Dr. Todd Sink takes College Station post
Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Jim Cathey, 979-845-7370, jccathey@ag.tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Todd Sink has been hired as an assistant professor and fisheries specialist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service at Texas A&M University in College Station, according to his supervisor.
“We are very pleased to have Dr. Sink join our staff,” said Dr. Jim Cathey, associate department head and program leader for AgriLife Extension’s wildlife and fisheries sciences unit. “He has a life-long passion for aquaculture and the hands-on experiences needed to relate well with AgriLife Extension’s clientele across the state.”
Sink, who started March 11, will cover AgriLife Extension’s Panhandle, South Plains, Far West, West Central, Central, Southwest and Coastal Bend districts, as well as part of the Southeast district, Cathey said.
Sink earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in fisheries and aquatic sciences with a double specialization in fish physiology and nutrition and fisheries management. He was involved in undergraduate research in nutrition and respiratory physiology of tilapia and also worked as a fisheries biologist aide conducting lake sampling, creel surveys, radio-telemetry tracking of fish, permit surveying and scale age processing for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
He earned his doctorate from the University of Tennessee in philosophy of natural resources. He also taught courses on fisheries and aquaculture topics and conducted research with the school’s College of Veterinary Medicine in fish endocrinology. While in Tennessee, he worked as the aquaculture lab manager at the Johnson Animal Research and Teaching Unit, as a fisheries technician for Conservation Fisheries Incorporated, as a fisheries survey crewman for Fish and Wildlife Associates and as a contractor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
After completing a short post-doctoral study on the rainbow trout at the University of Tennessee, Sink accepted a post-doctoral research associate post at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where he continued to teach and conduct research across a wide range of topics. His time there resulted in 25 peer-reviewed scientific publications and dozens of presentations to producer and professional groups.
Sink has conducted research on more than 45 fish species ranging from baitfish to food and sport fish of both fresh and saltwater. He also has studied fish native to South America, Africa and Asia.
Sink grew up on a cattle farm in Connersville, Ind. where he showed cattle, hogs and sheep competitively in 4-H. His interest in aquaculture began to grow at age 14 when he began to raise channel catfish in cattle tanks that he fed waste grain from the family cattle operation.
For more information, contact Cathey at: 979-845-7370, jccathey@ag.tamu.edu .
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