Senior Lucas Knarr from Troutville, Pennsylvania, will graduate this weekend with his Master of Science in nutrition and food science. He used his time at the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design to research poultry nutrition.
"I had the opportunity to learn the inner mechanisms of feed manufacture and poultry nutrition as well as how they can affect one another. I learned a lot more about how these subjects apply to real-world production and how they can ultimately help producers and consumers alike," Knarr said.
With his experience and education, he has decided to pursue a doctorate degree in animal, food and nutrition sciences also at the Davis College. He will begin next semester and plans to continue to study and conduct research on the topics of feed manufacture and poultry science.
What research did you work on?
Most of my graduate research focused on how a volcanic ash-based feed additive influences feed manufacture, broiler performance and apparent ileal amino acid digestibility. I also evaluated the effect of mixing time and mixer system on feed mix uniformity when utilizing different diet formulations.
How did you get involved?
I first got involved in research as an undergraduate student in my junior year here at WVU. Throughout that time, I worked with Professor Joe Moritz and his graduate students to produce feed and gather data on weight for a multitude of different broiler-based nutritional experiments. I also organized and completed a project focused on biochar and how it influenced ammonia emissions during poultry litter composting.
How do you think it helped you?
My time as a graduate student has allowed me to hone my communication skills — not only in the classroom but on a national scale. I also became much more efficient with time and workload management.
What are your future hopes and plans?
Following graduate school, I hope to return home to further my family’s feed mill and farm while also working as a feed manufacture and poultry nutrition consultant.
Do you have any advice for current students?
Take pride in the work that you do and give it all you’ve got because it will pay off in the end. Do not be afraid to ask for help when you need it, and lend a hand to your fellow classmates when you can.