Department of Food Science Alumni & Friends Recognitions
Honorary Doctorate presented by Purdue University
2014 *Willis James "Jim" Harper, retired J.T. Parker Chair in Dairy Foods, Department of Food Science & Technology, Ohio State University
2007 William T. Boehm, Senior Vice President, The Kroger Company
2005 Joseph S. Hatfiled, Founder & CEO, Fieldale Farms Corporation
2000 *Ronald R. Rice, Senior Vice President, The Kroger Company
1996 Elaine R. Wedral, President of Research & Development Centers, Nestle
1993 *Robert L. Sellars, Senior Vice President, CHR. Hansen’s Lab, Inc.
1988 Kenneth N. May, CEO, Holly Farms
1990 *Robert Carbonell, President & CEO, DelMonte Foods – R.R. Nabisco, Inc
1986 *Arnold E. “Bud” Denton, Senior Vice President, Campbell Soup Company
1985 *Roy L. Whistler, Professor Emeritus, Hillenbrand Distinguished Professor
Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award presented by Purdue College of Agriculture
2019 Nancie Corum-Oxley, Vice President and Winemaker, St. Julian Wine Company, Inc.
2017 George Abide, Founder and Explorer, The Abide Idea Company
2016 Martin Berry, Senior Principal Research Engineer, Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc.
2015 Victoria Finkenstadt, Lead Scientist, United States Department of Agriculture
2014 Nicholas L. Rozzi, Director of Global Commercialization, Godiva Chocolatier, Inc.
2013 D. Scott Lineback, Vice President Process Innovation, ConAgra Foods
2012 Liangli “Lucy” Yu, Professor and Acting Chair, Department of Nutrition & Food Science, University of Maryland
2011 Gary Chenoweth, Vice President – Customer Relationship Leader, Bunge Oils
2010 Mona Baker Wolf, President, The Wolf Group
2009 Glenn Armstrong, Vice President, Corporate and Businness Innovations, Alticor, Inc.
2008 Yonas Gizaw, Principal Scientist, Proctor and Gamble, Co.
2006 Mark E. Kimmel, Senior Vice President of Total Quality and Research and Development, Stanislaus Food Products
2004 Tracy A. Baker, Vice President of Innovation and Beverage Development, PepsiCo Beverages and Foods
2003 Sharrann E. Simmons, Vice President & General Manager, Colloides Naturels
2002 William R. Aimutis, Principal Scientist, Cargill, Inc.
2001 Robert W. Wotzak, Vice President of Research and Development, ConAgra Grocery Products Co.
2000 Marion P. Williams, Senior Vice President of Technology, Welch Foods, Inc.
1996 David Hettinga, Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Land O'Lakes, Inc.
1994 *Ronald R. Rice, Group Vice President, The Kroger Company
1993 John H. Nelson, Vice President of Science and Technology, McCormick and Company, Inc.
1992 Darrell G. Medcalf, Vice President of Research, Kraft General Foods
1992 Elaine R. Wedral, President and Chair, Westreco, Inc.
Outstanding Food Science Award presented by the Department of Food Science
This award was created by the faculty in the year 2000 to pay tribute to individuals who have established an outstanding record of achievement in industry, academia, or government thus impacting the field of food science and the Department. An alphabetical list of recipients is also available.
2019
Jung Han, Vice President of Food Safety, Compliance and Future Portfolia, Pulmuone Foods
Matthew Moudy, North America Procurement Head, Mars Foods
Jonathan Stapley, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dynamic Food Ingredients Corp.
2018
Richard Carlson, Vice President of Quality, Hormel Foods
Mary Carunchia, Principal Scientist, PepsiCo
Jonathan Gray, Senior Director of Research & Innovation, Danone North America
Matthew Schaefer, Global Director of Quality & Commercialization, Bloomin' Brands
Lilian Were, Associate Professor, Chapman University
2017
Robert Culler, Principle, Culler Consulting, LLC
Kurt Villwock, Director of Research and Development, Fiberstar, Inc.
