Newsletter 2003
Animal Sciences
Newsletter 2003
The Department of Animal Sciences boasts a graduate student enrollment of 64. This represents a significant increase in the number of graduate students enrolled in our program. This group of students is quite diverse and embodies the student population across campus. Of the total graduate student enrollment in our department, 22 students hail from Indiana and have received prior education from either Purdue or Indiana University. The bulk of our students, greater than 70 percent, are domestic students, representing universities in more than 20 different states. The country of origin for international student population is equally diverse. Our foreign contingency represents some 10 countries.
The breadth of efforts exerted by this group of talented students is phenomenal and mirrors the great diversity of their advisors and the department. On one hand, several students are engaged in studying the very basic biological mechanisms that are involved in improving methodologies for cloning animals. On a more practical basis, there are a number of individuals trying to understand how animal waste can be modified to reduce its impact on the environment. Although seemingly unrelated, these efforts are necessary for educating the next generation of animal scientists and ensuring the future existence of the Land Grant System.
Department of Animal Sciences Graduate Student Awards
The W. R. Featherston Awards were established to annually recognize outstanding accomplishments of graduate students in the Department of Animal Sciences. These awards were established in honor of the leadership and dedication to graduate students exhibited by Professor W. R. Featherston, a faculty member from July 1962 to June 3, 1980, the date of his death.
The W. R. Featherston Awards for 2002 were: Early Graduate Career Award - Melissa A. Schreiweis and Jonathan R. Townsend; Off-Campus Training Award - Michelle L. Conover, Jason R. Herrick and Rachel E. Durkin; Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award - Sarah E. Norberg; Outstanding Ph.D. Award - Brian C. Bowker. Photos below are the winners with Graduate Chair, Dave Gerrard.
The LOUJA Graduate Travel Awards were established to provide grants to Animal Sciences Graduate students presenting outstanding research papers based upon original research and excellence of presentation. The LOUJA Graduate Travel Awards were established in honor of the leadership and dedication to the animal industry of Jake and Louise Krider. Dr. Krider served as Head of Purdue’s Department of Animal Sciences from 1963 to 1971, and Professor until his retirement in 1979.
The 2002 LOUJA award winners were: Kolapo Ajuwon, Brian Bowker, Rachel Durkin, Travis Selby, Jonathan Townsend and Mark Woodcock.
Ryan Dilger (M.S., Adeola) – won the Graduate Student Paper Competition for his phytase work in broilers at the Southern Poultry Science Society national meeting held in Atlanta, GA.
Stacy Neuman (Ph.D., Hester) - awarded the Alltech Student Research Manuscript Award at the Southern Poultry Science Society national meeting held in Atlanta, GA.
Brian Bowker (Ph.D., Gerrard) - awarded outstanding research presentation at the American Meat Science Association at their national meeting for his thesis research on muscle protein functionality. Brian has been selected as a Congressional Science Fellow with the Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS). As a fellow in this program, Brian will spend one year working as a special legislative assistant with Congressman Nick Smith, Representative from Michigan, advising on a wide range of scientific issues as they pertain to public policy.
Jason Herrick and Rachel Durkin (Ph.D. and M.S., respectively, Krisher) - awarded Development Traveling Fellowships by The Company of Biologists, Ltd.
Mark Woodcock (M.S., Pajor) - received 1st Place for the best student presentation, Regional International Society for Applied Ethology, Quebec City, Canada.
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