IFT Live 2012

Fellow is a unique professional distinction conferred on individuals with outstanding and extraordinary qualifications and experience for their contributions to the food science and technology field. The nominee must have been an IFT Member for 15 years and a Professional Member at the time of nomination. The 15-year member requirement may be waived by the Fellows jury for those nominees who have spent all or a portion of their careers outside the United States. IFT has conferred the Fellow designation on a select number of Professional Members every year since 1970. A complete list of Fellows can be found on the IFT website at ift.org.

Cesarettin Alasalvar, Associate Professor and Chief Research Scientist of the Food Institute at TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Centre in Turkey, was honored for his research activities in the areas of nutraceutical, functional food, and phytochemistry.

Alasalvar is a leading international researcher in bioactive components from marine resources as well as plant materials, especially hazelnuts. He is recognized for his impact in identifying bioactives and phytochemicals present in foods and plant-based products. He has published over 60 refereed publications and has co-edited four books. He is a leader in Turkey in this area of research. Alasalvar has been active in IFT programs for many years, and has played a leadership role in the Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods Division. He served as a past chair of the Division and serves as the editorial board member of Food Chemistry and as receiving editor of Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology. Alasalvar has also been a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He serves on the Expert Advisory Board of Turkish Government and Higher Education on research and development projects and as a Panelist for European Funded Projects. Alasalvar is widely recognized as a role model for young scientists.

V.M. (Bala) Balasubramaniam, Professor of Food Engineering, Dept. of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, was honored for his contribution to the advancement of various alternative thermal and nonthermal processing technologies.

His lab pioneered innovative research on pressure-assisted thermal processing. His research accomplishments in the fields of advanced thermal and nonthermal processes have resulted in major advances in knowledge and practice in these fields. At Ohio State, Balasubramaniam teaches the undergraduate Introduction to Food Processing and upper level Principles of Food Processing courses as well as supervising research of numerous M.S. and Ph.D. students. His research has been recognized with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s Distinguished Research Faculty Award in 2011, and with Gamma Sigma Delta, The Honor Society of Agriculture at Ohio State University’s Research “Award of Merit” in 2008. Since joining IFT in 1990, Balasubramaniam has contributed to IFT divisions, committees, and sections, helping to organize or present symposia and oral sessions. Currently, he is serving as the Chair of the IFT Food Processing and Packaging Subpanel. He also serves as the Past Chair of Nonthermal Processing Division. He has received many awards, including the IFT Nonthermal Processing Division Member of the Year Award. He also served the Ohio Valley IFT section executive committee as member-at-large.

Reinhold Carle, Full Professor, Food Science and Biotechnology, Hohenheim University, Stuttgart, Germany, was recognized for his expertise and contributions in the field of food technology.

He has applied his strength in chemistry, biology, and plant science to solving fundamental problems in food science and technology. His research has focused on food processing, extending to food analysis and nutritional evaluation of plant-derived foods. He has made several novel and important contributions in food science and plant science in his research with a strong scientific publication record in respected scientific journals. Carle is an international authority on plant foodstuff technology. His research program has been well funded by European and national grant agencies and the food industry. Carle’s accomplishments in food technology have been acknowledged by several groups including the German National Academic Foundation. He has trained and guided almost 40 Ph.D. students within the 15 years of his university career. He is co-editor and member of the editorial advisory boards of scientific journals such as Planta Medica and Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. His commitment and contributions in the areas of research, teaching, and service have made visible positive impacts on the students, faculty, and staff at the university, as well as on international, national, and local professional organizations and on food quality and safety.

Philip G. Crandall, Professor, Food Science, University of Arkansas, was honored for his significant work in food science and service to IFT.

He has made outstanding contributions to food safety and quality through his research programs at the University of Florida and the University of Arkansas. He has been very effective in widely publishing his research and transferring the technology he has developed. He is currently working with identifying the most significant sources of Listeria monocytogenes contamination and the development and practical application of control measures. At the University of Florida’s Citrus Experiment Station, his research group’s findings included the economic and environmental benefits of extracting pectin from fresh orange peel as a more economical and more sustainable raw material than the traditional source for pectin. At the University of Arkansas, Crandall’s research team developed a novel method to recover pectin from an agricultural waste stream, soybean hulls. He has received U.S. and foreign patents on this product and process. He has delivered more than 30 papers at IFT meetings since 1974, has served as Chair and co-Chair of IFT symposiums and technical sessions, has been a member of many IFT committees, and has served on the Board of Editors of the Journal of Food Science.

Carol Ann Cooper, Academic Advisor, University of California, Davis, was recognized for her commitment to the profession, and service to IFT and the educational arena.

