UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kevin Harvatine, professor of nutritional physiology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been appointed to the C. Lee Rumberger and Family Chair in Agricultural Sciences for a five-year term.
Created in 1992 as a professorship and converted to a chair in 1998 by C. Lee Rumberger, the chair supports high-level research in the college. The previous holder of the chair was Troy Ott, now Peter and Ann Tombros Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Harvatine’s research combines traditional ruminant nutrition with modern molecular biology to better understand how metabolism is regulated and how diet can be used to improve animal production. His expertise lies in lipid metabolism, with a primary focus on increasing milk fat in dairy cows.
During his 17 years at Penn State, Harvatine’s work in the Department of Animal Science has provided key insights into methods to modify rumen fatty acid metabolism to decrease the occurrence of milk fat depression and the ability of specific short- and long-chain fatty acids to stimulate milk fat synthesis. He also has investigated methods to increase healthy omega-3 fatty acids in layer and broiler chickens.
His research has garnered strong interest from the dairy industry, and he speaks extensively at regional, national and international conferences, giving more than 145 presentations over the last 10 years.
Harvatine said he plans to use the endowment specifically to conduct high-risk, high-reward research that is difficult to fund but key to identifying the next frontiers to improve the efficiency and profitability of dairy farms.
Jeff Mulhollem