Assistant Dean in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University Honored by Alma Mater

Biological Systems Engineering Department Head David Jones, left, presents Hongwei Xin the Hall of Fame award plaque. Credit: Amanda Lager, Biological Systems Engineering Department.

AMES, Iowa — Hongwei Xin, assistant dean for research of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University, was honored last month by the University of Nebraska.

Xin, who also serves as director of the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State, was inducted last month into the Biological Systems Engineering Department Hall of Fame at the University of Nebraska. Also honored was Neil Smith, a Nebraska businessman. Since 1995, the Hall of Fame has recognized the achievements of department alumni.

“Being inducted into the BSE Hall of Fame is an incrediblehonor that was beyond my imagination,” Xin said. “I owe this honor to the talented and dedicated individuals — my mentors, faculty colleagues, staff, graduate students, postdocs and industry stakeholders — I have had the fortune to learn from and work with over the years; and the immense support of my family.”  

Xin, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State, earned master’s and doctorate degrees from Nebraska in 1985 and 1989. The Chinese native earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering at Shenyang Agricultural University in 1982.

He joined Iowa State in 1993 and has served as the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI for grants of more than $23.7 million and authored more than 190 refereed journal articles in areas including air quality issues related to animal production, animal-environmental interactions and precision livestock farming. Xin is the recipient of major awards including the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering’s prestigious Cyrus Hall McCormick-Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal Award.

Xin was instrumental in establishing the International Research Center for Animal Environment and Welfare that now includes 20 member institutions from 10 countries, and serves as its overseas chair. He recently coordinated a workshop at Iowa State dedicated to exploring the field of precision livestock farming.