The IFT Research and Development Award is given annually “…to honor an IFT member or team of members who have made a recent, significant research and development contribution to the understanding of food science, food technology, or nutrition.” From the nomination: “Dr. Mauer has developed an innovative research program in the field of food materials science that tackles important emerging and persistent problems related to the quality, safety, nutrition, and shelf-life of low and intermediate-moisture foods.” “Her work has emphasized understanding the effects of processing and storage conditions on the structure-function relationships of food ingredients and ultimate food shelf life, with an increasing focus on the effects and control of ingredient architecture and water-solid interactions for vitamin and bioactive ingredient delivery as well as added sugar reduction strategies.”