Remembering Wayne Iwaoka

The food science community lost a respected educator, mentor, and leader with the passing of Wayne Tadashi Iwaoka on May 23, 2026, at the age of 81. Throughout a distinguished career spanning academia, teaching, and professional service, Iwaoka left an enduring mark on generations of students and on the Institute of Food Technologists.

Within IFT, Iwaoka was widely recognized for his commitment to teaching excellence and educational innovation. He was instrumental in the founding of the Journal of Food Science Education and served as its first scientific editor from 2001 through 2005. Colleagues credited his innovative thinking, skillful leadership, patience, and nurturing approach with shaping the journal during its formative years and helping establish it as a vital resource for food science educators. He was also a longtime member and past chair of the IFT Higher Education Review Board.

IFT honored Iwaoka with the William V. Cruess Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004, recognizing his exceptional dedication to students and to the profession. Two years later, he was named an IFT Fellow.

A native of Honolulu, Iwaoka earned a bachelor’s degree in soil science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a PhD in food science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT and service on the faculty of the University of Washington, he returned to Hawai‘i, where he spent much of his career at the University of Hawai‘i’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, serving in a variety of academic and administrative leadership roles.

Remembered as a gifted teacher, generous mentor, and passionate advocate for student development, Wayne Iwaoka leaves a lasting legacy in food science education and in the many lives he touched through IFT and beyond.