The Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University has named an assistant director to enhance the center’s service to the North American egg industry.
Brett Ramirez, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University, will start his new duties with the center effective April 11. In his new role, Ramirez will be meeting with industry members in various venues and helping move the Egg Industry Center’s (EIC) nationally facing research and outreach initiatives forward.
Ramirez holds a research and extension appointment at Iowa State. His research focuses on ventilation, natural resource and energy efficiency, animal energetics, environmental control, and precision livestock farming. He also works to advance the technology needed to address general topics that arise in livestock and poultry production systems. In his extension capacity he assists the livestock and poultry industries with engineering, design, management, and troubleshooting of their facilities. Ramirez’s past experiences with the egg industry include working to improve resource efficiency; air quality and air emissions work including last year’s EPA draft emissions model challenges completed by the center; and completion of studies that quantify poultry operation’s energy usage as it relates to its manure handling systems. In addition, he has led ventilation workshops for production employees and allied industry members.
“Dr. Ramirez is a very capable engineering scientist and understands the many production-related challenges our industry is facing; as a representative of our next generation of research and extension professionals, it is fortunate for EIC that he will be able to work more closely with industry and learn of their needs,” said Dr. Richard Gates, Egg Industry Center Director. “The Egg Industry Center will be in an even better position to serve the industry with the addition of Dr. Ramirez.”
Ramirez earned his Ph.D. in agricultural and biosystems engineering from Iowa State University and obtained his M.S. and B.S. degrees in agricultural and biological engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
With the help of a research endowment, the Egg Industry Center advances science for a brighter future. EIC adds value to the nation’s egg industry by ensuring that the current and future needs of the egg industry can be answered through developing and promoting sound science-based information. For further information about the Egg Industry Center or supporting its research programs, visit the center’s website www.eggindustrycenter.org.
