faculty, after much discussion and thought, decided to revise and rename that major in an effort to make it more attractive to contemporary University of Georgia students. The poultry science science option was renamed avian biology and became an almost immediate success story. There are currently 24 students in this major. Although the major is so new only a relatively small number have graduated, a high percentage of them have pursued graduate or veterinary studies with a poultry interest, and many have taken jobs with poultry companies as had been hoped and expected.

In addition, the efforts faculty put into recruiting poultry science business option students also paid off; dividends and numbers in that major increased from 19 in 2003 to 33 in 2007. This increase has been the result primarily from emphasis at 4-H and FFA poultry judging events, industry assistance with scholarships, and better awareness among students about poultry science due to advising, introductory courses, etc. It should be added that the faculty really care about students and have earned a reputation in that regard that attracts students to the department.

Chet W. Utterback

Chet W. Utterback was raised on a grain farm in central Illinois, one of six children of Shirley and the late Wayne Utterback. For the past 30 years, Utterback has worked with poultry. Utterback started at the University of Illinois as a poultry worker in 1986 and then earned the title of poultry worker foreman in 1990. Sadly, the former poultry farm manager, Bob Leeper, was diagnosed with terminal cancer 3 years ago. Utterback took over the managerial role at the poultry research farm when Leeper was unable to work. After Leeper passed, Utterback was promoted to supervising farm foreman, the position he now holds.

Utterback goes above and beyond the job description and the expectations of everyone at the University of Illinois. He took over teaching responsibilities for the poultry lab section of AnSci 103, an animal-handling course for students with little or no animal experience. He helps with the Illinois 4-H Poultry and Egg Judging Contest every year at the University of Illinois. He selects and supplies eggs, hens, and equipment for both the National 4-H and National Future Farmers of America (FFA) poultry and egg judging contests. Utterback gives tours of the facilities to people ranging in age from preschool to retirees from all backgrounds and has an uncommon knack for relating to everyone on their own level. He also gives his own time to area 4-H clubs, extension offices, FFA groups, and schools by bringing chicks, eggs, and information. He even blood tests chickens for poultry exhibitions.

Utterback received the Marcella N. Nance Staff Award for Excellence from the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences in 2002. He was selected as a Chancellor's Distinguished Staff Award recipient from the entire university in 2005.

Utterback helps graduate students with their thesis work and professors with their research, oftentimes asking important questions or making critical observations that may have gone unasked or unnoticed without his keen mind and eye.

The most recent of Utterback's obstacles and accomplishments is the building of a new poultry research farm at the University of Illinois. Utterback has been involved in all aspects of the planning to ensure that the new farm will work well not only for farm employees but for those who conduct research. When completed, this facility should be able to conduct laying hen trials, battery chick trials, rooster true metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibility trials, and possibly floor trials, which is an aspect that the current farm cannot accommodate.

Erin Hoerl Leone

Erin Hoerl Leone graduated from William and Mary College in 2001 with a BS in psychology and, in 2004, received an MS in animal science from the University of Maryland under the supervision of I. Estevez with her thesis entitled "Foraging strategies, use of space and aggressive behavior of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus)." Leone has maintained a 4.0 grade point average at the University of Maryland and has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being named 2005 MS Graduate Student of the Year by the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, receiving the Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement from the university in 2006 and, in 2007, the Richard F. Davis and H. Palmer Hopkins awards from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Leone received a Student Certificate of Excellence at both the 2005 and 2006 PSA meetings, has published three papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has presented 10 abstracts at national and international meetings. She is finishing her doctoral work with I. Estevez, during which she is separating the effects of group size, stocking density, and pen dimensions on movement patterns and space use in domestic fowl.

 

 

Gary L. Cromwell

Gary L. Cromwell is a professor in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky, where he has served since 1967. A native of Kansas, he received his BS in agricultural education from Kansas State University and MS and PhD degrees in animal nutrition from Purdue University.

Cromwell has been actively involved in swine nutrition research and teaching for the past 40 years. His research has focused on mineral and protein nutrition of swine, bioavailability of phosphorus and other minerals, efficacy and safety of antimicrobial agents, and producing environmentally-friendly diets for swine and poultry. His research has resulted in over 1,000 publications, including 153 refereed journal papers and 23 book chapters.

