Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development of food technology.
Rose Marie Valdes Pangborn was a Mexican-American food scientist, food technologist, professor, and a pioneer in the field of sensory analysis of food attributes. She worked as a sensory scientist in the Experiment Station, Step VIII, served for 35 years at the University of California, Davis. She co-founded the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (ACHEMS), and the Sensory Reception Scholarship Fund (SSSF).
Chi-Tang Ho is a Chinese-born American food scientist. He received his PhD in organic chemistry in 1974 and started working as a researcher and professor in the food science department at Rutgers University. He is now director of the food science graduate program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from more than 95 countries.
The Chinese American Food Society (CAFS) is an American-based organization founded in 1974 to develop relationships among Chinese-born food scientists in academia, government, and industry. Its current president is Yao Olive Li, a professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
The Samuel Cate Prescott Award has been awarded since 1964 by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago, Illinois. It is awarded to food science or technology researchers who are under 36 years of age or who earned their highest degree within ten years before July 1 of the year the award is presented. This award is named for Samuel Cate Prescott (1872-1962), a food science professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was also the first president of IFT.
The William V. Cruess Award has been awarded every year since 1970. It is awarded for excellence in teaching in food science and technology and is the only award in which student members in the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) can nominate. This award is named after William V. Cruess (1886-1968), a food science professor at the University of California, Berkeley and later at the University of California, Davis who was also the first ever IFT Award winner when he won the Nicholas Appert Award in 1942.
The Carl R. Fellers Award has been awarded every year since 1984. It is awarded to members of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) who are also members of Phi Tau Sigma, the honorary society of food science and technology, who have brought honor and recognition to food science through achievements in areas other than research, development, education, and technology transfer. The award is named after Carl R. Fellers, a food science professor who chaired the food technology department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and when the first Phi Tau Sigma chapter was founded in 1953.
The Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award has been issued every year since 1997. It is awarded to a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) who has pursued humanitarian ideals and unselfish dedication to the well-being of the food industry, academia, students, or the general public. The award is named for Elizabeth Fleming Stier (1925-1995), a food science professor at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey who became the first female award winner of IFT when she won the William V. Cruess Award in 1974.
Samuel Cate Prescott was an American food scientist and microbiologist who was involved in the development of food safety, food science, public health, and industrial microbiology.
Phi Tau Sigma (ΦΤΣ) is the Honor Society for food science and technology. The organization was founded in 1953 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst by Dr. Gideon E. (Guy) Livingston, a food technology professor. It was incorporated under the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts December 8, 1953, as "Phi Tau Sigma Honorary Society, Inc."
Carl R. Fellers (1893–1960) was an American food scientist and microbiologist who was involved in the pasteurization of dried foods and canning Atlantic blue crab.
Stephen Szu Shiang Chang was a Chinese-born American food scientist who was involved in the research of lipids and flavors in food, including the development of technology transfer between the United States and Taiwan.
Bernard L. Oser was an American biochemist and food scientist who was involved in vitamin analysis.
Fred C. Blanck was an American food scientist who was involved in the founding of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) which was involved in the publishing of food and nutrition articles and books.
Maynard Alexander Joslyn was a Russian-born, American food scientist who involved in the rebirth of the American wine industry in California following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Joslyn was also involved in the development of analytical chemistry as it applied to food, leading to the advancement of food chemistry as a scientific discipline.
Fred Wilbur Tanner (1888–1957) was an American food scientist and microbiologist who involved in the founding of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the creation of the scientific journal Food Research.
Daryl Bert Lund is an American food scientist and engineer who has served in various leadership positions within the Institute of Food Technologists, including President in 1990–1991 and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Food Science from 2003-2012. Lund was named one of 26 innovators in Food Engineering magazine's 75th anniversary edition in September 2003.
Gideon E. "Guy" Livingston was an American food scientist who was responsible for founding Phi Tau Sigma at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was also well known in food safety for foodservice establishments and for refrigerated foods shelf-life studies.
Philip E. Nelson is an American food scientist who is best known for his work in bulk aseptic processing and packaging of food and the use of chlorine dioxide gas and hydrogen peroxide liquid to commercially sterilize food products and food contact surfaces. He was the Scholle Chair and Professor in Food Processing at the Department of Food Science at Purdue University. Aseptic processing and packaging would be involved in the relief efforts following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
