News & AnnouncementsFaculty and Staff News
Dr. Ed Orlando featured in PARADE magazine
ANSC Professor, Ed Orlando, was quoted about his research on intersex fish in the issue of Parade Magazine for Sunday, 31 January 2009. The article was entitled "Scientists Investigate Freaky Fish," and you can read more HERE. PARADE magazine is distributed as part of the Sunday newspaper from The Washington Post, but is also featured in 470 other newspapers including the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, the New York Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Times & Post Intelligencer. The magazine boasts a readership over 72 million people. Congratulations, Ed!
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Campus Farm featured on Wednesday's Child
The Campus Farm recently hosted NBC Washington News Channel 4's Barbara Harrison for a Wednesday's Child feature on Xavia, a 15 year old foster child. Xavia met with our own Lindsay Callahan for a tour of the Campus Farm and had the opportunity to meet some of the animals. The story aired on December 16th, but can be viewed online at NBC 4's Website.
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Dr. Song Awarded USDA Grant
Dr. John Song has been awarded funding in the amount of $ 748,494 for his USDA AFRI proposal entitled "The Epigenetic Landscape of MD Susceptibility and Resistance in Chickens." The grant is a part of the Animal Genome, Genetics and Breeding program of the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative. Congratulations Dr. Song!
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Dr. Tom Porter discusses collaborative endeavors with the China Agricultural University
Dr. Tom Porter met with Dr. YANG Zhi, Chairperson of the Animal Science and Technology at China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing. Dr. YANG is part of a large delegation from CAU who were visiting the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) at UMD. UMD and CAU have an active Memorandum of Understanding signed by UMD President Mote, and a long history of cooperation and collaboration. Drs. Porter and YANG were discussing the possibility of further cooperation, including possible faculty and student exchanges and collaborative research. AGNR is the host of two groups of undergraduate students from CAU, termed the 2+2 students, where the students take classes for their first two years at CAU and then their last two years at UMD and they receive a degree from both universities. It is possible that next year's class of CAU 2+2 students may include ANSC majors.
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Special News - ANSC Alumnus is a "National" Sensation!
Former ANSC student, Justin Maxwell, made national headlines last night, but not as you might expect. Justin hit a walk-off grand slam for the Washington Nationals to give their troubled season a perfect storybook ending. The Nationals were down 3-4 to the Mets when Maxwell stepped up to the plate for the first time that night. What happened next was something that Justin will undoubtedly remember for the rest of his life. A Maryland native, Maxwell was actually drafted by the Baltimore Orioles straight out of high school in 2001, but declined the offer in order to pursue an education at the University of Maryland studying Animal Science. ANSC Professor and Department Chair, Dr. Tom Porter, recalls how Maxwell also excelled in the classroom. "He was a great student. I remember him hitting some home runs in our Physiology class," says Porter. Dr. Mark Varner remembers when he had Justin on the first day of class and asked him, "What will you be doing in 10 years?" Justin's response was, "Either playing major league baseball or I'll be a small animal veterinarian." A few years later, Justin was drafted for a second time in 2004, this time by the Texas Rangers, but again opted to stay and complete his education. After graduating college in 2005, Justin signed with the Nationals and spent the next few seasons playing in their minor league system. Unfortunately, Justin missed much of the 2008 season due to injury and then spent most of the 2009 season playing for a Triple-A team in Syracuse. It was only a month ago that Justin was called up to play for the Nationals in replacement of center fielder Nyjer Morgan. After last night's spectacular performance, it is clear that Justin is no longer in the "farm club," but has arrived in the big leagues.
The ANSC family wishes you our congratulations, Justin!
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Student News
Oct 27, 2009
Nicole Fiorellino Awarded Scholarship
Nicole Fiorellino was recently awarded a "Backstretch Scholarship" in the amount of $2,000 from the Maryland Racing Media Association. Although Nicole doesn't work at a MD racetrack, she impressed the scholarship committee with her efforts as manager of our equine rotational grazing demonstration site, which just happens to house 4 off-the-track Thoroughbreds, and with her research efforts to characterize the use of pasture and manure best management practices by MD horse farm operators.
Nicole was also recently awarded a $600 Financial Support Grant from our very own Animal Sciences Graduate Student Association. The money will be used to support travel costs associated with her 60 farm field study that she's currently conducting ... Read More
Aug 03, 2009
Kristina Heuck wins Certificate of Excellence
Kristina Heuck, PhD candidate under the direction of Tom Porter, won a
Certificate of Excellence for presentation in the Physiology,
Endocrinology, and Reproduction Section at the Poultry Science
Association's 98th Annual Meeting on July 23rd, 2009 in Raleigh, N.C.Her
research poster entitled "Fine mapping of the glucocorticoid-responsive
region of the chicken growth hormone (GH) gene in embryonic pituitary
cells" is now eligible to compete for the 2010 Alltech Student Research
Manuscript Award. Kristina hopes to complete her dissertation research
in the fall of 2009. ... Read More
Jul 16, 2009
The Iager Scholarship
Congratulations to Amanda Heilman, the winner of the 2008-2009 Iager Scholarship! The Judy and Charles Iager Scholarship Fund was established in September 2007 by Judy '66 and Charles '65 Iager. Spendable Income from the Judy and Charles Iager Scholarship Fund provides annual scholarships for students enrolled in the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. ... Read More
Jun 01, 2009
The 23rd Annual Symposium
The 23rd Annual Symposium took place on May 29th, 2009 with guest speaker Dr. Jorge Piedrahita from NC State University. We would like to especially congratulate those students who won awards ... Read More
May 12, 2009
ANSC students receive Phi Beta Kappa Honors
Congratulations to Rick Paynter, Charlotte Sanford-Crane, and Monica Fernandez for being selected to Phi Beta Kappa ... Read More
