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Graduate School applications for study in the Department of Animal Sciences are reviewed by the Department Graduate Review Committee which recommends acceptance or rejection to the Department Head. Graduate Research Assistantships are awarded to students who enter and which meet the requirements of the university, the Department of Animal Sciences, the Graduate School and the Meat Science Program. To be accepted into a graduate program of study, a student must attain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (A = 4.0) in appropriate course work at University-approved undergraduate institutions.
Other considerations used for persons with marginal GPAs are Graduate Record Examination Aptitude (GRE) Test scores, personal interviews, and letters of recommendation. All applicants must take the GRE Aptitude Test. Normally, when fellowships or scholarships are awarded to students with superior academic ability (based on Departmental recommendation), no work requirements are assigned so as to allow the student the capability to devote full time to studies and research.
Faculty in Meat Sciences actively recruit qualified, talented graduate students from all over the world. The Meat Science Program in Animal Sciences is extremely visible because of the widespread participation of its graduate students in scientific and industry meetings, and the amount of field work entailed in the research programs conducted by the Meat Science Program.
Many opportunities arise for graduate students in Meat Science to interact with industry leaders on a frequent basis; such opportunities are augmented because of Colorado State University's geographical proximity to the meat and food industry—many trade organizations and potential employers reside within a fifty-mile radius of the main campus. These opportunities are not available at most other institutions.
The Meat Science Program has been fortunate; success in placing graduating students in high-ranking, solid jobs upon completing their degree both domestically and internationally is a result of their contacts and geographical proximity to the meat industry. Because of the program of study, combined with enhanced opportunities for exposure, a student completing a graduate degree in Meat Science at Colorado State University will be highly marketable and qualified for employment.
Meat Science Research
The Program in Meat Science conducts and publishes applied industry research addressing significant and timely issues related to the global competitiveness of red meats, including red meat safety and product quality, and efforts to export more red meat products to international markets. Results and conclusions of these projects are beneficial to the red meat industry, consumers and regulatory agencies in the United States and around the world. Much of the technology developed through these efforts has a great impact on the safety and quality of US red meat products and, as a result, has been implemented extensively by companies in Colorado and across the US Some examples of technologies resulting from this research program that have had the greatest impact and that have been implemented across the red meat industry include: (a) Total Quality Management systems to improve the palatability of fresh beef, (b) instrument grading technology to effectively sort beef carcasses on the basis of projected carcass yields and eating quality, (c) Multiple Hurdles decontamination systems for improving safety of red meat, (d) decontamination technologies for beef and pork variety meats with emphasis on those exported to foreign countries, (e) management systems to reduce the incidence of dark cutting beef carcasses, (f) Beef Quality Assurance verification programs within Colorado and nationwide, and (g) dietary supplementation of feeder cattle with alpha-tocopheryl acetate to improve retail display life of fresh beef. Additionally, the Meat Science Program has been instrumental in developing quantitative information for use by meat packers and processors as they implement and maintain HACCP Plans.
Current Graduate Students
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Jeremy Adler
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Phil Bass
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Mitch Bowling |
Mitch Bowling was born in Fort Collins and has lived in various places all over the United States. Upon completion of high school in Arkansas, Mitch attended Texas A&M University, where he majored in Animal Science and was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a nationally recognized ROTC program. Upon graduation from Texas A&M in 2004, Mitch began his Master of Science degree in Meat Science at Colorado State University. His research included a comprehensive evaluation of central nervous system tissue dissemination in beef slaughter facilities and feeding a short chain fatty acid for three days pre-harvest to reduce the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7. Mitch is now a Ph.D. candidate at Colorado State University and will continue to focus his research efforts in the area of food safety. |
Alex Byelashov
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Jeff Callaway
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Brandon Carlson |
Brandon Carlson is from the small farming community of Byers, Colorado. There, he was raised on a commercial cow-calf operation that was involved in forage production and a custom haying operation. Following graduation from Byers High School in 1999, he completed an Associates of Science degree from Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, CO. From NJC, he continued his education at Colorado State University, where he obtained a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science and a minor in Ag Business. At CSU, he realized the value of higher education, which brought him to his current position as a Master's candidate in the Meat Science program at CSU. Brandon's research focuses on lowering the prevalence of pathogenic bacteria on incoming slaughter cattle and ready-to-eat meats |
Jessica Corron
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Sandra Gruber |
Sandra Gruber is originally from Clayton, Ohio. Gruber received a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science from The Ohio State University in 2002. During her undergraduate career Sandra developed a strong interest in meat science through involvement in co-curricular judging programs, and by serving as a research assistant in the meat science program. Gruber's interest in meat science and a passion for the beef industry prompted her to pursue a Masters of Science at Colorado State. Sandra's interests include pre- and post-harvest factors that affect meat palatability, meat animal growth and development, and livestock and meat marketing. |
Shivani Gupta
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Lynn Jones
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Kenichi (Ken) Katoh |
Kenichi Katoh is from Kyoto, Japan. His family associated with the Japanese beef industry for three generations and currently owns a traditional Wagyu beef shop. He often went to the meat markets to buy beef carcasses and to cattle fairs to buy live cattle for his shop. In the market, he learned from veterans how to judge carcasses and understand the tide of the auction, as well as how to judge live cattle at the cattle fair. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Kinki University in 2004. During his senior year, he was an integral part of establishing the beef traceability system for Osaka brand beef in the Agricultural Research Center of Osaka Prefecture. From these experiences involving business and science, he realized consumers need good eyes to choose their own foods, producers need good communication with consumers, and he needs to be a meat businessman who can educate consumers while acting as a bridge between consumers and producers. Ken started his Master of Science degree in Meat Science at CSU in fall 2005. |
| Jessica Meisinger |
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Ryan Murphy |
Ryan Murphy is from Bonnyville, Alberta, Canada. He grew up on a large purebred cattle operation raising Charolais and Red Angus cattle. His family has an annual bull sale every spring in Bonnyville. Ryan graduated high school in 1999 and attended Lakeland College in Vermilion, AB, for his diploma in Herd Health Technology before transferring to the University of Saskatchewan for his degree in Animal Science. Originally studying with the goal of becoming a veterinarian, he quickly changed his mind after attending the 2004 International Livestock Congress in Houston, Texas; meeting Dr. Smith, in addition to a handful of past and current graduate students in the meat science program. Ryan is pursuing a Masters of Science with a focus on slaughter plant safety and international trade. |
Trevor Nunes
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Katie Partyka
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Mawill Rodriguez |
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Jill Seabrook
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| Cang-Liang Shen |
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Catie Simpson |
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Travis Steiner
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Hanaa Thigeel
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Anna Van Stelten
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Shanna Williams
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Dale Woerner |
Dale grew up in a small town of Fredericksburg, Texas where his passion for agriculture and meat science was developed through his involvement in 4-H and FFA programs. Dale attended Texas Tech University and became actively involved in wool judging, meat judging, and meat animal evaluation teams. While earning his Master’s degree, he coached the Texas Tech University Wool Judging Team, Division A National Champion Meat Judging Team at Clarendon College, and the 2004 Reserve National Champion Texas Tech Meat Judging Team. Additionally, because of his love for meat judging and the meat science field, he has continued to coach 4-H and FFA meat judging teams for young people in the state of Colorado and looks forward to coaching the Colorado State University Meat Judging Team in 2007. Dale’s research interests include red meat quality, shelf-life stability, instrument prediction of red meat yields, and red meat safety. Dale received his B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science from Texas Tech and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University. Dale is currently working under Dr. Keith Belk, Dr. John Scanga, and Dr. J. Daryl Tatum. |
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