Award Winners

Nicholas Appert Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member or nonmember for preeminence in and contributions to the field of food technology.

$5,000 honorarium from IFT and a bronze medal from the Chicago Section of IFT

Gilbert A. Leveille, Wrigley Science Institute

Babcock-Hart Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member who has attained distinction by contributions to food technology which have resulted in improved public health through nutrition or more nutritious food.

$3,000 honorarium from the International Life Sciences Institute North America and a plaque from IFT

Dennis Miller, Cornell University

Stephen S. Chang Award for Lipid or Flavor Science

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT-member food scientist or technologist who has made significant contributions to lipid or flavor science.

$3,000 honorarium and a Steuben crystal sculpture from the Stephen S. Chang Endowment Trust Fund supported by the Taiwan Food Industries

Casimir C. Akoh, University of Georgia

William V. Cruess Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member who has achieved excellence in teaching food science and technology.

$3,000 honorarium from IFT and a bronze medal from the Northern California Section of IFT

Stephanie Doores, Penn State University

Carl R. Fellers Award

PURPOSE: To honor a member of IFT and Phi Tau Sigma who has brought honor and recognition to the profession of food science and technology through a distinguished career in that profession displaying exemplary leadership, service and communication skills that enhance the effectiveness of all food scientists in serving society.

$3,000 honorarium from Phi Tau Sigma and a plaque from IFT

Robert B. Gravani, Cornell University

Food Technology Industrial Achievement Award

PURPOSE: To honor a company or organization for an outstanding development which represents a significant advance in the application of food science and technology to food production. The process or product must have been successfully applied in actual commercial operation at least six months but no more than seven years before December 1 of the year in which the nomination is submitted.

A plaque from IFT

Praxair Inc.

Industrial Scientist Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT-member industrial scientist or team of industrial scientist(s) who have made a major technical contribution to the advancement of the food industry.

$3,000 honorarium and a plaque from IFT

No award given in 2008

Bor S. Luh International Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member or an institution whose outstanding efforts resulted in one or more of the following: (1) international exchange of ideas in the field of food technology; (2) better international understanding in the field of food technology; and/or (3) practical successful transfer of food technology to an economically depressed area in a developing or developed nation.

$3,000 honorarium and a plaque from the Bor S. Luh Endowment Fund of the IFT Foundation

Bruce Hamaker, Purdue University

Bernard L. Oser Food Ingredients Safety Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member for his or her contribution to the scientific knowledge of food ingredient safety or leadership in establishing principles for food ingredient safety evaluation or regulation.

$3,000 honorarium and a plaque from the Bernard L. Oser Endowment Fund of the IFT Foundation

Thomas J. Montville, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey

Samuel Cate Prescott

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member who has shown outstanding ability in research in some area of food science and technology.

$3,000 honorarium and a plaque from IFT

F. Xavier Malcata, Portuguese Catholic University

Research and Development Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member or team of members who have made a recent, significant research and development contribution to the understanding of food science, food technology, or nutrition.

$3,000 honorarium and a plaque from IFT

Casimir C. Akoh, University of Georgia

Myron Solberg Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member for providing leadership in the establishment and successful development and continuation of industry/government/academia cooperative organization.

$3,000 honorarium and a plaque from the Myron Solberg Endowment Fund of the IFT Foundation

Ken Swartzel, North Carolina State University

Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award

PURPOSE: To honor an IFT member for pursuit of humanitarian ideals and unselfish dedication that have resulted in significant contributions to the well-being of the food industry, academia, students, or the general public.

$3,000 honorarium from the New York Section of IFT and a plaque from IFT

Donald Kramer, University of Alaska

Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award

PURPOSE: To honor an individual who has provided continuing, meritorious and imaginative service to IFT. The award was first presented to Calvert L. Willey, then Executive Director of IFT, in 1987 and initiated on the 50th Anniversary of IFT in 1989.