Cromwell has served as president of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), secretary-treasurer of the Federation of American Societies of Food Animal Science (forerunner of the Federation of Animal Science Societies), and nonruminant nutrition section editor of the Journal of Animal Science. He served as chair of the National Research Council's (NRC) Committee on Animal Nutrition and chaired the NRC subcommittee that prepared the 10th edition of Nutrient Requirements of Swine in 1998. In 2002, he received the prestigious ASAS Morrison Award and, in 2003, was named an ASAS Fellow. Purdue University Animal Science named him a distinguished alumnus for lifetime achievement in 2003.

During his career, he has directed or co-directed the training of 65 graduate students in swine nutrition. He recently received the Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Faculty Award for graduate student training.

 

 

 

 

Mary Beck

Mary Beck was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and grew up on a small family farm in Montgomery County, Maryland. After receiving a BS degree from Westhampton College in Richmond, Virginia, with a major in English and German, she returned to the University of Maryland to prepare for admission to veterinary school. A semester working in the university dairy barn was enough incentive to apply to the Poultry Science Department and to accept an assistantship for a MS degree and then for the PhD, working under the direction of Wayne Kuenzel. Upon completion of the PhD in avian physiology in 1980, Beck – having long since forgotten about veterinary school in the interest of science – joined the faculty of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The scientific framework for her research, designed to accommodate individual interests of students, has focused on physiological responses of birds to environmental stressors and stimuli. Recent studies have focused on PCR analysis of the 3β-HSD gene in granulosa cells of hens and suppression of gene expression by heat stress; duodenal estrogen receptors, not previously reported in birds, which appear to function nongenomically in calcium uptake regulation; and the role of the limbic system and the caudal-most septal area in transduction of photic information in the quail brain.

As major advisor, Beck has completed 16 MS and 8 PhD graduate students, of which nine received certificates of excellence at the PSA or Southern Poultry Science Society meetings. Two of these students went on to win the PSA Graduate Student Manuscript Award. She currently serves as major advisor to two PhD students. Beck has published 50 refereed journal articles in many high-impact scientific journals with abstracts totaling 91. She was the recent recipient of a highly competitive three-year, $350,000 USDA NRI grant on "Neural plasticity and behavior: a new method for assessing hen welfare." Beck has also had extensive involvement in undergraduate education, teaching courses as lead instructor in animal welfare, introduction to companion animals, and women and gender in science on a regular basis; advancing avian physiology every 2-3 years; and coordinating and team-teaching the avian physiology course offered through the Midwest Poultry Consortium's Center of Excellence in Madison, Wisconsin, where she is a visiting scientist. She has advised an average of 10 students annually, encouraging them to participate in research and to present their results at Poultry Science. Beck was a co-principle investigator on a $55,000 teaching grant from Kellogg on writing in animal sciences. She has published one book chapter and four abstracts on teaching and education. In February 2007, Beck left the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to take the position of chair of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at Clemson University.

Beck has been an active member of the PSA since graduate school. She has served on numerous committees, evaluated countless student presentations, and currently reviews manuscripts for Poultry Science and Journal of Applied Poultry Research as well as a number of other journals. She has served as secretary-treasurer, first and second vice president, president, and past president of PSA and has represented PSA on the FASS Board of Directors. She is a recipient of the Helene Cecil Leadership Award.

 

 

 

Henry Classen

Henry Classen was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada. He received his BS in agriculture in 1971 from the University of Saskatchewan and his MS in 1974 and PhD in 1977, both from the University of Massachusetts. Following his PhD, he was employed as assistant professor at the Pennsylvania State University. He subsequently returned to the University of Saskatchewan, where he was promoted to full professor in 1986. Since January 2006, he has been the head of the Department of Animal and Poultry Science.

Classen's teaching has primarily been in the areas of poultry nutrition and management. He has taught poultry science to thousands of students in the diploma of agriculture, bachelor's of science in agriculture, and veterinary medicine programs at the University of Saskatchewan. At the graduate level, he has supervised 22 MSc and 13 PhD students. Classen has been nominated a total of seven times for Professor of the Year in the College of Agriculture and has received the award twice.