Julia Watterson, Principal Scientist, The Hershey Company
2016
Milda Embuscado, Senior Principal Scientist, McCormick & Company
John McKeehen, Innovation, Technology and Quality Director of Cereal Technology, General Mills
Kathryn Rippel, Senior Brewmaster, Anheuser Busch
2015
Rebeca Buckner, Chief Implementation Manager, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
Jeff Grogg, Managing Director, JPG Resources
2014
Christopher Fosse, Vice President of Quality for the Branded and Private Branded Business, ConAgra Foods
Maria Oria, Senior Program Officer, Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences
Nancy Quan, Global Research and Development Officer, Coca Cola Company
2013
Nancie Corum-Oxley, Head Winemaker, St. Julian Winery
Claudia Fajardo-Lira, Professor of Food Science, Department of Family Consumer Sciences, California State University Northridge
Diane Hnat, Senior Technical Manager, DSM Nutritional Products
Mohamed Obanni, Senior Director of Technical Services, Aseptic, and Refrigerated Business, The Hain Celestial Group
Dianne Ripberger, Research & Development Director of Quality Innovation, Information Systems, and Ingredient Quality Assurance, Frito Lay North America division of Pepsico
2012
Curt Emenhiser, Vice President of Global Tehcnology Management, Nestle
Garry Hellmich, Quality and Regulatory Operations Director for Baked Goods, General Mills
Kerry Huber, Professor, School of Food Science, University of Idaho
Lee-Ann Jaykus, Distinguished Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Science, North Carolina State University
Xiaoming "Lucy" You, Director of Compliance & Documentation, CSM Bakery Product North America
2011
George Abide, President, The Abide Idea Company
Renée Mellican, Director of Product Development in Research, Quality, and Innovation, ConAgra Foods
Nicholas Rozzi, Director, Global Commercialization, Godiva Chocolatier, Inc.
George Sadler, Chief Technical Officer, Prove It, LLC
Liangli “Lucy” Yu, Professor and Acting Chair, Department of Nutrition & Food Science, University of Maryland
2010
Dane Bernard, Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Keystone Foods, LLC
Anita Colglazier, Director of Quality, Butterball, LLC
*James Kincaid, Principal Scientist, Kellogg Company
David Lesley, Principal Scientist, Ball Corporation
D. Scott Lineback, Vice President of Process Innovation, ConAgra Foods
2009
Gloria Cagampang, Research Fellow, Department of Research, Quality, and Technology, Kellogg Company
Delva “Kay” Cooksey, Professor, Department of Packaging Science, Clemson University
Athlula Ekanayake, Principal Scientist, Procter & Gamble
Bruce Pearson, Senior Director of Operations, King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
*George Somkuti, Lead Scientist and Research Chemist, USDA Eastern Regional Research Center
Norihisi Takada, Director of Research & Development, Del Monte Company
2008
Kathleen Berry, Global Marketing Manager, Pall Corporation
Martin Berry, Senior Principal Research Engineer, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
Gary Chenoweth, Vice President of Food Processor Sales, Bunge Oils
Mona Baker Wolf, President, The Wolf Group
2007
Yonas Gizaw, Principal Scientist, Fabric and Home Care Technology Division, Proctor and Gamble
James S. Jones, Vice President of Research and Development, Rich Products Corporation
David K. Park, President, Food Defense
Oscar A. Pike, Head of the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science, Brigham Young University
2006
Glenn S. Armstrong, Senior Director for Science and Technology, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
William P. Mickelberry, former Manager of Product Development, Oregon Freeze Dry Foods, Inc.
*Willis James Harper, Parker Chair in Dairy Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, Ohio State University
2005
William R. Aimutis, Research Fellow and Group Manager of Food Technology Development Center, t Cargill, Inc
*Fred Babel (Posthumous) Former Professor of Dairy Bacteriology, Purdue University
Tracy A. Baker, Vice President of Non-Carbonated Beverages for PepsiCo, Inc
Glenna Matthews, Process Technology Manager, FMC Technologies, Inc.
Keith Neer, retired Vice President of Corporate Food Technology and Regulatory Compliance, The Kroger Company
Robert W. Wotzak, Vice President of Global Research and Development, Griffith Laboratories
2004
J. Richard Heron, Senior Process Engineer, Del Monte Foods
Alan R. Kimbell, Chairman of the Board, Distribution Management Associates
Mark E. Kimmel, Senior Vice President, Stanislaus Food Products
John S. Morgan, Owner, Morgan Foods
Marshall J. Myers, former Corporate Vice President of Research and Development, McCormick and Company
Gary W. Naab, Director of Operations / Engineering Supply Chain, General Mills, Inc.