Her skill in recruiting and guiding potential food scientists at UC-Davis has helped grow the profession. Cooper has been a portal through which students discover IFT. She champions their cause at NCIFT meetings, advocates for scholarships, including travel support to attend IFT Annual Meetings, arranges transport for students to attend local meetings, and encourages students to compete wherever possible in IFT-sponsored competitions. Cooper plays a critical role in student career mentoring. She has been instrumental in developing college and campus internship programs. In her career, Cooper has inspired countless students, brought recognition to the university, assisted many companies, served IFT, and has demonstrated the influence an inspired, committed, and caring professional can make.

Carolyn Fisher, Senior Scientist, Decernis LLC, was recognized for her contribution to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the fields of food science and flavor chemistry. While at the University of Delaware, Fisher enhanced communication of food and flavor science principles to students by producing numerous videos for the food principles lab to provide consistent instruction among the graduate teaching assistants. She published the textbook Food Flavours: Biology & Chemistry, which incorporates the problem-based learning techniques used in the graduate-level flavors course she developed. While at McCormick & Co., she utilized her problem-solving skills in Quality Assurance to determine the root cause of issues and resolve them. Later, as a Regulatory Manager, she promoted active learning and developed courses to extended scientific and regulatory knowledge within McCormick’s Learning and Development Center. Fisher is published in a wide range of technical journals including Food Technology, Chemistry in Britain, and the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

In addition to developing and implementing programs and publishing results for the benefit of the scientific community, she has been an active IFT member since 1992. Fisher has served on Annual Meeting Scientific Program Subpanels, Divisions Task Force, held leadership roles in the Food Laws and Regulations and the Food Chemistry Division and has developed a number of IFT symposia over the years. She has also been proactive in promoting the advancement of food science through her leadership in other profession societies such as FEMA and ACS.

Ravishankar Gokare, Chief Scientist, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), India, was honored for his outstanding food biotechnology research and products of commercial/societal relevance for health food applications including natural pigments, flavors, phenolic derivatives, and their functional attributes.

Gokare is a prominent researcher and teacher in the area of plant and food biotechnology in India. He has guided 23 students for Ph.D.s and over 40 students at the Master’s degree level in the field of plant biochemistry and biotechnology. His area of research is very relevant to the Indian food sector as well as to the development of herbal products for the well-being of people worldwide. He has been innovative in developing products and analytical methods to advance scientific knowledge in the field of food science and technology. He is a prolific writer and innovator as evidenced from developing 14 processes, publishing 205 refereed research papers, and 45 review papers and being granted 40 patents. Gokare has been recognized for his research work in the areas of plant biochemistry, plant physiology, biotechnology, micro-algal technologies, bioactive molecules, and metabolic engineering. He has successfully managed 28 externally funded projects obtained through competitive grants. He is Fellow of nine professional organizations. He has received several research awards from scientific organizations in India. He has ensured that technological developments in food science and of relevance and utility to India are viewed in an integrated fashion and that scientific and workforce needs are identified and understandably explained.

Mukund Karwe, Chair and Professor, Dept. of Food Science, Rutgers University was recognized for his research contributions to food extrusion, hybrid baking, and high pressure processing.

Karwe’s research brings together fundamental knowledge of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and mass transfer with specific applications in food processing. His research in mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of single- and twin-screw extruders involved application of finite difference, finite element, and neural networks techniques to simulate fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, cooking reactions, and quality of extruded products. His research group was the first to demonstrate successful application of the laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) technique in extruders to validate the results of numerical simulations and gain better understanding of the fluid flow in extruder channels. His research efforts to date have resulted in 109 publications including refereed journal papers, conference papers, and books. He has been active in an editorial capacity on many scientific publications. He is an active IFT member and has served as Chair of IFT’s Committee on Higher Education. He has served as a panel member on USDA’s National Integrated Food Safety Initiative, the National Research Initiative for Competitive Grants Program, and the Small Business Innovation Research Program.

Tyre Lanier, Professor, Dept. of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, was honored in recognition of outstanding research and teaching contributions in muscle foods chemistry, translation of basic research into industrial practice, and mentoring and training of future food scientists.

Lanier has made significant scientific achievements in surimi manufacturing. His work on the development of analytical methods to assess quality, the study of mechanisms of gelling and functional properties, use of ingredients and process technology to minimize freeze denaturation, technology transfer and the annual surimi school for practitioners has contributed to the success and growth of the industry. Lanier’s research on surimi manufacture and physical property evaluation has led to international recognition. His research, instruction, and outreach programs have contributed to a greater understanding of food composition and functional properties of fishery gels. He has been active in several IFT divisions by serving as symposium organizer, moderator, newsletter contributor, and manuscript reviewer. He has also devoted substantial time to students who have presented scientific papers and participated in the IFT Food Product Development competitions.

