At the Annual Meeting & Food Expo®, IFT paid tribute to the 2009 Achievement
Award winners and Fellows for their contributions to food science and technology.
IFT Acknowledges Achievement
BY JENNY SCHMIDLI
At the Annual Meeting & Food Expo®, IFT paid tribute to the 2009 Achievement Award winners and Fellows for their contributions to food science and technology.
Each year, the Institute of Food Technologists honors outstanding individuals, teams, and organizations for contributions to the profession of food science and technology by presenting Achievement Awards and electing Fellows. At its 2009 Annual Meeting & Food Expo® in June, IFT recognized 14 Achievement Award laureates and 21 newly elected Fellows. Brief background information on this year’s honorees follows.
2009 IFT Achievement Awards
Daryl Lund, Emeritus Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, received the 2009 Nicholas Appert Award, which recognizes an individual for preeminence in and contributions to the field of food science and technology. Beginning in the 1970s, Lund’s research has focused on three key areas of food science: fouling of food contact surfaces, reaction kinetics in foods, and microwave-assisted food processing. His team’s research on fouling of food surfaces highlighted the importance of the issue for food processors and resulted in the establishment of the International Conference on Fouling and Cleaning in Food Processing, which later became a part of the International Conference on Engineering and Food. Lund has demonstrated stellar leadership in a variety of roles, serving as Department Chair for the Departments of Food Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Rutgers, Dean of the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Rutgers and Cornell, Executive Director of the North Central Regional Association of State Agriculture Experiment Stations Directors, President of IFT (1990–91), and President-elect of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (2008–2010).
Arun Bhunia, Professor of Food Microbiology, Purdue University, received the 2009 IFT Research and Development Award for contributions to food technology that result in improved public health through nutrition or more nutritious food. Bhunia’s research has focused on early detection of foodborne pathogens to reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks. Bhunia and his laboratory group have developed several biosensor tools for on-site testing of food products for food safety and food defense applications. Bhunia and two colleagues also created a laser light-scattering instrument for detection and identification of bacterial colonies in food. In recognition of his research achievements, Bhunia was awarded Purdue’s Agricultural Research Award in 2003 and the Purdue Agriculture Team Award in 2006.
Manuel Castillo, Assistant Research Professor, University of Kentucky, received the 2009 Samuel Cate Prescott Award for outstanding ability in food science research. The recipient of this award must be less than 36 years of age or have received his or her highest degree within the previous 10 years. Castillo’s knowledge and understanding of milk coagulation as well as his expertise in the development of novel sensors and measuring devices has helped food industries to improve process control, production efficiency, and quality control. Additionally, Castillo has made contributions to milk/cheese processing and engineering including an optical sensor technology that predicts curd moisture content during syneresis. He developed a lab-scale milk coagulation tester that is able to accurately measure total milkclotting activity of rennet following the International Dairy Federation standards and procedures.
George Flick, University Distinguished Professor, Virginia Tech, received the 2009 Myron Solberg Award for providing leadership in the establishment and successful development and continuation of industry/government/ academia cooperative organization. Flick’s research on seafood pasteurization resulted in the development of an internationally utilized process that produces a safe and wholesome product that lasts several years when properly stored. The procedure has been accepted by the Food and Drug Administration, state and foreign regulatory agencies, and the National Fisheries Institute Inc. Flick has established comprehensive educational programs for industry, academia, and regulators to improve the safety and quality of food products, pharmaceuticals,
blood products, and medical devices. His programs have served thousands of individuals through conferences, educational videos, manuals, fact sheets, four books, 30 book chapters, and numerous refereed and non-refereed articles.