$3,000 honorarium and a plaque from IFT

Neil H. Mermelstein, IFT

Casimir C. Akoh, Distinguished Research Professor, University of Georgia, is the recipient of the 2008 Research and Development Award for significant research and development contributions to the understanding of food science, food technology, or nutrition.

He is also the recipient of the 2008 Stephen S. Chang Award for Lipid or Flavor Science for significant contributions to lipid or flavor science.

A scholar in fat substitutes, such as olestra, and structured lipid research, Akoh researched the enzymatic modifications of lipids, production of structured lipids, and synthesis of fat substitutes. He has designed and produced lipids for mainstream applications, trans-free fats, and specialty lipids for specific applications.

His research on flavor and fragrances has shown that short-chain flavor esters can be produced in high yields with lipases as biocatalysts under defined conditions.

Stephanie Doores, Associate Professor, Penn State University, received the 2008 William V. Cruess Award for excellence in teaching food science and technology.

A seasoned university professor who specializes in food microbiology, Doores also teaches food science courses to high school teachers and grade and high school students in initiatives such as the Summer Programs for High School Vocational Agriculture Teachers, Minority Student Intern Programs, Pennsylvania Governor’s School in Agriculture Sciences, and Pennsylvania FFA Product Development Competition.

She has mentored young students as a Star Teacher in the College of Engineering’s Ms. Wiz program, which fosters appreciation of the sciences by hosting hands-on laboratory experiments.

Robert B. Gravani, Professor, Cornell University, is the 2008 recipient of the Carl R. Fellers Award for service to the field of food science and technology and for bringing honor to the profession.

At Cornell, he has developed a strong and sustained program that addresses food safety issues in production agriculture, food processing, food retailing, food service, regulatory agencies, and for consumers. He shares this information with those in academia, government agencies, and the media.

Gravani developed the National Good Agricultural Practices Program at the university. He has conducted education and training programs for all sectors of the food industry and created audiovisual and printed materials for these constituents.

Bruce Hamaker, Professor and Director of the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research, Purdue University, is the recipient of the 2008 Bor S. Luh International Award for outstanding efforts to promote the international exchange of ideas in the field of food technology.

From volunteering in the Peace Corps to collaborations with institutes in Africa and universities in Asia, much of Hamaker’s life-long research has focused on assisting people around the world. He has addressed the needs of the poor in Africa by creating nutritionally enhanced sorghum and working to assist entrepreneurial food processors. He co-coordinates a multi-disciplinary collaborative research program in West Africa to improve sorghum and millet grains and enhance markets through the establishment of sorghum processing enterprises.

Donald Kramer, Professor, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, received the 2008 Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award for pursuit of humanitarian ideals and dedication resulting in contributions to the well-being of the food industry, academia, students, or the general public.

Kramer has conducted outreach work in seafood science for industry, regulators, and the public for more than 27 years. His humanitarian efforts include teaching and assisting Alaskans living in rural villages. This often involves traveling to remote communities via small planes, sleeping on the floors of public buildings, and teaching in a cross-cultural environment. His efforts have improved the quality of life of hundreds of Alaskans.

Gilbert A. Leveille, Executive Director, Wrigley Science Institute, received the 2008 Nicholas Appert Award, which recognizes an individual for preeminence in and contributions to the field of food science and technology.

Throughout his 47-year career in academia and industry, Leveille has been a leader in researching health, nutrition, and weight management issues, specifically lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and obesity. He has also developed ingredients and more-nutritious food products to help consumers improve their health.

Additionally, he has built a case for using sound science as a basis for public health policy by serving on more than 20 government-related committees and 10 National Academy committees. He is the only person to have served as President of both IFT and the American Society for Nutrition.

F. Xavier Malcata, Professor, College of Biotechnology, Portuguese Catholic University, received the 2008 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.

Malcata, who earned his Ph.D. degree in 1998 and his Aggregate Professorship degree in 2004, has pioneered new approaches in food science and technology and adapted science and technology to novel applications in several food manufacturing areas.

