Charles Schwab Young Scientist Competition

In honor of the long-time New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station researcher Charles Schwab, professor emeritus of animal and nutritional sciences and a former member of UNH’s dairy program, Adisseo has created the annual Young Scientist award.

 Dr. Schwab is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts in amino acid nutrition of dairy cattle. Schwab’s 34-year career at UNH began in 1975, when he joined the faculty as an assistant professor. Among his many professional achievements, he established amino acid feeding recommendations for lactating dairy cows. His recommendations have led the dairy industry to develop software and feed databases that not only improve efficacy of milk production, but also reduce the amount of nitrogen fed and ultimately excreted into the environment by the cow. While a professor, Schwab provided leadership for numerous initiatives, including a revision of the undergraduate curriculum in animal sciences, the development of a nutritional sciences major, and the dairy management major. He worked with university administration to establish the experiment station’s Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, the Dairy Nutrition Research Center, and the experiment station’s Organic Dairy Research Farm.

To date, Schwab’s research has resulted in 160 published papers, and he has made over 300 presentations in 26 countries. In 2006, Dr. Schwab was recognized by UNH with an Excellence in Public Service Award. After retiring from UNH in 2009, Schwab’s enthusiasm for dairy nutrition did not wane. Recently, he helped create the feed consortium. Charles remains a mentor to numerous students who are presently in the dairy industry or universities. He now works full-time as a dairy nutrition consultant, educating dairy extension specialists, nutritionists, and producers worldwide on advances in protein and amino acid nutrition and its implications on milk production, cow health and nitrogen utilization.