Brian L. Reichart, CEO, Red Gold, Inc.
Richard A. Roop, Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for the Food Service and International Divisions, Tyson Foods
Sharrann E. Simmons, Vice President and General Manager, Colloides Naturels, Inc.
James Swi-Bea Wu, Head of the Department of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University
2003
Alfred A. Bushway, Professor and former Chair of the Department of Food Science, University of Maine
John N. Butts, Vice President of Research, Land O’Frost
*S. John Davies (Posthumous), Chairman of the Board, Enerfab, Inc.
Theodore E. Hartung, Associate Vice Chancellor Emeritus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Clayton S. Huber, Professor and former Dean of the College of Biology and Agriculture, Brigham Young University
*Peter W. Mauger (Posthumous), former President, Naas Foods
Kenneth N. May, President and CEO, Holly Farms Poultry Industries, Inc.
Darrell G. Medcalf, former President, HealthComm, Inc.
Gale Shemwell Rudolph, Senior Scientist and Director of Food Product Development, USANA Health Services, Inc.
*Marion P. Williams, Senior Vice President of Technology, Welch’s
2002
Fredrick W. Billerbeck, former Director of Administration and Services, Gerber Products’ Research Division
William A. Gorman, former Vice President and Director, Kraft, Inc.
David H. Hettinga, Chief Technical Officer and Vice President of Corporate Research, Technology, and Engineering, Ag Research and Technology and Fleet, Land O’Lakes
David R. Lineback, Director of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, University of Maryland
*John V. Luck, former Senior Vice President and Technical Director, General Mills
John H. Nelson, former Vice President of Science and Technology, McCormick and Company
Paul A. Seib, Professor, Department of Grain Science and Industry, Kansas State University
*Robert L. Sellars, former Senior Vice President of Techology and Quality Assurance, Chr. Hansen’s Laboratory, Inc.
Vernon L. Singleton, Professor Emeritus, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California
Elaine R. Wedral, President of Research and Development Centers, Nestle
2001
*Gale A. Ammerman, Professor Emeritus and former Department Head of Food Science and Technology, Mississsippi State University
*Robert J. Carbonell, former Vice Chairman of RJR Nabisco, Inc.
*Arnold E. “Bud” Denton, former Senior Vice President of the Campbell Soup Company
*Bernard J. “Bernie” Liska, Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Agriculture, Purdue University
Thomas A. Ravencroft, Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions, Dean Foods
*Frances L. Reichart, former President, Red Gold, Inc.
*Ronald R. Rice, Senior Vice President, Kroger Company
*William R. Scholle (Posthumous), former President, Scholle Corporation
*William J. Stadelman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Food Science, Purdue University
*Roy L. Whistler, Professor Emeritus, Department of Food Science, Purdue University
Food Science Early Career Award presented by the Department of Food Science
This award was created by the Department of Food Science Award Committee and approved by the faculty in the year 2016 to recognize individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to a successful career in industry, academia, or government.
2020
Amanda (Bettasso) Bigando, Research and Development Manager, Newly Weds Foods
Kristin Burkholder, Associate Professor of Microbiology, University of New England
Farirayi Chikerema, Corporate Quality Manager, Impossible Foods
David Schroeder, Principal Scientist, Kraft Heinz Company
2019
Whitney (Peters) Bembenick, Director of Innovation, Endangered Species Chocolate
Rodney Green, Director of Research and Development, Conagra Brands
Lindsay (Miller) Wisener, Principal Consultant, WiseBev, LLC
Anne (Secor) Zwink, General Manager and Winemaker, Soldier Creek Winery
2018
Rebecca (Lipesek) Jutkus, Manager of Chocolate Product Development, The Hershey Company
Andrew Neilson, Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
2017
Pratik Banerjee, Assistant Professor, University of Memphis
Tejas Bhatt, Vice President of Science and Policy Initiatives and Director for the Global Food Traceability Center, Institute of Food Technologists
Adeniyi Adedayo Odugbemi, Manager of Corporate Quality Systems and Regulatory Affairs, Wayne Farms, LLC