Several faculty members and students in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences recently brought home national awards.

“We are very proud of the animal and food sciences faculty and students we have at UK,” said Richard Coffey, department chair. “They continue to excel in research, teaching and extension. Cutting-edge research and excellent creative teaching methods are the norm here, and our students and producers are benefitting from that.”

The American Society of Animal Science presented the Industry Innovation Award to Merlin Lindemann. The award recognizes an individual who has shown a distinguished level of service to the animal industry. Lindemann has been at UK since 1994 and is a professor of swine nutrition and management. He is the author of dozens of publications, and his research was integral in the effort to obtain clearance for the nutritional use of organic chromium in the U.S. swine industry.

UK extension equine professor Robert Coleman receive the ASAS Distinguished Teacher Award. Coleman has been at UK since 1998. He teaches and advises students in the equine science and management program and is the advisor for the UK Equestrian Team. The award recognizes a dedicated individual’s teaching accomplishments in animal sciences courses. ASAS said Coleman is genuinely invested in his students and shows interest in student motivation, mastery of subject matter, teaching improvement, extracurricular student activities and service to the agricultural industry. The award was sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition, LLC/Land O’ Lakes, Inc.

UK meat science professor Surendranath Suman received the American Meat Science Association’s International Lectureship Award for his international contributions to the field of meat science and technology.  Suman’s research program focuses on the fundamental and applied aspects of meat color in livestock and non-traditional food animals, and he collaborates extensively with researchers in Brazil, South Africa and China. He is one of only a handful of people across the world using proteomic tools to interpret and solve problems in muscle foods. He has published 75 peer-reviewed journal articles, delivered lectures in more than a dozen countries and received many prestigious national and international awards.

In late July, the Poultry Science Association recognized UK’s Jacqueline Jacob with the Philbro Extension Award, which recognizes outstanding work in poultry extension and outreach during a five-year period. Jacob is the UK poultry extension project manager. Before coming to UK in 2008, she completed her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of British Columbia. She did her doctoral research at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and spent nearly five years working on a poultry project in Mozambique. In her role at UK, she specializes in small and backyard flocks, as well at 4-H youth poultry programming.

Lauren Nolan, graduate student under UK extension poultry specialist Tony Pescatore, received the Maurice Stein Fellowship Award. This monetary award is given to a graduate student whose training and research in applied poultry sciences may lead to improvements in efficiency and profitability in the egg industry.

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