Dr. Hansard joined the faculty of the university’s Department of Animal Husbandry (later Animal Science) in 1946. He left the department in 1957 but rejoined it in 1968. He served as department head from 1971 to 1974 and retired in 1979. He became internationally known as a creative animal nutrition researcher. It was through his ingenuity that many current procedures for the use of radioisotopes, particularly in the field of mineral metabolism, were developed. He devoted much research time to the placental transfer of minerals and thus established the nutrient requirements of the fetus in terms of maternal diet.
He authored over three hundred scientific publications. In 1974 he served as president of the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science, and in 1976 he was the recipient of its prestigious Morrison Award. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His intellectual contributions to the life of the university have been recognized by placement of a plaque in his honor on a faculty study.