U of A students from several departments in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences participated in the recent American Meat Science Association's Reciprocal Meat Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, and combined for three awards and three top five finishes.

Morgan Denzer won the Graduate Cleaver Teaching Award; Taylor Looper, the Undergraduate Scholastic Achievement Award; and Elizabeth Neal, the C. Boyd Ramsey RMC Scholar Award.

Neal was second in the master's degree division of the Graduate Research Poster Competition and Looper, third in the Undergraduate Research Poster Competition.

Ashley Rivera Pitti was second in the Iron Chef competition.

The meat science quiz bowl team placed 12th in a field of 36 teams. Competing team members were Looper, Eva Berryhill, Miguel Montero and Jimena Rodriquez. The team was coached by Neal. Other team members included Pitti and Cason Frisby.

Berryhill, Looper, Neal, Pitti and Rodriquez are in animal science; Denzer and Frisby, in food science; and Montero, in poultry science.

Other student presenters included Pitti, Rodriguez and Sarah Shoup from animal science and Sarah Johnson from poultry science.

In addition, faculty members also presented at various sessions. Kelly Vierck, assistant professor of animal science, presented on "How to ePoster;" Casey Owens, Novus International Professor of Poultry Science, on "Poultry Meat Quality: Issues of Past, Present, and Future;" and Derico Setyabrata, assistant professor of meat science in animal science, on "Tackling the Transition from Student to Academic Professional."

The AMSA fosters community and professional development among individuals who create and apply science to efficiently provide safe, high quality meat, which is defined as red meat (beef, pork & lamb, poultry, fish/seafood and meat from other managed species).

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.