His work includes (among other topics) developing nutraceutical ingredients, designing and optimizing reactors to process edible oils, and characterizing plant proteases in milk clotting.

Neil H. Mermelstein, Editor Emeritus of Food Technology, received the 2008 Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award for meritorious and imaginative service to IFT. Throughout his 37-year career at IFT, his efforts and leadership ensured that Food Technology maintained its high standards of integrity and quality. Going beyond his editorial duties, he worked with various IFT committees, volunteered his services to other IFT departments, and represented IFT at meetings of other professional organizations.

Additionally, he focused attention on the history of IFT and of food science and technology and was committed to archiving important historical information about IFT. He was named an IFT Fellow in 2007 for his leadership in communication.

Dennis Miller, Professor of Food Science and Nutrition, Cornell University, received the 2008 Babcock-Hart Award for contributions to food technology that improve public health through the nutritional enhancement of foods.

During the past 30 years, Miller’s research has focused on understanding and improving iron bioavailability from foods and food fortificants. He has developed methods for measuring iron bioavailability and has applied these methods to assess iron bioavailability in a range of foods, both fortified and unfortified. In recent years, he has collaborated with HarvestPlus, a global research alliance dedicated to reducing micronutrient malnutrition in poor countries using plant breeding to “biofortify” staple food crops.

Thomas J. Montville, Professor II (distinguished), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, received the 2008 Bernard L. Oser Food Ingredient Safety Award for contributions to the scientific knowledge of food ingredient safety and leadership in establishing principles for food ingredient safety evaluation and regulation.

Montville’s research has established the safety and efficacy of antimicrobial peptides such as nisin, thus advancing their applications to assure the microbial safety of foods. He has advanced applications of nisin and pediocin through research that supports their use in real food systems. One hallmark of this is the targeting of molecular mechanisms underlying bacteriocin efficacy and minimization of nisin resistance development so that bacteriocins can be used to enhance food safety.

Praxair Inc., Danbury, Conn., is the recipient of the 2008 Food Technology Industrial Achievement Award for its controlled atmosphere stunning technology. The award honors the developers of an outstanding food process or product that represents a significant advancement in the application of food science and technology to food production.

Praxair’s controlled atmosphere system provides turkey processors with an easy-to-use system that increases yield, improves employee working conditions, and enhances animal welfare. In contrast to the current process in which the live turkeys are handled manually, this proprietary system stuns turkeys while they are still in cages on the transport trailer using a multi-stage gas mixture–based cycle. The turkeys are then removed from their cages for shackling and conveying for further processing. The system can be incorporated with minimum capital expenditure in a plant’s existing infrastructure and minimum disruption to current production processes.

Shelly J. Schmidt, Professor of Food Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, received the 2008 Marcel Loncin Research Prize, which provides research funding to a scientist or engineer conducting basic chemistry, physics, or engineering research applied to food processing and the improvement of food quality.
Schmidt’s research involves the applications of best moisture management practices to food processes and products to optimize physical, chemical, and microbiological stability and quality. She is developing multi-technique and multi-level approaches to solving applied food safety and food quality problems.

With the funding provided by the prize, Schmidt will study the relationship between the glassy-to-rubbery transition in amorphous food materials using water vapor sorption-based experiments and compare the resultant findings to the glass transition temperature obtained via differential scanning calorimetry.

Ken Swartzel, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University, received the 2008 Myron Solberg Award for leadership in the establishment, development, and continuation of industry, government, and academia cooperative organizations.

Swartzel founded the National Science Foundation Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies in 1987, two Industry Master Research Agreements, and the Kellogg/NASULGC Food Systems Leadership Institute. Currently, he is working with eight other universities in the formation of another NSF center called the Center for Biomass Processing Research.

More than 80 companies, foundations, government agencies and/or universities have worked together on one or more of the projects or programs led by Swartzel.