Classen's poultry nutrition research has focused on feed ingredients (nutritional value, antinutritional factors, and processing) and feeding programs. In management research, he has focused on animal welfare issues, including the impact of light, beak trimming, and transportation. Classen's research on broiler lighting has been widely accepted, and his current work with broiler transportation in extreme climates is contributing to changes that will significantly improve broiler welfare.

Classen has been author or co-author of over 100 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and 17 papers in nonrefereed journals. He has also published 21 book chapters and review articles, 60 papers in published conference proceedings, and has given 101 invited lectures and conference presentations in Canada, the United States, and elsewhere around the world.

Classen received the American Feed Industry Association Nutrition Research Award in 1993 and was named the Alberta Poultry Serviceman of the Year in 1994. In 2004, Classen, along with two others, received the Award of Innovation from the University of Saskatchewan for research that resulted in the commercialization of technology to fractionate and add value to canola meal. Several of his graduate students have won PSA Research Paper Certificates of Excellence, and in 2004, he was a co-author, along with two of his students, of the best poster at the 7th European Symposium on Poultry Welfare.

Classen has served the poultry science community in many ways, including manuscript review, as a member of the PSA editorial board, and as a reviewer of regional, national, and international grant applications. He is regularly asked to review documents relating to poultry production and welfare that are used to establish standards for care of animals. He has been active in the World's Poultry Science Association (WPSA), Canadian Society of Animal Science, and PSA, including the organization of scientific meetings. He has been on the board of directors of the WPSA-Canada Branch and has also served as president. Classen has been active in the PSA, serving as director, president (1997–1998), and as being a member of numerous committees.

 

Richard D. Reynnells

Richard D. Reynnells was raised on a diversified farm in Lawrence, Michigan, which had commercial egg layers as a major enterprise. He is married (Louise) and has six children [Kathy (Tracy), Mike, Steve (Johanna), Jim, Russ, and Sam] and three grandchildren (Megan, Lauren, Emily). He has had several leadership roles in his church.

After four years in the US Air Force, Reynnells finished an associate's degree at Southwestern Michigan College and earned his BS, MS, and PhD degrees, all in poultry science, at Michigan State University. He became a member of PSA in 1976 and is a member of several other professional, poultry, and animal or conservation organizations.

As an extension poultry scientist at the University of Georgia (1979–1985), he had state-wide responsibilities for assistance to the poultry industries and assisted in youth programs. Work was in all phases of broiler and commercial layer and game bird production. In 1985, he started at the Extension Service, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, DC, as the national program leader (NPL) for Poultry Science and Fur-Bearing Animals. With the creation of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES), he became an NPL for Animal Production Systems. During the last 22 years, he has provided national leadership for extension and other programs for the poultry and animal systems. His CSREES responsibilities include the following: liaison with animal industries, universities, stakeholders, and multi-state research committees; administrative and other duties such as grant oversight and department reviews; and leadership to solve or ameliorate problems defined through interactions with diverse stakeholders. Currently, his activities are primarily related to animal welfare and environmental issues. His programs are characterized by: inclusiveness, collaboration, and forming teams to develop proactive cutting-edge programs to investigate and resolve various stakeholder issues. His activities support a commitment to assisting in the creation and maintenance of sustainable poultry and agricultural systems.

His PSA service includes the following: numerous awards and other committee assignments (e.g., Inter-Society Extension Committee, recruitment videotape, Extension Committee, since 1985), helped organize several workshops or symposia at annual meetings (e.g., extension, regionalization, water quality, bio-terrorism, bio-ethics), co-coordinated initiation of the PSA Support Personnel Award, and Board of Directors, 1991–1993. He was a member (1988, 2004) or chair (1992, 1996) of the World's Poultry Science Association (WPSA) US Branch Youth Committee. He has served on the Board of Directors, American Poultry Historical Society (and as secretary), the WPSA Board of Directors, and the National Shell Egg Quality School.

