The Department of Animal Science held their 2024 Graduate Student Awards Ceremony on May 3, 2024. Faculty, staff, and donors helped recognize the accomplishments of the department’s graduate students. Over the last 5 years, across the four majors the department has maintained 65-80 M.S. and Ph.D. students. These graduates are trained in varying aspects of basic and applied sciences with graduate degrees in four majors that include Animal Breeding and Genetics, Animal Physiology, Animal Science and Meat Science. Minors are also offered in Animal Breeding and Genetics and in Meat Science.
The 2024 Department of Animal Science Graduate Award for Outstanding Teaching was awarded to Dalton Humphrey. Dalton grew up in Eaton Rapids, Michigan raising and showing hogs. Dalton was part of the Western Illinois University livestock judging team and interned at Carthage Innovative Swine Solutions before starting his graduate program at Iowa State University. He completed his MS degree with Dr. Greiner in 2021 focusing on the impact of enzymes and acids on odor emissions in grow-finish pigs. He is currently working on his PhD under Dr. Greiner and is focused on branch chain amino acid requirements in nursery pigs and lactating sows. Dalton has served as a National Pork Board Scholar and is an author on 11 manuscripts, 14 abstracts, 1 proceeding and 1 popular press article. He has also been a co-investigator on multiple grants and has taught in multiple undergraduate courses during his graduate tenure. Dalton plans to pursue a career in academia.
The 2024 Department of Animal Science Graduate Student Excellence Award was awarded to Logan Johnson. Logan is from Rosholt, South Dakota. He has a BS in Food Science from South Dakota State University and a Master of Science in Meat Science from ISU. Logan is a very generous and effective mentor for Animal Science graduate and undergraduate students (and a great mentor to his major professor!). He is an innovative researcher who expanded the Lonergan lab’s capabilities in proteomic and metabolomic applications and established effective machine-learning models to predict meat quality. Logan is the primary author of five published manuscripts and co-author of seven published manuscripts. He is the author or co-author of fifteen conference abstracts. Logan defended his dissertation in April and completed a graduate certificate in Data-Driven Food, Energy, and Water Decision Making (part of an NSF program).
Logan has been a highly effective teacher in the meat science program where he was a teaching assistant on three occasions for Animal Science 360. He also coached the ISU Intercollegiate Meat Science Quiz bowl team in 2020. Logan Johnson is a well-rounded scholar, showcasing excellence in both research and teaching. His exceptional contributions have significantly elevated departmental research and teaching endeavors during his graduate career.
The Iowa State University Graduate College Research Excellence Award is to recognize graduate students for outstanding research accomplishments as documented in their theses and dissertations. For 2023-2024, Logan Johnson and Dalton Humphrey were recognized with this award.
Similarly, the Iowa State University Graduate College Teaching Excellence Award is given to recognize and encourage outstanding teaching achievement by graduate students. William Taylor and Annika Parks were recognized for this award in 2023-2024.
The following scholarships were awarded to current graduate students in the Department of Animal Science:
Duane and Shirley Acker International Fellowship - to foster international experiences for graduate students
John Airy Endowed Graduate Scholarship – for significant research accomplishment related to beef cattle breeding and management
Arthur and Muriel Anderson Scholarship – for excellence in academic performance and interest in swine science
Charles H. and Inez M. Callahan Memorial Scholarship – for excellence in academic performance and outstanding leadership in extracurricular activities relating to poultry
Kayla Elmore
Lauren L. Christian Graduate Fellowship – for excellence in academic performance and outstanding leadership in extracurricular activities relating to swine
Dr. and Mrs. M.E. Ensminger Scholarship – for excellence in academic performance, character and leadership
Dr. Gene Freeman Animal Breeding and Genetics Graduate Student Travel Scholarship – for excellence in academic performance and an interest in working with cattle
William Riley Gillette Graduate Scholarship in Animal Science – in recognition of academic performance in the Department of Animal Science
Robert E. and Dorothy B. Rust Graduate Scholarship in Meat Science – in recognition of excellence in academic performance and demonstrated active interest in applied meat processing or allied industry
Vaughn and Meg Speer Graduate Award – to provide graduate students in monogastric nutrition with a unique training/education experience
Thomas Sutherland Graduate Award for Excellence – for excellence in academic performance and significant accomplishment in research relative to tenure in the graduate program
David and Jacqueline Topel Scholarship in Meat Science – for excellence in academic performance, leadership and involvement in campus activities, and promise of a career related to the meat industry
Harold and Esther G. Wilcke Scholarship – for significant research related to the nutritional requirements of domestic animals or poultry
Esther and Richard Willham Graduate Scholarship in Animal Science – in recognition of out-of-the-ordinary creativity in graduate student education
Iowa Poultry Association Scholarship in Honor of Tom J. Zanios – for excellence in academic performance and interest in the poultry industry
Kayla Elmore
The full program from the award’s ceremony can be found here: 2024 Grad Awards Ceremony.pdf
The greatest accomplishments from the department’s graduate programs have been the training of graduate students that are highly sought after in animal science, academia, science related fields and allied industries. Other accomplishments include scholarly outputs of peer-reviewed original research, fact sheets, patents, webinars and popular press articles generated by these students. If you are interested in contributing to graduate student scholarships, please visit the Iowa State University Foundation website.