IFT honors global food system leaders, innovators

IFT President Cindy Stewart kicked off IFT18 on Sunday, July 15, with a ceremony celebrating leaders and innovators who are promoting progress in the science of food. “I cannot think of a better way to start this event than by celebrating a collection of individuals who have pushed the envelope of what it means to be a professional in the science of food, and who have truly exemplified what it means to lead and innovate within the global food system,” said Stewart. 

The Achievement Awards recognize IFT members (teams or individuals) for remarkable contributions in research, applications, and service in the food science and technology industry. In addition to recognition during the Awards Ceremony, the recipients will be celebrated in the Hall of Honor, which is located as you enter McCormick Place on the Grand Concourse staircase (level 2.5). The Hall of Honor celebrates exceptional accomplishments and volunteer leadership of dedicated science of food members and professionals. This year’s Hall of Honor also features the Emerging Leaders Network Award recipients, the newly elected Class of Fellows, Section and Divisions Outstanding volunteers, and IFTSA Student Leadership Awards. 

The 16 Achievement Award recipients for 2018 are: 

Nicolas Appert Award 

Dennis R. Heldman, PhD, The Ohio State University 

Dennis Heldman is Seiberling Endowed Professor of Food Engineering at The Ohio State University. His career has been dedicated to applying engineering principles to processes for the delivery of safe and high-quality foods to consumers. He is the author (or co-author) of four textbooks and editor (or co-editor) of three handbooks or encyclopedias. Heldman is a past president of IFT, has been elected fellow of three professional societies, and has been the recipient of numerous national and international awards.

Babcock-Hart Award 

Casimir Akoh, PhD, CFS, University of Georgia 

Casimir Akoh’s research related to transfats has had great impact in the area of human nutrition. He is recognized for his exceptional, pacesetting, focused, and innovative contributions to the enzymatic modification of lipids to produce trans-free fats suitable for commercial applications in margarines, spreads, shortening, and baking, and for the development of various infant formula fats to improve infant nutrition and health.

William V. Cruess Award for Excellence in Teaching 

Luis E. Rodriguez-Saona, PhD, The Ohio State University

Luis Rodriguez-Saona is a professor in the Food Science and Technology Department at The Ohio State University. Rodriguez-Saona has previously received several other prestigious teaching awards. A leader in his discipline, he integrates experience and emerging trends into his courses to provide his students with an excellent education. His passion extends to leadership building and career preparedness. He inspires and challenges students to push their skills to the next level, making his classes highly popular.

Carl R. Fellers Award 

Charles H. Manley, PhD, CFS, Charles H. Manley LLC

Charles Manley has brought honor and recognition to the profession of food science through his distinguished career in the food industry with major contributions in developing principles for food ingredients safety. His many years of dedicated service and leadership to professional and trade organizations, especially IFT and the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, have focused on educating and mentoring food scientists in the importance of food ingredient safety principles and regulations.

W.K. Kellogg International Food Security Award and Lectureship 

Dominique Bounie, PhD, Lille University, Polytech Lille Graduate School of Engineering, 

Department of Biological and Food Engineering 

Dominique Bounie teaches and researches food engineering at the University of Lille in France. His primary focus has been on finding innovative solutions to humanitarian and emergency feeding problems through the application of food science and technology. He has been engaged in many short-term consultancies for UN agencies (World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization), nongovernmental organizations, and private companies. His expertise includes the implementation of quality management systems, the development of nutritious products, the design of low-cost processes dedicated to the local production of emergency and rehabilitation foods, and increasing global awareness of the application of food science and technology in humanitarian and emergency feeding. He strongly believes in global networking that enables innovative, multidisciplinary collaborations among academia, private companies, and humanitarian stakeholders for tackling food insecurity at the community level in both nonindustrializedand industrialized countries.

Bor S. Luh International Award 

P. Kumar Mallikarjunan, PhD, University of Minnesota 

P. Kumar Mallikarjunanhas distinguished himself internationally in research, teaching, and outreach, and is recognized by his peers as an example of success in international programs. Mallikarjunan’s contributions have been largely focused on enhancing the processing and storage of cereals, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, and the development of appropriately scaled technologies for developing countries, especially sub-Saharan African countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Ghana). His accomplishments show a balance among technology transfer, understanding issues, and the international exchange of ideas. 

Samuel Cate Prescott Award for Research 

Barbara Kowalcyk, PhD, The Ohio State University 

Barbara Kowalcyk has made outstanding contributions to the food safety community, based on her multidisciplinary expertise in food safety, epidemiology, public health informatics, risk science, regulatory decision making, and public policy.  

