Brett Ramirez has been appointed interim director of the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University. Ramirez has served as the center’s assistant director since April 2023, leading alongside former EIC Director Richard Gates, who passed away in November 2023.

Ramirez, who joined Iowa State’s faculty in 2018, is also an associate professor with research and Extension appointments in Iowa State’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

“Brett has made tremendous impacts within the poultry and livestock industries in his professional career,” said Daniel J. Robison, endowed dean’s chair of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “I am confident he will successfully lead the Egg Industry Center in building upon its programs to help North American egg producers continue to provide this wonderful food source.”

Ramirez’s research spans several areas critical to the egg industry, including livestock housing and ventilation systems, environmental control, natural resource and energy efficiencies and precision livestock farming.

Through his Extension appointment, Ramirez collaborates with industry members to address engineering, design, management and troubleshooting of livestock and poultry facilities. He has presented many ventilation workshops aimed at production employees and allied industry members.

His involvement with the Egg Industry Center has included his role in the EIC’s 2022 Environmental Protection Agency draft emissions model critical evaluation that considered ways to improve air emissions models applicable to the egg industry. He also has completed studies quantifying the energy usage of poultry operations’ manure handling systems.

“These are unfortunate circumstances - Rich was a great friend, colleague and mentor of mine. He is missed by many, and I know his impact on the industry is everlasting,” Ramirez said. “My goal is to continue the great things he started and add my unique style to accomplishing and furthering those goals. I will strive to drive the EIC’s mission forward and ensure we achieve our goal of supporting the nation’s egg industry through evidence-based research.”

In 2023, Ramirez received the Early Achievement in Research Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He also was named Young Engineer of the Year in 2021 by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Iowa Section.

Ramirez received his doctoral degree in agricultural and biosystems engineering from Iowa State in 2017. He also has a bachelor’s (2012) and master’s (2014) degree in agricultural and biological engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University works to add value to the nation’s egg industry by providing research and education for egg producers, processors and consumers through national and international collaboration. The center is committed to ensuring that the current and future needs of the egg industry can be answered through developing and promoting sound science-based information. The Egg Industry Center has funded more than $2.5 million in research since 2013. This research has helped advance knowledge on disease transmission, genetic resistance, keel bone abnormalities, new market development and more.