Tzu-Ming Pan, Professor, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, was recognized for more than three decades of teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in food science.

Pan has conducted extensive research in fermentation, microbiology, and genetically modified foods. In addition, he mentored generations of professors and researchers in food science and technology. Internationally known for his work on the health properties of red mold rice, a fermented rice of Monascus, he discovered that it can alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. His other prominent research topic is the benefit of lactic acid bacteria fermentation product, the most significant findings of which were that fermentation product of lactic acid bacteria can prevent osteoporosis and obesity. He has published 298 articles and given 409 conference presentations. For more than 30 years, Pan has designed and taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in food science. He serves on the editorial boards of numerous book series and scholarly journals and is currently the editor-in-chief of Journal of Bioindustry. He was the President of Taiwan Society of Agricultural Chemistry (2001-2003), the President of AOAC Taiwan Section (2003-2007), and President of Health Food Society of Taiwan (2007-2011). He has been a member of IFT since 2002.

Kathleen Rajkowski, Microbiologist, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, was honored for her 37 years of laboratory experience in basic and applied food research and her team leadership with the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service.

Rajkowski has extensive expertise in microbiology and food safety, particularly pathogen reduction. She was the first to detect the thermal D and irradiation D-value of Listeria monocytogenes, concluding that human bacterial pathogens remained viable in frozen finfish glaze and that UV radiation would be effective against them. The Food Industry Irradiation Coalition used her research as a basis for its petition to use ionizing radiation on food products. In addition, Rajkowski, as a member of the team, was instrumental in obtaining approval of the use of irradiated ground beef in the U.S. National School Lunch Program. She has been a member of IFT since 1974.

Peter Salmon, President, International Food Network, Ithaca, New York, was recognized for his technical expertise; development of novel foods and beverages; and management of international business, packaging, and food safety issues.

Salmon has held various research and management positions at large food companies where he developed and launched successful food and beverage products recognized around the world. He twice received the General Mills Ideation Award for his creativity in the area of fruit-based snacks and desserts. He also won two awards from General Foods (now Kraft Foods) for his innovative ideas. In 1987, he founded the International Food Network, which primarily serves large multinational companies, generating ideas for new products and then developing and commercializing them. Salmon has been a Professional member of IFT since 1987.

Thomas H. Shellhammer, Professor, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, was recognized for his leadership in working with universities and professional societies to establish collaborative research and educational programs in brewing science and nonthermal processing.

Shellhammer focuses his research on high pressure processing, food packaging, brewing engineering, and the chemistry of beer flavor. While at Oregon State, he has obtained 47 grants totaling $1.5 million to support research in brewing science and high pressure processing. He has written or contributed to 40 peer-reviewed articles, six book chapters, and the obtainment of one patent. Having been instrumental in addressing many technical obstacles related to high pressure processing and working at the forefront of hop chemistry, Shellhammer has garnered international attention for his research and breakthroughs in brewing science and high pressure processing of food. He has been a member of IFT since 1987.

Liangli (Lucy) Yu, Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, was honored for her knowledge and expertise in factors affecting the quality, safety, and health properties of nutraceuticals and functional foods.

Yu and her colleagues have discovered and developed a number of nutraceutical products that can be used to reduce the risk of age-related diseases. She also has conducted research on the enhancement of value-added agricultural and food production. She hopes to increase the global marketability of domestically produced agricultural and food products. Yu and her colleagues have developed several natural antioxidant shelf-life enhancers, discovering that certain antioxidants capable of preventing rancidity may not protect w-3 PUFA losses. She has received 12 major research and instruction awards, including the Fellow Award from the American Chemical Society-Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division. Yu has been a member of IFT since 1996.

Yanyun Zhao, Professor, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, was recognized for her expertise and innovative research in edible films/coatings and the safety and quality of fruits and vegetables during post-harvest storage and processing.

Zhao is internationally known for her development and characterization of antimicrobial edible films/coatings and biodegradable packaging products made from agricultural byproducts. Her research is focused on post-harvest technologies that enhance the quality, microbial safety, nutraceutical properties, and extended shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Through competitive grants and industrial contracts, she has increased the knowledge base of edible films/coatings and developed novel approaches for value-added fruit and vegetable products. She has effectively integrated her research into outreach programs to assist the processed fruit and vegetable industry in the production of safe, wholesome, and value-added fruit and vegetable products. An active member of IFT since 1991, Zhao has served on various IFT committees, including serving as Chair of the Peer Reviewed Communication Committee and Chair of the Fruit and Vegetable Products Division.