Creating a cornucopia of accomplishment
Few of the chemical engineers who have helped advance agricultural and food-processing technologies have become household names. Yet thanks to their unique scientific and engineering training, they have been able to meet many of the challenges of feeding the global population. The diverse achievements of the individuals briefly profiled here help illustrate the many ways chemical engineers have made far-reaching contributions to the food industry.
Daniel Farkas
Throughout his career Daniel Farkas has held a variety of positions at food companies, universities, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His pioneering work has helped food scientists gain a greater understanding of food preservation using ultra-high-pressure techniques that kill bacteria and pathogens without affecting taste, texture, color, or nutritional value.
Arthur I. Morgan, Jr.
Arthur Morgan is the director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Western Regional Laboratory. As an inventor he holds more than 100 patents. One of his most important discoveries was a technique that destroyed microbes in meat without cooking by surrounding an animal carcass with a vacuum, applying a short burst of steam, and then cooling the surface under a vacuum.
R. Paul Singh
Paul Singh is a professor of food engineering at the University of California, Davis. He specializes in transport phenomena, heat and mass transfer, and structural changes that occur during food-processing operations, such as drying, frying, freezing, storage, and modified atmosphere packaging. He has also developed computer-integrated manufacturing systems for the food industry.
Theodore P. Labuza
Theodore Labuza is the Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Food Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He has helped the food industry understand how and why specific phenomena occur in foods. Labuza has also made significant contributions to the development of temperature sensors and instruments essential in increasing food safety.
Henry G. Schwartzberg
Henry Schwartzberg is a professor emeritus in food engineering at the University of Massachusetts. He has also worked for General Foods/Kraft Foods and taught chemical engineering at New York University. His accomplishments include developing methods for analyzing and designing solid-liquid extractors and predicting extraction behavior essential in such operations as making decaffeinated coffee.