Laura Pepple

Graduate Research Assistant

Education:
B.S., Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Current M.S., Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Current M.S., Animal Science, Iowa State University, Current

Thesis:
Impacts of Feeding DDGS to Swine: Aerial Emissions and Potential Management Strategies

Awards and Honors:
2005-Academic Recognition Award
2007-ASABE-ISU student branch "Student of the Year"
2007-Chair's Undergraduate Student Citation Award
2007-Science with Practice Poster First Place Winner
2007-Fountain Wars Champions at ASABE International Meeting
2008-ASABE Iowa Section Scholarship
2008-Student Paper Competition Winner ASABE Mid-Central Conference
2008-2 time winner of the AWML Brown Star of Achievement Award

Involvement in Organizations:
ASABE International Pre-professional Council Parliamentarian-Current
          Technical Session Presenter Providence, RI - 2008
ABEGO, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Graduate Organization
ASABE, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers-ISU student branch
          2007-2008 Vice President and Fundraising Chair
          2006-2007 Fundraising and Social Committee Chair
2005-2006 AST Liaison
ABE Peer Mentor
Agricultural Engineering Curriculum Committee-Student Member 2006-2008
ISU Intramural Sports  

Current Research
I am currently conducting research to quantify the impact of emissions from swine finisher barns with rations containing dry distiller's grains (DDGS) compared to finish pigs fed non DDGS rations. My mater's project is to monitor two swine finisher barns (one fed standard non-DDGS ration and the other fed DDGS rations) for a 12 month period for hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  With feed being the primary cost in pork production and increasing interest in air emissions from animal feeding operations, it is important to understand the impacts of dietary formulations on aerial emissions.

Other Research:
Previous research projects I have worked on include characterizing runoff from open beef feedlots, dewatering of swine manure, development of a low cost method to measure open channel flow, monitoring the performance of Vegetative Treatment Systems in Iowa and extraction of phosphorus from swine manure as struvite.

Publications:

L.M. Pepple, R.V. Muhlbauer, R.T. Burns, L.B. Moody, C. Pedersen, D.S. Andersen, T.A. Shepherd. Validation of a Low Cost Monitoring Vegetative Treatment System Performance. 2008 Proceedings: 2008 ASABE Annual International Meeting. June 29-July 2, 2008.<//span>

R.V. Muhlbauer, I. Khanijo, R.T. Burns, L.B. Moody, L.M. Pepple, C.H. Pederson. Low Cost Method for Monitoring Flow from a Vegetative Treatment System. 2007. Proceedings: International Symposium on Air Quality and Waste Management for Agriculture. September 16-19, 2007.

Contact Information:

Laura Pepple
3155 NSRIC
Iowa State University
Ames, IA  50011
515-294-3153
peppleiastate.edu