Tennessee Tech poultry lab named after Aviagen Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE – Tennessee Tech University got an early Christmas present with the opening of its Poultry Science Research Center. The center, which opened Dec. 2, is named the Aviagen Poultry Science Laboratory, after the Huntsville-based poultry breeding company.

The Aviagen Poultry Science Laboratory, part of the school’s College of Agriculture and Human Ecology, will provide future poultry professionals with hands-on experience, the company said in a news release. It will open to students in the spring.

An Aviagen delegation at the grand opening included guest speaker DeWet Nortje, director of Pedigree and GGP Operations for Aviagen.

Nortje underscored the shared commitment to ongoing research that will benefit the poultry industry in Tennessee and the entire country.

“We believe in the work at Tennessee Tech’s Poultry Research Center, and the hands-on experience and research opportunities the new Center and Laboratory will provide,” he said.

Accompanying Nortje were Aviagen’s Crossville, Tenn., team members Andy Goldman, director of Pedigree Operations; Rachel Breeding, Quality Assurance and Regulatory manager; Victoria Collett, Pedigree Hatchery manager; Rachael Mack-Gomes, hatchery supervisor; and Wendy Parker from the corporate marketing team in Huntsville.

Breeding, Collett and Mack-Gomes are all animal science graduates of Tennessee Tech.

The Aviagen pedigree and Research and Development operations is near Tennessee Tech in Crossville.

“We have been impressed with the talent, knowledge and integrity of Tennessee Tech students,” said Marc de Beer, president of Aviagen North America. “A top priority for Aviagen is to encourage and prepare such students for a career in the poultry industry.

“They are our future, and poultry is where they can truly make a difference in helping to feed the people of today and future generations with nutritious, affordable and sustainable chicken meat.”