The Dairy Science and Food Technology site was designed and created by Dr Michael Mullan. Originally the site was intended as a project aimed at exploring the use of the Internet as a means of communicating with students. Over the years the site has grown and contributions are now invited from the wider scientific community and industry.
The Dairy Science and Food Technology site gets around 50,000-100,000 visits a year and there are many links back to the site.
Michael Mullan was Head of the Food Technology Education Branch at Loughry College for many years and was a Lecturer in Food Technology in the School of Agriculture and Food Science (SAFS) at Queen's University Belfast until the closure of SAFS in 2007. Currently Michael Mullan is Head of the Higher Education Branch of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise's Greenmount Campus near Antrim in Northern Ireland and a honorary lecturer in Food technology at Queens University Belfast.
Research, consultancy and professional interest areas
• The science and technology of the lactoperoxidase-thiocyanate-hydrogen peroxide system and its application in neonate nutrition.
• Factors influencing the yield and quality of cheese.
• Mathematical modeling in food technology.
• The exploitation of lactococci in cheesemaking.
• Biology, enumeration and control of lactococcal bacteriophages.
• Building high achieving teams using coaching and mentoring techniques.
• Curriculum development of food technology courses and the development of quality assurance processes in higher education programmes.
• Scientific referee for major journals including Journal of Dairy Research, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology.
Past/current membership of committees/groups associated with milk research and development
These include -.
• Secretary, deputy chairman, and UK representative on International Dairy Federation Group F19 (Indigenous Antimicrobial Proteins in Milk) 1985-1995.
• Joint organiser and member of the Scientific Committee responsible for the International Dairy Federation Seminar on 'Indigenous Antimicrobial Agents of Milk - Recent Developments'. Uppsalla, Sweden. 31st August and 1st September 1993.
• Member of the organising committee of the joint Federation of European Microbiological Societies and International Dairy Federation seminar on the "Antimicrobial Proteins in Milk", University of Bath, Bath, UK. 10th - 13th September 1985.
• Member of the Society of Dairy Technology.