Examples of other activities include the following: advisor, North American Gamebird Association Board of Directors; organizing committee for the Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Assessment Contest; coordinator for the seminar series, Diverse Voices in Agriculture; judge for the reasons portion of the 4-H poultry contest, Maryland State Fair; co-coordinator, Future Trends in Animal Agriculture; managed numerous email distribution lists; Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Extension Poultry Health and Management Unit (MACE); lead, communications section, poultry dialogue report for EPA; helped initiate the Midwest Poultry Consortium; helped create the Poultry Water Quality Consortium; coordinator (1988–2002, biennial), National Poultry Waste Management Symposium; and provided leadership to help organize numerous other national environmental (1991, 1999, 2004, 2005), food safety (1991, 1992, 1998), or animal welfare-related symposia and national and regional extension workshops (e.g., Triennial Extension Poultry, 1985–2005). Most of the symposia or workshops he coordinates or co-coordinates have related proceedings, many of which he edits (e.g., Future Trends in Animal Agriculture, 2002–2006; Bio-Ethics; Food and Biobased Cafeteriaware Composting). He assisted in the development of a model extension poultry program in Tianjin City, China. He has worked on an environmental center project in Taiwan and is currently active in developing a similar center in Beijing, China.

Reynnells' other contributions include the following: invited presentations in the United States and overseas; abstracts, extension reports, bulletins, journal articles, newsletter articles, and other publications; university and USDA assignments; and training workshops. He was awarded patent number 6,029,080, "Method and Apparatus for Avian Pre-Hatch Sex Determination," with Cal Flegal, Michigan State University.

Reynnells' awards include the following: Georgia Egg Association's Golden Egg Award; the first PSA Board of Director's Certificate of Appreciation Award; National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference recognition for service as superintendent; Merit Award, North American Gamebird Association; International Honor Award, USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service; and dedication of the 2002 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium and Proceedings in his honor

 

Arthur J. Maurer

Arthur J. Maurer was born on April 16, 1942, and grew up on a farm near Winfield, Pennsylvania. He received his BS in poultry science from Pennsylvania State University (1964) and MS and PhD degrees in food science from Cornell University (1966 and 1970). Maurer joined the Poultry Science faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an assistant professor in 1970. He held a joint appointment in food science from 1977. He was promoted to the rank of professor in 1981 and served part-time (30%) as the assistant dean for international programs in the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (UW CALS) from 1994.

Maurer's career was cut short by his unexpected death on January 10, 1998. Posthumous recognition is appropriate in such cases, in which the death of an active and deserving member precedes their consideration.

Maurer's major research area was in poultry products technology, including processing, preservation, quality control, product development, marketing, consumer education, and food safety in both meats and eggs. Maurer was the major advisor for 9 MS and 11 PhD candidates and served on many additional graduate student committees. He was author or co-author of 57 scientific papers and 40 abstracts, plus numerous articles and chapters in nonrefereed publications. His teaching activities included advising about 12 undergraduates each year and the teaching of the poultry products technology course, seminar, and an international topics seminar, plus special lectures in five other courses.

Maurer had an outstanding record of service to professional and scientific organizations. He served on the PSA Editorial Board and numerous committees. He had been named general program chair for the 1998 Montreal PSA meeting. He was a reviewer for three scientific journals in addition to Poultry Science. He was a director for the US branch of World's Poultry Science, chair of the Muscle Foods Division of the Institute of Food Technology, director and chair of the Wisconsin Section IFT, director and chair of Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners, and active in other related groups.

In addition to serving as co-advisor to the UW Wisconsin Poultry Science Club, Maurer served on at least 15 department and college committees, chairing 5. Notable awards received included UW Saddle and Sirloin Honorary Membership (1986), UW CALS Outstanding Advisor (1990–1991), UW CALS Teaching Excellence Award (1992), Faculty Appreciation Award (1992), and a PSA Service Award (given posthumously at the 1998 annual meeting).

Maurer visited 13 countries to present lectures at national and international symposia or industry workshops. He wrote a book entitled How to Raise Chickens in Eastern Nicaragua in Miskito, Spanish, and English languages. Other trips explored student exchange program potentials, which have now been established.

Maurer also had strong family and community ties. He was an active choir and church member, a local leader in the Boy Scouts and 4-H Club, and participated in many local events. Maurer was well-liked and respected by students, coworkers, and the industry.

Maurer's daughter accepted the award for her father.