Dr. Iksoon Kang has been awarded the Broiler Research Award, instituted by the National Chicken Council. The award is given for distinctive research work that has a strong economic impact on the broiler industry. Research may be conducted in any major discipline and is evaluated primarily on the economic influence the work has had or will have on the industry. The award is given for research published in the preceding five calendar years.
Iksoon Kang
California Polytechnic State University
Dr. Ike Kang is an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at California Polytechnic State University. He received his BS from Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, his MS from California State University at Fresno, and his PhD from Texas A & M University. Following graduation, Dr. Kang held a postdoctoral fellow position at North Carolina State University and joined Kraft/Oscar Mayer Foods in 2000.
Recently, Dr. Kang developed a proprietary broiler chilling method after testing various subzero chilling temperatures in numerous saline solutions at Cal Poly.
This year, after receiving an intensive training course in the 2018 California State University Innovation Corps, Dr. Kang’s research idea and entrepreneurship concept was approved for national competition in 2019.
While at Texas A&M University, Dr. Kang compared the effects of electrical stunning and carbon dioxide stunning on animal welfare and broiler carcass quality. The results of his research on bleed-out efficiency, carcass damage, rigor mortis development, and textural quality provided the poultry industry with a stepping-stone for the development of current gas stunning.
At North Carolina State University and Kraft/Oscar Mayer Foods, he conducted patent-granted research and significantly improved protein content, product quality, and shelf-life of the mechanically deboned poultry meat by reducing heme, fat, and blood through his unique water-washing/protein-recovering technique.
At Michigan State University, Dr. Kang conducted a series of research projects on bacterial attachment, detachment, and quantification on broiler carcasses. Ike is the author/coauthor of 38 peer-reviewed articles, 4 book chapters, and 4 patents, with 45 conference presentations and 32 invited national and international presentations. His research has been recognized with numerous awards including the National Turkey Federation Research Award in 2018 and an ABCD (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty) Award in 2007, Spark Awards (2002, 03, 06), and the Be My Guest Award in 2003 at Oscar Mayer Foods.