Research and Development Award  

The Innovative Infrared Research and Development Team, Western Regional Research Center, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and the University of California, Davis 

The Innovative Infrared Research and Development Team is recognized for its contributions and accomplishments in innovative research and development and commercial implementation of sustainable infrared heating technologies for improved food healthfulness, quality, and safety while saving energy and water during food processing. The research team comprises Zhongli Pan, Tara H. McHugh, Chandrasekar Venkitasamy, Ragab Khir, and Hamed M. El-Mashad. 

Sensory and Consumer Sciences Achievement Award  

Jacqueline H. Beckley, MBA, BS, The Understanding & Insight Group LLC

Jacqueline Beckley is recognized for her leadership, dedication, and contributions to the field of sensory and consumer sciences. She is an advocate for context-based understanding of people, behaviors, and products. She supports collaborative approaches, whether in knowledge and trend trekking, trade-off analysis, or redefining texture by identifying different types of human mouth behaviors. She has influenced the field with numerous scholarly publications and coaching on four continents.  

Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award 

Patti Pagliuco, Institute of Food Technologists

Patti Pagliuco is recognized for her 40 years of dedicated leadership and service to IFT members from all walks of life. As a “go-to” person at IFT headquarters, Pagliuco has worked with IFT executive directors as well as volunteer leaders from various sections and divisions, the IFT Student Association, and Phi Tau Sigma, among others. As an exemplary IFT staff member, Pagliuco genuinely cares about IFT members and goes out of her way to assist them. She embodies the volunteer spirit of her former colleague Cal Willey, who would be proud to have her honored with this namesake award for nearly half a century of service to IFT. 

Gerhard J. Haas Achievement Award 

Vijay K. Juneja, PhD, CFS, Eastern Regional Research Center, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service 

Vijay Juneja received his PhD in food technology and science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is among the world’s leading authorities in the area of food safety research. Juneja has developed a nationally and internationally recognized research program on foodborne pathogens, with emphasis on microbiological safety of minimally processed foods and predictive microbiology. Juneja frequently organizes educational workshops on microbial modeling, specifically on the use of the ARS Pathogen Modeling Program. He has been the author or co-author of 175 peer-reviewed journal articles and 45 book chapters—including 10 in the Encyclopedia of Food/Meat Microbiology—and is a co-editor of eight books. 

Marcel Loncin Research Prize 

Pawan Singh Takhar, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

Pawan Takhar obtained his doctoral degree from Purdue University in 2002 and is currently a professor of Food Engineering in the Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a worldwide expert on using porous media physics to model multiscale fluid, species, and heat transport processes in foods by coupling them to the quality changes at the polymer scale. His grant proposal is on reducing stress-cracking in food biopolymers undergoing the glass transition using non-fickian porous media modeling.  

Stephen S. Chang Award for Lipid or Flavor Science 

Devin G. Peterson, PhD, The Ohio State University 

Devin Peterson’s research efforts focus on characterizing flavor stimuli (gustation, olfaction, chemesthesis), multi-modal flavor interactions, pathways of flavor generation/stability, and mechanisms of flavor delivery. His program is based on a utility-inspired fundamental research platform with an overarching goal to get more from nature, guided by science, to support development of sustainable, nutritious, and healthy foods with higher product acceptability. 

Trailblazer Award & Lectureship 

Roger Clemens, PhD, CFS, University of Southern California

Roger Clemens is recognized for his leadership in advancing the science of nutrition and food. Clemens’ research, mentorship, and support of students; presentations at professional society meetings; and contributions to government policy through the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee have increased our understanding of the interactions among food, medicine, and health. In recognition of his leadership, Clemens was elected a fellow of four scientific societies: IFT, American College of Nutrition, American Society for Nutrition, and the International Academy of Food Science and Technology. 

Gilbert A. Leveille Award and Lectureship 

Rui Hai Liu, MD, PhD, Cornell University 

Rui Hai is recognized for his pioneering research in whole foods and the potential health benefits of bioactive compounds in foods. His research has focused on diet and cancer, and the effects of functional foods and bioactive compounds on chronic disease risks. He has published over 185 peer-reviewed articles. He is an IFT Fellow, an IAFoST Fellow, an Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division (AGFD) of American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow and an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, and an AAAS Fellow. 

Bernard L. Oser Food Ingredient Safety Award 

Joseph V. Rodricks, PhD, DABT, Ramboll Environ US Corp. 

After a 15-year career at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Joseph V. Rodricks founded Environ, now a worldwide scientific consultancy. He was a pioneer in the development and application of risk assessment methodologies. He has served on 38 committees of the National Academies, all focused on risk assessment, as well as many committees on food ingredient safety. He has also served on many Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intake committees. His text, Calculated Risks, is in wide use.