Meet IFT’s 2018 Achievement Award Winners

During IFT’s annual meeting in 1942, the first Nicolas Appert Award was presented, establishing a tradition of honoring members and organizations that has grown to reflect 19 different categories, collectively known as the IFT Achievement Awards. Together, the awards celebrate outstanding contributions in research, applications, and service in food science and technology.

A jury of IFT members and volunteers, appointed by the IFT Office of the President and led by a jury chair, reviews nominations, completes ballots, and notifies IFT of the winners. Award selection is made possible by the dedication and service of the members who volunteer as jury participants and to those who nominate their peers for recognition.

“The Nicolas Appert award is the highest honor and a tremendous highlight of my 39-year career in food science,” says Jozef Kokini, the 2017 recipient. “It made me feel that maybe some of the accomplishments that I was part of may have been useful and impactful to IFT and the world of food science as a whole.  I also feel privileged to have worked with highly talented MS and PhD students who are outstanding professionals today in academia, industry, and the government worldwide, and were— and continue to be—an important factor in the accomplishments that led to the Nicolas Appert Award. I will never forget the amazing video put together by the IFT staff on the occasion of the award. I salute and congratulate the 2018 winner, Dr. Dennis Heldman—as well as all of the 2018 Achievement Award honorees.”

This year’s recipients will be honored at IFT18 during the Awards Celebration on Sunday, July 15, in the S100 Ballroom of McCormick Place. Family and friends of the recipients are welcome to attend, as are all IFT18 attendees. Afterward, attendees are invited to continue the celebration at the Welcome Reception.

Congratulations to the 2018 Achievement Award recipients.

Nicolas Appert Award
Sponsored by IFT and the Chicago Section IFT
Dennis R. Heldman, PhD
The Ohio State University

Dennis R. Heldman is the 2018 recipient of the Nicolas Appert Award. 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
Sponsored by the International Life Sciences Institute North America and IFT
Casimir Akoh, PhD, CFS
University of Georgia

Casimir Akoh is the 2018 recipient of the Babcock-Hart Award. Akoh’s research related to trans fats 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.

Stephen S. Chang Award for Lipid or Flavor Science
Sponsored by the Stephen S. Chang Endowment Trust Fund supported by the Taiwan Food Industries
Devin Peterson, PhD
The Ohio State University

Devin Peterson is the 2018 recipient of the Stephen S. Chang Award for Lipid or Flavor Science. His 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.

William V. Cruess Award for Excellence in Teaching
Sponsored by IFT and the Northern California Section IFT
Luis Rodriguez-Saona, PhD
The Ohio State University

Luis Rodriguez-Saona is the 2018 recipient of the William V. Cruess Award for Excellence in Teaching. He 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
Sponsored by Phi Tau Sigma and IFT
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 the Institute of Food Technologists 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.

Gerhard J. Haas Achievement Award
Sponsored by Gerhard J. Haas of Feeding Tomorrow
Vijay K. Juneja, PhD, CFS
Eastern Regional Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service

Vijay Juneja is the recipient of the 2018 Gerhard J. Haas Award. He is a lead scientist of a predictive microbiology research project at the Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wyndmoor, Pa. He received his PhD in food technology and science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Juneja is among the world’s leading authorities in the area of food safety research. He 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.

W.K. Kellogg International Food Security Award and Lectureship
Sponsored by Kellogg Company and IFT
Dominique Bounie, PhD
Lille University, Polytech Lille Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Biological and Food Engineering

Dominique Bounie is the 2018 recipient of the W.K. Kellogg International Food Security Award. 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 non-industrialized and industrialized countries.

Gilbert A. Leveille Award and Lectureship
Sponsored by the American Society for Nutrition & IFT
Rui Hai Liu, MD, PhD
Cornell University

Rui Hai Liu has received the 2018 Gilbert A. Leveille Award and Lectureship 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 the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow, and an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow.

Marcel Loncin Research Prize
Sponsored by The Lomi Foundation Endowment Fund of Feeding Tomorrow
Pawan Singh Takhar, PhD
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Pawan Takhar is the recipient of the 2018 Marcel Loncin Research Prize. Takhar obtained his doctoral degree from Purdue University in 2002 and is currently a professor of food engineering in the Department 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.

Bor S. Luh International Award
Sponsored by the Bor S. Luh Endowment Fund of Feeding Tomorrow
P. Kumar Mallikarjunan, PhD
University of Minnesota

P. Kumar Mallikarjunan is the recipient of the 2018 Bor S. Luh International Award. He has 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.

Bernard L. Oser Food Ingredient Safety Award
Sponsored by the Bernard L. Oser Endowment Fund of Feeding Tomorrow
Joseph V. Rodricks, PhD
Ramboll Environ US Corporation

Joseph V. Rodricks is the recipient of the 2018 Bernard L. Oser Food Ingredient Safety Award. After a 15-year career at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he 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.

Samuel Cate Prescott Award for Research
Sponsored by IFT
Barbara Kowalcyk, PhD
The Ohio State University

Barbara Kowalcyk is the recipient of the 2018 Samuel Cate Prescott Award for Research for her 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
Sponsored by IFT
The Innovative Infrared Research and Development Team: Zhongli Pan, PhD; Tara H. McHugh, PhD; Ragab Gebreil, PhD; Chandrasekar Venkitasamy, PhD; and Hamed M. El-Mashad, PhD
Western Regional Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and the University of California, Davis

The Innovative Infrared Research and Development Team is the recipient of the 2018 Research and Development Award 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 Gebreil, and Hamed M. El-Mashad.

Sensory and Consumer Sciences Achievement Award
Sponsored by the Sensory and Consumer Sciences Division Fund of Feeding Tomorrow
Jacqueline H. Beckley, MBA, BS
The Understanding & Insight Group LLC

Jacqueline Beckley is the recipient of the 2018 Sensory and Consumer Science Achievement Award 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 tracking, 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.

Trailblazer Award & Lectureship
Sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and IFT
Roger Clemens, PhD, CFS
University of Southern California

Roger Clemens is the recipient of the 2018 Trailblazer Award in recognition of 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. Department 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: the Institute of Food Technologists, American College of Nutrition, American Society for Nutrition, and the International Academy of Food Science and Technology.

Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award
Sponsored by IFT
Patti Pagliuco
Institute of Food Technologists

Patti Pagliuco has been chosen for the 2018 Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award 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 her service to IFT.