Samantha Howe, Ph.D. candidate, and Paul Dahunsi, M.S. candidate, were named winners of the 2024 Dr. Paul Noland Graduate Student Award in the Department of Animal Science.

The winners are awarded $750 travel funds for regional and national research conventions and will be recognized at the department's award banquet in the spring.

Howe presented "Identification of a bovine-derived next-generation probiotic for bovine respiratory disease." Dahunsi presented his research titled "Impact of product size and subsequent consumer freezing on color, tenderness and water-holding capacity of different beef muscles." 

Through the department, which is part of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, graduate students presented their research at the Paul Noland Graduate Student Awards Competition in January. The competition judges students in three areas: abstract, oral presentation and curriculum vitae.

Other participants included Kirsten Midkiff, the 2023 winner; Robin Cheek; Cody Gruber; Hannah Grogan; and Michelle Johnson. Brian Noland, Paul's son, was in attendance for this year's competition.

The award commemorates the legacy of Noland, an emeritus professor of animal science at the U of A. Noland served as head of the Department of Animal Science from 1988 until his retirement in 1994. He joined the faculty in 1951 after receiving his doctoral degree from Cornell University. Noland passed in 2015 at age 91.

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 top 3% of 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 News.