Dr. Joseph M. Vandepopuliere passed away Sunday, January 26, 2020 at home surrounded by family. He was 90.
He received his BS in Biology from Central Missouri State, a MS in Chemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a PhD in Animal Nutrition from the University of Florida-Gainesville.
Joe began his career at Ralston Purina after receiving his MS. At Purina, he was heavily involved in developing companion animal diets which led to the highly successful line of "Chows" for dogs, cats, monkeys, and fish.
Upon the completion of his PhD, Joe was rehired by Purina where he spent 12 more years conducting broiler research and technical support of poultry sales personnel and producers throughout North America.
In 2006, Joe was named a PSA Fellow. The honor of Fellow highlighted Joe's success with Purina as well as his research that focused on utilization of poultry by-products, spent hens, skeletal problems, and ectoparasite control. At the time of his award as Fellow, Joe held three U.S. patents and had contributed to over 180 scientific articles and trade publication reports. In addition to being named a Fellow, Joe also served three years as PSA Secretary and served WPSA-USA as Director (1984-1988) and President (1988-1992).
