Mark Hanigan, a professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, was recently named the David R. and Margaret Lincicome Professor of Agriculture by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The David R. and Margaret Lincicome Professorship was established with a gift from David R. and Margaret Lincicome to recognize a faculty member who is making significant contributions to research and teaching in animal related programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The appointment is a five-year term.

Hanigan is considered a leading authority in the modeling of nitrogen utilization by dairy animals. His research has two significant impacts: the improved knowledge of nitrogen metabolism in ruminants enables enhanced production of milk proteins and the capacity for improved nitrogen utilization reduces the impact of animal production on the environment.

He has an international reputation as a leader in the area of modeling mammary metabolism. Hanigan has given numerous invited talks, has published numerous papers and book chapters, and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Nutritional Modeling at the University of Guelph.

Hanigan’s students have averaged more than five peer-reviewed journal articles each of the past three years. In the last two years alone, he has helped secure more than $1 million in grant funding for his programs. He is currently the major professor for three doctoral and three Master of Science degree students. He also mentors many undergraduate students and serves as one of the advisors for the award-winning Dairy Club.

Hanigan received his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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