St. Paul, Minn. (November 3, 2010)—AACC International recently presented its 2010 awards to several AACC Intl. members. The awards were presented at the Opening Session of the 2010 Annual Meeting held in Savannah, GA, on October 24.
Barbara Heidolph, with ICL Performance Products LP, U.S.A., was named this year’s recipient of the prestigious William F. Geddes Memorial Award—one of the association’s highest honors. The award, created in 1961 in recognition of the leadership and dedication of the late William F. Geddes, honors the zeal and unselfish industry of an individual member and emphasizes the importance of his or her contributions to the work of the society.
This year, the Edith Christensen Award for Outstanding Contributions in Analytical Methods was presented to John MacDonald. This award honors scientific and technical contributions that have advanced the grain science field. MacDonald is the manager of organic analysis at NP Analytical Laboratories, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A., where he has spent the past 36 years applying gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography, and spectroscopy to the determination of nutrients and contaminants in foods, feeds, and ingredients.
Sajid Alavi, an associate professor in the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University, was awarded the association’s Young Scientist Award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions in basic and applied research to cereal science. Alavi’s research focuses on food engineering, specifically extrusion processing of food and feed materials, rheology, food microstructure imaging, structure-texture relationships, and value-added uses of biological materials and residues.
The 2010 AACC Intl. Excellence in Teaching Award was presented to Curtis Weller. This award honors an educator who has made considerable contributions through teaching in the field of cereal science and technology. Weller, an AACC Intl. member since 1989, is a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with teaching and research appointments in the Departments of Biological Systems Engineering and Food Science and Technology. He also serves as coordinator of academic programs and undergraduate advisor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering.
Larry Johnson was honored with the 2010 Applied Research Award, given to an individual or team for their significant body of distinguished contributions to the application of science in the cereals area. Johnson serves as director of the Center for Crops Utilization Research at Iowa State University. He has provided state and national leadership in adding value to and finding new uses for corn and soybeans. He was also recently appointed director of the BioCentury Research Farm. This year, AACC Intl. renamed the Applied Research Award, the Phil Williams Applied Research Award.
Perry Ng and David Wetzel were named AACC International Fellows in recognition of their outstanding contributions to cereal science and technology. The award honors achievements in research, industry, leadership, education, administration, communication, or regulatory affairs. Ng, a member for more than 25 years, is a professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University (MSU) and also works in the Institute of International Agriculture at MSU. Wetzel has published research from the Kansas State University Microbeam Molecular Spectroscopy Laboratory, established by him, that has attracted worldwide attention. With infrared microspectroscopy, Wetzel has pioneered the studies of various biological materials.
Nominations for the 2011 awards are now being sought. Award descriptions and criteria, past awardees, and nomination deadlines are available at www.aaccnet.org/membership/awards.asp.
AACC Intl. is the organization for grain science professionals who contribute to the research, development, and processing of grains and grain-based products.
