AMES, Iowa — An acclaimed researcher in animal environment engineering at Iowa State University has been named the new assistant dean for research in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Hongwei Xin, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor who holds the Iowa Egg Council Endowed Professorship in the agricultural and biosystems engineering and animal science departments, was named to the newly created position effective April 1. Xin also serves as the director of the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State.
“Dr. Xin has extensive experience in basic and applied research, as well as working with industry partners on research issues,” said Joe Colletti, the college’s senior associate dean. “He and his team at the Egg Industry Center were at the forefront of responding to the avian influenza outbreak in the Midwest in 2015, and are implementing research projects to determine ways to prevent another.”
The assistant dean for research will be a member of the dean’s leadership team in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and work with the college’s senior associate dean to direct and support its research activities. Xin will focus on the promotion of animal-related research; facilitate linkages with the Agriculture Experiment Station research and economic development efforts; and promote international research partnerships.
His five-year appointment includes continuing to direct the Egg Industry Center and conduct research. He also will serve as interim director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center.
In 2016, Xin received the Henry Giese Structures and Environment Award for his leadership in research and design of enhanced poultry and livestock production systems from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Xin is a native of China, who earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering at Shenyang Agricultural University in 1982, a master’s degree in agricultural engineering in 1985 at the University of Nebraska, where he also earned a doctorate degree in bio-environmental engineering in 1989.