Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Delbert M. Gatlin III, 979-847-9333, d-gatlin@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Delbert M. Gatlin III, Texas AgriLife Research fisheries scientist, has been honored as a Senior Faculty Fellow.
Gatlin also is professor in the wildlife and fisheries sciences department at Texas A&M University.
The faculty fellows program recognizes those who “have contributed to the scholarly creation and dissemination of new knowledge through exceptional research leadership and grantsmanship.”
Professors and associate professors in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M, who hold a joint appointment with AgriLife Research, are eligible for the award and a $5,000 stipend. The honor was created in 1998.
Also honored as senior faculty fellows were Dr. Dorothy Shippen, biochemistry and biophysics professor, and Dr. Bruce McCarl, agriculture economics professor. Dr. Binayak Mohanty, professor of biological and agricultural engineering, was honored as faculty fellow.
“I am extremely proud of these scientists whose studies have brought great advances in their fields and to the benefit of the public and our agency,” said Dr. Craig Nessler, AgriLife Research director. “Their scientific endeavors are yielding results that positively impact people in our state, nation and world.”
Dr. John Carey, Gatlin’s interim department head, nominated the scientist for the award.
“Del richly deserves this honor because he not only is one of AgriLife Research’s most productive and highly regarded scientists, but also he is among the top two or three fish nutritionists in the world,” Carey said in his letter of nomination.
Carey said some of Gatlin’s top work centers around the relationship of fish nutrition and fish health, but he noted that the larger impact of his research could well be optimized feeds for fish to benefit human health and well-being.
During the past five years, Gatlin published 47 peer-reviewed papers, four book chapters and co-edited two books as well as participating in more than $3 million of grant and contract activity.
The quantity and quality of his research and his reputation for responsible fair-mindedness have put him in high demand as a research collaborator, speaker and reviewer, not only here at Texas A&M and throughout the U.S., but also around the world in places including Greece, Mexico, Thailand, Norway and Brazil, Carey wrote.
“Within the department of wildlife and fisheries sciences, Del Gatlin is everyone’s favorite colleague, owing to his leadership by example, sense of responsibility and fair play, good humor and pure decency.”
Carey relates that Gatlin’s stature in the world scientific community is reflected in his many appointments to external boards and panels. These past and current appointments include: vice-chair of the Committee on Nutrient Requirements of Fish and Shrimp, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences; Nutrition Advisory Board of International Ingredient Corp.; chair of the Plant Products in Aquafeeds Working Group; and co-chair for Research, Technical Committee of the Southern Regional Aquaculture Center. He’s also served as a U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating scientist on research projects in Poland, India and Norway.
“Del currently is nutrition section editor for Aquaculture, indisputably the world’s premier aquaculture journal,” Carey said. “In this, Del not only does tremendous service to his discipline, but also places himself and AgriLife Research in a strong leadership position at an important interface of science, industry and society.”
Carey said Gatlin’s role as an educator is integral to his function as a scientist.
“In the classroom, he is substantive, thorough and very effective,” Carey said. “Del does not operate through post-docs and technicians. He works beside each student, preparing experimental feeds, weighing fish and collecting tissue samples; that way, the student learns correct procedures and develops a research philosophy and ethics under a compassionate, but watchful eye. It is, indeed, the very fortunate student who has Del Gatlin for his or her advisor.”
Gatlin earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences from Texas A&M University in 1980 and a doctorate in nutrition/biochemistry from Mississippi State University in 1983. He joined the Texas A&M wildlife and fisheries sciences department in 1987.
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