​PURPLE & GOLD CLUB

DR. CHRIS CALKINS

After graduating from Lake Stevens in 1973, Chris Calkins received his B.S. and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in Animal Science with an emphasis in meat science and muscle biology.  He also earned the M.S. degree in Food Science and Technology from the University of Tennessee.  In 1981, he began serving on the Animal Science faculty of the University of Nebraska.  He is now a full professor (with tenure), and holds an endowed professorship -- the Nebraska Beef Industry Professor of Animal Science. 

Dr. Calkins is an internationally recognized expert on beef quality and is active as a college advisor and teacher.  He is a past president of the American Meat Science Association and a teacher fellow of the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. In 2004, Chris’ muscle profiling research team was awarded the International Meat Secretariat World Prize for Meat Science and Technology, the only time the prize has ever been awarded in the U.S.  In 2009, Dr. Calkins was named Educator of the Year by the North American Meat Processors Association. His recent activities include development of new cutting procedures for beef that annually return over $1 billion in value to the beef industry and a business to provide beef tenderness classification services to the meat industry.  With a lifetime grant total exceeding $5 million, Dr. Calkins has made numerous discoveries (with 2 patent applications pending) and has many publications in peer-reviewed, scientific journals.