Director, Arizona Initiative for Arid Lands Animal Production Center | Member of the Graduate Faculty | Associate Professor, Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Duane Wulf, born in Morris, MN, received his B.S. and M.S. from South Dakota State University and his Ph.D. from Colorado State University, all in Animal Science. Dr. Wulf held faculty positions at The Ohio State University 3 yrs) and SDSU 11 yrs) where he attained the rank of Full Professor. His university research focused on ante- and post-mortem factors affecting beef and pork quality, attracted numerous graduate students, and resulted in 43 refereed journal articles. Dr. Wulf was honored several times for his teaching excellence, highlighted by the Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Meat Science Association. For the past ten years, Dr. Wulf has served as a missionary businessman in Sonora, Mexico where he started a meat processing plant, a cattle ranch, and a restaurant, all with the purpose of providing training and career opportunities to the fatherless and underprivileged. In addition to these positions, Dr. Wulf has worked across all production and processing phases of the meat industry and has been hired as a consultant both domestically and internationally by both small and large companies. Dr. Wulf’s position at U of Arizona will be 40/40/20 Research/Teaching/Service. His research will focus on improving meat quality and safety and his teaching responsibilities will include ACBS 210 and ACBS 420. Dr. Wulf is fascinated with the Sonoran Desert ecosystem and has grown very fond of the culture and environment living in this unique section of earth for the past 10 years. He is excited to be back in academia and part of the land-grant mission at the University of Arizona.
Research is perhaps the most exciting segment of the academic world since the researcher is extending the boundaries of human knowledge. The broad definition of my research interests would be Meat Production and Meat Quality. The current meat marketing system in the USA encourages the production of overly-fat animals because higher fat content is related to improved meat palatability. Animals that have an excess of fat deposition are less efficient, requiring a higher amount of natural resources and having greater environmental impact than animals with an optimal level of fat deposition. In addition, meat products with higher levels of saturated fat are related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease among humans. Therefore, I am interested in improving meat quality using methods that don’t require excess fat production. Methods to improve meat quality have the potential to change market signals within the meat industry, resulting in lowered environmental impact and improved human health worldwide. Specifically, my research interests include: • Sustainability of meat production systems. • Early-postmortem glycolysis and pH decline effects on meat quality. • Methods of improving meat quality (antemortem and postmortem). • Increasing the utilization of low-value meat products. • Cultural differences in meat consumption, meat processing, and carcass utilization. I consider myself an applied researcher; however, I am very keen to the possibility of collaborating with basic scientists as I have in the past. If scientists are willing to learn from each other and work together, it provides the opportunity to make significant impact through a systems approach to solving the world’s problems. I also need to keep in mind that the citizens of Arizona are providing me with a research grant every year by paying of portion of my salary and expenses. I will make sure that the results of my research with provide a direct or indirect benefit to these tax payers. Majors: Animal Sciences