Plenary Sessions

Monday, September 19, 2022

Circular Economy and Sustainability

PepsiCo Positive Efforts to Enable a World where Packaging Never Becomes Waste

Dr. Sridevi Narayan-Sarathy is Technical Director of Sustainable Packaging and Senior Research Fellow at PepsiCo.   Sri received her M.Sc. in Chemistry and M.Tech. in Polymer Science & Technology from Indian Institutes of Chennai and Delhi respectively.  She got her Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  Prior to joining PepsiCo in 2010, Sri was Technology Manager/Principal Scientist at Ashland Performance Materials.   Sri’s research interests are in the areas of Materials Science and Chemistry. At PepsiCo, she is leveraging   her extensive experience with different polymer chemistries to identify and develop bio-based materials for sustainable flexible packaging with good end of life.  She has several patents and publications to her credit.  Sri also has an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Grain Sciences at Kansas State University and sits on the board of Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).

Innovation as a Tool in Driving Sustainability Across the Global Supply Chain

Dr. Stephen P. Lombardo is a senior innovation leader with 30+ years of R&D experience in new product innovation, process development, and supply chain optimization. Over the course of his career, he has worked for several high-caliber global CPG organizations – Kraft Foods, Inc, The Coca-Cola Company, The Scotts-Miracle Gro Company, and McCormick & Co, Inc.  At his most recent position as Director, Materials and Process Technology at McCormick & Co, Inc, Steve led ground-breaking R&D research in discovery, development, scale-up, and commercialization of product, process, and flavor delivery technologies for global application.  Steve received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and received his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.  Steve is an expert in Intellectual Property Strategy and Management with granted and pending US and Global patents in the areas of extraction, pasteurization, and herb & spice processing.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Women and Leadership in Food Engineering

Women and Leadership: Creating Opportunities as a Woman Engineer in Corporate America

Kelley Lowe holds a B.S. degree in Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering and an M.Sc. degree in Food Science, both from The Ohio State University.  She has over 18 years of experience in the food industry, with expertise in new product and process development, new product introduction and manufacturing scale up and troubleshooting for oral nutritional supplements.  Kelley currently holds the position of Director of Product Development for Abbott Nutrition, based in Columbus Ohio.  In addition to her role at Abbott, Kelley is also the Communications Committee Chair for the Abbott Nutrition W-STEM chapter, a Volunteer Champion for Abbott’s youth STEM outreach program, actively participates in Abbott’s Mentoring Program, is an avid volunteer for the Institute of Food Technologists and is a Fellow for the Food Systems Leadership Institute.

Women and Leadership at Purdue: Representation, Experience, and Success

Dr. Lisa Mauer joined the Provost’s office at Purdue University as associate vice provost for faculty affairs in 2019. In this role, she provides leadership for initiatives that support faculty recruitment, hiring, retention, development, leadership, and success at all career stages. Dr. Mauer is a professor of food science and member of the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research, and served as director of the Center for Food Safety Engineering from 2011-2021. Her research focuses on food materials science structure-function questions, emphasizing low and intermediate-moisture products, water-solid interactions, food ingredient architecture, and micronutrient stability. She has received numerous research awards, including the 2014 IFT Marcel Loncin Prize, the 2019 IFT Research and Development Award, and the IAFP 2017 GMA Food Safety Award. At Purdue, Dr. Mauer has received the Agricultural Research Award, the Purdue TEAM Award, the Purdue Corps of Engagement Award, and several Seed for Success and College of Agriculture Millionaire’s Club Awards.  Dr. Mauer enjoys teaching, mentoring, and advising students. She has taught a range of undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as industry and government workshops, on topics including food chemistry, food packaging, food ingredient technology, and the science of experimental cuisine. She has also participated in study abroad courses. Dr. Mauer is an inducted  member of Purdue’s Teaching Academy and the Book of Great Teachers, and she received the David C. Pfendler Outstanding Undergraduate Counselor Award.  After receiving her B.S. degree in food science from Purdue University, Dr. Mauer completed her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. She was a continuing lecturer in the Nutrition Department at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, prior to joining Purdue in 2001 as an assistant professor of food science.

Women Engineers: Mentoring for Smooth Transition from College to Work

 GÖNÜL KALETUNÇ, PhD. is a professor of food engineering in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the Ohio State University. She has been the Director of “Aspiration for Women’s Advancement and Retention in Engineering and Sciences (AWARES)” focusing women’s retention in engineering discipline and Director of College of Engineering Faculty Mentoring Program aiming recruitment, retention, and development of a successful career for new faculty. She completed her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey and received her doctorate in food engineering from University of Massachusetts. Her research focuses on food and biological materials, food safety in fresh produce, encapsulation of nutrients for targeted and controlled delivery, and mentoring in STEM. Dr. Kaletunç edited two books and has numerous publications. She serves as an editorial board member of Food Engineering Reviews and the executive committee member of Society of Food Engineering.

How Can We Support Women Engineers in Academia?

 Dr. Gail Bornhorst is a Professor of Food Engineering in the Departments of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Food Science and Technology at the University of California Davis. She is also an Associate Investigator at the Riddet Institute. She received her B.S. degree from Michigan State University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from University of California Davis in biological systems engineering. Her research involves developing a quantitative understanding of food structural breakdown during digestion and the impact on nutrient release and food functional properties. Her lab also works on development of dynamic in vitro model systems for studying digestion, and modeling of digestion processes. She has acted as the Chair of the Food Engineering Division of the Institute of Food Technologists (2021 – 2022), and served as the Secretary of the Society of Food Engineering.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Honoring the Past and Planning the Future of Food Engineering

Honoring Recently Departed Food Engineers

Marcus Karel

Presented by Yrjo Roos

Zeki Berk

Presented by Sam Saguy

Henry Schwartzberg

Presented by Gonul Kaletunc and Osvaldo Campanella

Ricardo Simpson

Presented by Sergio Almonacid and Oscar Vega-Castro

M. Anandha (Andy) Rao

Presented by Carmen Moraru

Planning the Future of Food Engineering

SoFE Update and Future Plans

Sudhir Sastry, outgoing SoFE President, will discuss SoFE activities, opportunities for volunteering, Constitution and Bylaws review, election results and plans for CoFE 24.

The Road to the Future: Changes in Education

Sam Saguy will lead this discussion.