Announcing the 2026 IAA Poultry & Aquaculture Scholarship Winners
Innovate Animal Ag has announced the winners of the 2026 IAA Poultry & Aquaculture Innovation Scholarship. This scholarship supports students who are passionate about technology and innovation in agriculture. Recipients were selected based on their academic achievement, hands-on experience, and demonstrated interest in bringing new technologies to their field of study.
The 2026 winners are:
Jaehyoung Park, Cornell University College (‘28)
Westen Vardeman, Texas A&M University (‘27)
Shayenn Votaw, North Carolina State University (‘27)
Each recipient will receive $4,000 to cover tuition costs. Read on to learn more about each winner.
Jaehyoung Park is a sophomore at Cornell CALS (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), majoring in Biological Sciences. Jaehyoung is passionate about fish—from ecology and biology to fish’s economic and cultural values. One of his primary interests is aquaculture, which he sees as a viable, sustainable, and eco-friendly form of food/protein production. Similar to many agricultural practices, he is interested in integrating technology with aquaculture to improve the efficiency and quality of fish health and production. Jaehyoung’s biology major at Cornell focuses on fish, and his CS minor teaches him how computer technologies can be applied to aquaculture. He maintains tilapia tanks and assists with aquaculture research at Won lab to gain real-life experience working in aquaculture settings. Moving forward, Jaehyoung hopes to pursue a graduate degree in aquaculture and further integrate technology into his fish expertise.
Westen Vardeman is a third year student at Texas A&M university studying Poultry Science. He grew up on his family’s cow/calf operation in East Texas, and describes himself as a “third generation poultry lifer”. Growing up, he was involved in FFA at an early age, participating in leadership events and the Poultry Judging Team. He has worked for Tyson Foods, conducted poultry nutritional research for Texas A&M, and worked on large cattle operations. In summer 2026 he plans to travel to Australia to work on a feedlot and learn about cattle nutrition and feeding. He is an outdoorsy person who enjoys all things related to roping, fishing, and hunting. After he graduates, he plans to pursue a PhD in animal nutrition at either Texas Tech or Texas A&M.
Shayenn Votaw is a student at North Carolina State University pursuing a degree in Biological and Agricultural Engineering Technology, with a minor in Animal Science. Raised on family-operated swine farms in southeastern North Carolina, she developed a strong foundation in animal agriculture and a deep appreciation for the dedication required to care for livestock. Through hands-on farm experience and undergraduate research with the USDA-NIFA funded Proactive Pig Production (P3) project, she has supplemented her background in production agriculture with her interest in engineering and emerging technologies. After graduation, Shayenn plans to pursue a career focused on precision livestock farming and the integration of advanced technologies to improve animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and production efficiency. She is passionate about developing innovative solutions that support producers while strengthening the future of animal agriculture.
Robert Yaman, CEO of Innovate Animal Ag, says, "Innovation in animal agriculture doesn't happen without the right people: those with the technical skills, the hands-on experience, and the drive to solve hard problems. Jaehyoung, Westen, and Shayenn each showed exactly that combination, and we're proud to support them on their path to becoming leaders in animal agriculture innovation."
