IFT Honors 2018 Class of Fellows

For 48 years, the IFT Fellow designation has recognized exemplary contributions to food science and technology, celebrating accomplishments in the areas of scholarly advancement, service to the profession, inspiration of others to excel in the food science and technology field, primary responsibility for the success of a new food product, and/or the improvement of the human condition via food science and technology. Whether working in industry, academia, or the regulatory area, IFT Fellows have shaped the science of food in significant and wide-ranging ways.

An elite group, IFT Fellows must be professional members of IFT for at least 15 years. All members may nominate candidates, and a group of IFT Fellows serves on a jury to elect the new class of Fellows. In 2018, 10 members were named Fellows.

“Being named IFT Fellow is a very special accolade that publicly acknowledges the sustained commitment that I (and all the other Fellows) have made to furthering the food science profession,” says Beverly Tepper of Rutgers University, who was named a Fellow in 2017. “It has not only given me greater recognition within the food science and sensory science communities, it has provided opportunities for me to engage in many different activities within IFT, and to work with many wonderful individuals within the organization.”

During IFT18, the new class of Fellows will be honored during the Fellows Recognition Forum and again at the Awards Celebration on Sunday, July 15, in the S100 Ballroom of McCormick Place. Friends and family are invited to attend the Awards Celebration, as are all IFT18 attendees. Attendees are also invited to continue celebrating and honoring the new class at the Welcome Reception.

Congratulations to the 2018 class of Fellows!

Martha E. Cassens, MS
Vice President, Product Innovation, Development & Quality, ACH Food Companies Inc.

Martha E. Cassens has contributed prolifically in the areas of product development, research, quality, packaging, food safety, and innovation in the food industry. Cassens’ research and findings have consistently been used to effectively improve and innovate safe new products and processes. These innovations have been the first to market for various brands to fulfill consumer needs globally. As a motivator, she leads people and projects with a passion for creativity, new technology, and problem solving, with extremely high standards for success. Cassens continues to teach, train, mentor, and lead scientific thinking for the food industry.

Brian E. Farkas, PhD, CFS
Professor and Head, Department of Food Science, Purdue University

Brian E. Farkas is professor and head of the Department of Food Science at Purdue University. He earned graduate degrees in engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in food science from the University of Delaware. He and his students use engineering fundamentals coupled with numerical simulation to study, develop, and optimize preservation and production of foods. Farkas’ recognitions include the IFT William V. Cruess Award for teaching and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Food Process Engineering Research Award. He has served on the IFT Board of Directors and currently serves on the Tuskegee University Food and Nutritional Sciences Advisory Board.

Peter Jonathan Fryer, PhD
Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham

Peter Fryer is professor of chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, where he leads the largest UK group in food manufacturing. He has written extensively on such areas as process plant cleaning, alternative process methods, and chocolate manufacturing. He is the director of the Centre for Formulation Engineering at Birmingham, which exploits the synergy among formulated product manufacturers in the food, personal care, and fine chemical industries (with industry links to companies as diverse as Mondelēz, Procter and Gamble, Rolls Royce, and Johnson Matthey), and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Linda J. Harris, PhD, CFS
Specialist in Cooperative Extension and Chair, University of California, Davis

Linda J. Harris is an accomplished specialist in cooperative extension and chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. Her significant contributions to food science have had national and international impact, especially related to controlling Salmonella and other pathogens in low-moisture foods such as tree nuts, and in controlling pathogens in fresh and fresh-cut produce. Her research and outreach programs have led to notable changes to microbiological methods and method development, food industry practices, government policies, and the overall field of food safety.

Julie Miller Jones, PhD, CFS
Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emerita, St. Catherine University

Julie Miller Jones was twice named outstanding professor, as well as a “professor who made a difference in students’ lives,” by alumnae. She has educated consumers and professionals and served on many scientific advisory boards related to fiber, whole grains, and healthy diets. She has also led numerous groups, including serving as president of the American Association of Cereal Chemists, chaired the joint IFT, American Society of Nutrition, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and International Food Information Council Task Force, and chaired the IFT Nutrition Division. In her articles and worldwide speaking, she has worked to dispel myths and frauds related to food science and nutrition for many audiences.

Harry Levine, PhD
Associate Consultant, Food Polymer Science Consultancy

Harry Levine is a globally recognized industrial food scientist who, in his 38-year-long partnership with Louise Slade, has pioneered a food polymer science (FPS) approach to studies of water-plasticized food systems, and championed the concepts of glass transition/glassy state/Tg and their applicability to both industrial and academic R&D. He has received several prestigious awards from IFT and the American Association of Cereal Chemists International (AACCI), and major awards from General Foods, Nabisco, and Kraft. Levine has 44 granted patents (42 U.S. + 2 EP), 33 of which have been industrially commercialized, for novel food ingredients, products, and processes. He also has more than 250 publications and presentations, with more than 8,000 citations. Levine and Slade developed an FPS short course that they have presented publicly 28 times since 1987, to approximately 800 attendees in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia, under the sponsorship of six different professional organizations.

Yaguang Luo, PhD
Food Technologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service

Yaguang (Sunny) Luo is an internationally recognized expert on food safety and the quality of fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Through pioneering research in the fresh-cut industry, her innovation and leadership have led to new products and process improvements. Serving as a lead scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, her research findings have supported the development and implementation of science- and risk-based food safety policies and performance standards in both the United States and internationally. Luo has served on the White House Office of Science and Technology’s Interagency Taskforce for Food Safety and on the joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization expert panel for produce safety. She has published 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, mentored 26 visiting professors/postdoctoral associates, and advised 14 graduate students at seven universities. She currently chairs IFT’s Fruit and Vegetable Product Division and is the past president of the Chinese American Food Society.

Ricardo Jose Simpson, PhD
Professor, Univer-sidad Técnica Federico Santa María

An accomplished professor at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Chile, Ricardo Simpson has been extremely productive in the scientific and educational sense and very collaborative with the food industry, especially the Chilean food industry. He has also collaborated internationally with Unilever through two sabbatical leaves. His accomplishments include publishing more than 90 refereed articles, five books, and multiple book chapters, thus contributing to many aspects of food processing/engineering, particularly thermal processing of low-acid foods. In addition, he co-authored (with Donald Holdsworth) the acclaimed book Thermal Processing of Packaged Foods.

Randy W. Worobo, PhD
Professor, Cornell University

As a distinguished professor at Cornell University, Randy Worobo has conducted cutting-edge research in food safety and food microbiology, and applied research results toward the development of technologies to improve food safety. His research has yielded the commercialization of an ultraviolet processing unit for a variety of juices, with more than 900 commercial units in use around the world. He has received numerous awards for his outstanding research, teaching, mentoring, and extension accomplishments. Worobo has been a professional member of IFT since 1997.

Guanghong Zhou, PhD
Professor, Nanjing Agricultural University

Guanghong Zhou, a distinguished professor at Nanjing Agricultural University in China, is a prominent international scholar in food science and technology. He is broadly recognized for his original work to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms behind the texture quality of muscle foods and flavor formation in traditional Chinese meat products. He created the first quality standard of fresh meat and a new classification of meat products in China. The outcome of his research is evident in his exemplary contributions to China’s meat industry. As the newly appointed ISO chairperson for meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and their products, Zhou continues to make contributions internationally.