American Society of Animal Science

Publisher of the Journal of Animal Science

www.asas.org

ASAS Annual Meeting

July 24-28, 2001

Indiana Convention Center

Indianapolis, IN

PRESS RELEASE

For information contact:

Lisa Cobb

Phone: 217-356-3182

E-Mail: lisac@assochq.org

Van Soest receives 2001 Morrison Award

Peter Van Soest, retired professor, Cornell University, was recognized for his outstanding research that has been of direct importance to livestock production. This award is donated by F.W. Morrison Fund.

After serving two years as a biochemist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Van Soest was appointed to the Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville as a research chemist. In 1968 he joined Cornell University as an associate professor of Nutrition and was promoted to professor in 1973.

Van Soest officially retired in 1995, however; he continues to make significant contributions to animal industry. He is universally recognized for his detergent system of fiber analysis, in which his application of chemistry to the characterization and quantification of fiber in feeds and foods resulted in a comprehensive system of feed analysis that is accepted and used worldwide. These accomplishments and others have transformed the nutritional management of ruminants, especially dairy cattle, throughout the world.

In 1992, Van Soest received an honorary doctor of science from the University of Milan. Several of his articles have become citation classics, an indication of how valuable his research is to other scientists. Recent beef, swine, and dairy reports on nutrition requirements published by the National Research Council rely on his fiber analysis system.