Approximately 150 faculty, staff, and students recently gathered to hear Dr. Temple Grandin, an expert in autism and animal behavior, present a seminar entitled, "Animals in Translation: Understanding animal behavior through the mind of a visual thinker," at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.

The seminar, and her most recent book of the same name, posits animals have both minds and emotions, which can be intuited by human autistic cognitive-perception.

Grandin, who is autistic, has dedicated her life to improving the quality of life for food animals around the world by designing humane livestock handling facilities. In North America, almost half of all cattle are handled in a center track restrainer system she designed for meat plants. Curved chute and race systems she has designed for cattle and her writings on the flight zone and other principles of grazing animal behavior have helped many people to reduce stress on livestock during handling.

Through Grandin Livestock Systems, she works with the country's fast food purveyors -- McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy’s, and Burger King -- to monitor the conditions of their animal facilities worldwide.

“Grandin is one of the most celebrated and effective animal advocates on the planet,” said Dr.David Hodgson, head of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, which helped sponsor Grandin’s visit as part of the 2007-2008 Developmental Science Colloquium Series. “She has revolutionized animal movement systems and spearheaded reform in the quality of life and humane slaughter practices for production animals in America and indeed the world over.”

Grandin obtained her bachelor’s degree at Franklin Pierce College and her master’s degree in animal science at Arizona State University. She received her Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois in 1989. She is currently a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University where she teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling, and animal welfare.

She has appeared on television shows such as “20/20,” “48 Hours,” “CNN Larry King Live,” “PrimeTime Live,” the “Today Show,” and many shows in other countries. She has been featured in People Magazine, the New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, the New York Times book review, and Discover magazine.

She has also authored over 300 articles in both scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare, and facility design. She is the author of "Thinking in Pictures,” "Livestock Handling and Transport," and "Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals." Her book "Animals in Translation" is a New York Times best seller.

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