2008 Laureate - Professor Philip E. Nelson

The Ohio State Food Science Faculty selected world renowned Professor Philip E. Nelson as the 2008 Prize winner.  Dr. Nelson accepted the award on February 25, 2009.

Philip E. Nelson, Ph.D., is Professor and William Scholle Endowed Chair in Food Processing in the Department of Food Science at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.  His research interests are predominantly in bulk storage processing of fruits and vegetables. Dr. Nelson was the first department head when the Food Science Department at Purdue University was created in 1983, and also founded the Aseptic Processing Workshop at Purdue. 

As an active member of professional organizations, Dr. Nelson served on many Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) committees (Long Range Planning, Research, Nominations, Awards, Expert Panel, Constitutions and By-laws) prior to serving as President of IFT in 2001-2002. Among numerous awards in recognition of his personal achievements, Dr. Nelson was named an Institute of Food Technologists Fellow (1980), recipient of the Nicholas Appert Award (1995), recipient of the USDA Secretary’s Award for Personal and Professional Excellence (1997), recipient of the Carl R. Fellers Award (2005), and recipient of the Philip. E. Nelson Innovation Prize (2007).  Also in 2007, he was awarded the prestigious World Food Prize for his work in aseptic packaging. 

Dr. Nelson has coauthored three text books, published 66 peer-reviewed articles, and generated 12 U.S. patents and 28 international patents.  Dr. Nelson received a Bachelor of Science (1956) in General Agriculture and a Ph.D. (1967) from Purdue University.

2007 Laureate  - Professor connie m. weaver

The Ohio State Food Science Faculty selected Professor Connie M. Weaver as the 2007 Harris Prize winner.  Dr. Weaver accepted the award on September 25, 2007.

Connie M. Weaver, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Foods & Nutrition at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.  In 2000, she also became Director of a National Institutes of Health funded Botanical Research Center to study dietary supplements containing polyphenolics for age-related diseases.  Her research interests include mineral bioavailability, calcium metabolism, and bone health. 

She was a member of the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board Panel to develop new recommendations for requirements for calcium and related minerals.  Dr. Weaver is past-president of American Society for Nutritional Sciences.  She is on the Board of Trustees of the International Life Sciences Institute, National Osteoporosis Foundation, McCormick Science Institute Health and Wellness Board, Global Nutrition Advisory Panel, Cadbury Schweppes Board, Wyeth Global Nutrition Advisory Board, Science Advisory Board Pharmavite, and ORAFTI Board.  For her contributions in teaching, Dr. Weaver was awarded Purdue University's Outstanding Teaching Award. 

In 1993, she was honored with the Purdue University Health Promotion Award for Women, and in 1997, she received the Institute of Food Technologists Babcock Hart Award.  In April 2003, she received the USDA A.O. Atwater Lecture Award at the annual Experimental Biology meeting.  In 2006 she received the NAMS/Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Healthcare Calcium Research Award and the Purdue University Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award.   Dr. Weaver was appointed to the 2005 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.  She has published over 200 research articles.  Dr. Weaver received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nutrition from Oregon State University.  She received a Ph.D. in Nutrition from Florida State University and holds minors in chemistry and plant physiology.

2006 Laureate - Professor DARYL B. LUND (University of WISCONSIN)

Daryl Lund earned a B.S. (1963) in mathematics and a Ph.D. (1968) in food science with a minor in chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During 21 years at the University of Wisconsin, he was a professor of food engineering in the Food Science Department serving as chair of the department from 1984 - 1987. He has contributed over 150 scientific papers, edited 5 books, and co-authored one major textbook in the area of simultaneous heat and mass transfer in foods, kinetics of reactions in foods, and food processing.

In 1988 he continued his administrative responsibilities by chairing the Department of Food Science at Rutgers University, and from December 1989 through July 1995 served as the Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources with responsibilities for teaching, research and extension at Rutgers University. In that position, among other achievements, he initiated a rigorous strategic planning process for Cook College and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, streamlined administrative services, fostered a review of the undergraduate curriculum and encouraged the faculty to develop a "social contact" for undergraduate instruction.

In August 1995, he joined the Cornell University faculty as The Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences. During his tenure as dean of CALS, he initiated a strategic positioning process for the college that guided the college through 20% downsizing, promoted the Agriculture Initiative to gain increased state support for the Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension, supported an initiative in genomics and overhaul of the biological sciences, fostered a review of undergraduate programs that led to major changes, and supported the adoption of electronic technologies for undergraduate teaching and distance education. In July 2000, Dr. Lund returned to the Department of Food Science as Professor of Food Engineering.

In January 2001, Dr. Lund became the Executive Director of the North Central Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors. In this position he facilitates interstate collaboration on research and a greater integration between research and extension in the twelve-state region.

Among many awards in recognition of personal achievement, he is a recipient of the ASAE/DFISA Food Engineering Award, the IFT International Award and Carl R. Fellers Award, and the Irving Award from the American Distance Education Consortium. He is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists, elected Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (UK), and charter inductee in the International Academy of Food Science and Technology.

2005 Laureate - Professor James jay (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Prof. Jay’s interest in food microbiology dates back to his graduate student days at Ohio State University (1952-1956) when he worked with the tetracycline antibiotics as meat preservatives under Prof. H. H. Weiser. He subsequently worked with the staphylococci, staphylococcal bacteriophages and  staphylococcal lysozyme; and developed eight rapid methods for determining the microbial quality of fresh meats based on hydration capacity methods and the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay. His more recent studies have dealt with microbial interference in fresh meats relative to foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, and the possible role that quorum sensing plays in refrigerated fresh meat spoilage. Dr. Jay will address the safety of foods relative to the background microorganisms. His presentation included some historical data on microbes in foods relative to the incidence/prevalence of food poisoning outbreaks. The bottom line of his presentation was to underscore the overall positive value that the vast majority of microbes are to humans.

2004 Laureate - Professor Stephen L. Taylor (University of Nebraska)

The recipient of the OSU Food Science Harris Award is Dr. Stephen L. Taylor of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He was presented the award on October 28, 2004.

Dr. Taylor’s primary research interests involve the determination of the minimal doses for specific allergenic foods; allergenicity of ingredients derived from allergenic sources; and allergenicity of foods produced through agricultural biotechnology.  His research generated more than 200 scientific publications on peanut, soybean, Brazil nut, almond, and cows’ milk allergies. 

Dr. Taylor is Professor and Head of the Dept. of Food Science & Technology and Director of the Food Processing Center at the University of Nebraska.  He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in food science from Oregon State University and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California - Davis.  He received postdoctoral training in environmental toxicology and nutrition at the University of California - Davis.  Before joining the University of Nebraska in 1987, Dr. Taylor was Chief of the Food Toxicology Laboratory at Letterman Army Institute of Research in San Francisco and was a faculty member with the Food Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin.  He is a member of the Food & Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences; the Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology; and the Medical Advisory Board of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.