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Keynote Speakers

Professor Mary Ann Augustin
Food Science Australia

Mary Ann Augustin was awarded a PhD in Chemistry (Monash University, 1979). She held appointments at various Universities prior to joining CSIRO in 1988.  She was Professor in the School of Chemistry, Monash University while on secondment from CSIRO (October 2005 to June 2007).  MA Augustin is recognized for her scientific achievements in  (1) dairy ingredient chemistry and technology and (2) microencapsulation of bioactives. Mary Ann and her team have delivered strategic research and commercial outcomes of importance to the Australian Dairy Industry and also to the wider food industry through developments in microencapsulation technology (MicroMAX®).

Associate Professor Muthupandian Ashokkumar
University of Melbourne, Australia

Associate Professor Muthupandian Ashokkumar is well known among the international scientific community for his research achievements in the area of sonochemistry.  He has more than 100 journal publications and about 200 conference publications, most of them in the area of sonochemistry and sonoluminescence.   His current research focuses on developing new applications of ultrasound-induced chemical and physical effects in food science area, in particular the sonochemical modification of the functionalities of food ingredients including dairy proteins.  He is the first-named Chief Investigator of an Australian Research Council-Linkage Project that looks into the ultrasonic processing of dairy ingredients to control aggregation and promote heat stability.  This project is partly funded by Dairy Innovation Australia (formerly known as DIGA).

Mr Alan Baldwin
Fonterra Research Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Alan Baldwin BE (Chem) M Sc (Powder Tech). In his early career Alan worked on the development of casein products and methods for the production of instant whole milk powder.  He then managed a technical team investigating recombined products and consumer milk powders. Latterly he has been involved with application of processes such as spray drying and batch blending, with a particular interest in the underlying factors that affect the properties of powders.

Alan has also undertaken Engineering Services development work which included hygienic design of buildings, energy use reduction, fabrication standards for stainless steel, and substitution of CFC refrigerants.

Professor Bhesh Bhandari
University of Queensland, Australia

Prof. Bhandari is working in the University of Queensland for the last 16 years. Prof. Bhandari has a major research focus on food materials science including microencapsulation of food ingredients and glass transition related issues in food processing and product systems. Various microencapsulation processes such as spray drying, molecular encapsulation, co-crystallisation, precipitation, gel entrapment have been investigated. Prof. Bhandari has developed a continuous method to produce microgel particles that can be used encapsulate probiotics and other functional ingredients. Prof. Bhandari has also developed a simple device called Thermo mechanical Compression Test (TMCT) device to measure the glass transition temperature of solid food systems including dairy powders. Prof. Bhandari is an editor of Journal of Food Engineering.

Dr Chris Bloore
Dairy Industry Systems Consultant, New Zealand

Chris Bloore has over 35 year’s experience in the dairy industry.  He spent 19 years at the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute in four different roles; carrying out research in milkpowders and drying.  Since 1990, Chris has been a self-employed consultant to the New Zealand and Australian dairy industries.  His projects have included milkpowder plant commissioning, debottlenecking and performance optimisation, designing spray driers, advising dairy companies on fire and explosion safety and conducting post incident investigation of fires, explosions and control system failures.  He has a particular interest in drying sticky powders.

Dr. Peter de Jong
NIZO Food Research, Netherlands

Dr Peter de Jong obtained his PhD at Delft University on modelling and optimisation of thermal processes in the dairy industry. In 1986 he went to the R&D department of Campina. At this moment he is the Manager of the Processing Division within NIZO food research consisting of about 20 project managers and experts in the field of process technology. Peter de Jong has published more than 150 papers in scientific and technological journals and 3 patents. Recently he initiated the Green Dairy Team, a consortium of international dairy companies targeting on sustainable processing.

Jim Kelly
Moorepark Food Research Centre, Ireland

Jim Kelly has a Diploma in Chemical Technology from University College Cork and a Master in Science degree from the University of Limerick.  He has over 30 years experience in dairy processing research and in recent years he has specialised in carrying out research in spray drying technology particularly in Dairy based powders.

He is responsible for leading the experimental programme on spray drying technology as part of the public research programme and also industry-commissioned R&D using the Spray drying facilities at Moorepark Technology Ltd. His knowledge in spray drying technology is now widely availed of by fellow researchers and industry clients. His expertise in powder and associated technologies is also internationally recognized. He has just completed a research project on “Exploitation of advances in spray atomisation and agglomeration Technologies for the development of novel ingredients for automated beverage vending”. Jim is also widely regarded throughout the Irish /UK Dairy processing sector for plant efficiency audits that he carries out. He lectures on spray drying and evaporation in the widely regarded training courses presented at Moorepark from time to time.

David Platts
Platts Drievap Engineering, New Zealand

1966 to 1969 with Rank Hovis McDougal Research, UK as Technician. Operating Food Processing Equipment Including Spray Driers, and Freeze Driers.

1970 -1972 with Bachelors Foods (Unilever), Sheffield UK as Shift Quality Control Shift Manager.

1973 -1985 with New Zealand Co-Op Dairy Company, Project Engineering and Management of drying, evaporating and energy systems projects.

1985 -1990 with Stork Friesland BV, Undertaking engineering design, technical support, project management, for spray drying and evaporating systems projects.

1990 to present as principal of Platts Drievap Engineering Ltd, consultants to food, dairy and associated industries. New Zealand, Australia, Asia and USA specialising in drying and evaporating systems engineering, optimisation and
reconfiguration.

Dr Pierre Schuck
INRA, France

Dr Pierre Schuck is currently member of the Direction Committee in relation to the industrial partnership head in the Joint Research Unit on Science and Technology of Milk and Egg at the French National Institute of Agronomic Research in France. Before this academic position, he was in charge of a spray drying equipment in one of the main dairy industrial groups in France too.

He obtained his Ph.D in 1999. His main interest is spray drying of dairy products with a particular interest for the physical mechanisms of water transfer and for the influence of the physico-chemical parameters before, during and after spray drying on the properties of the dairy powders. His expertise is well recognized in the field and DR P. Schuck is referred to as consultant in many dairy industries.

Academic Background:
- Master degree in Food Science and Technology
- PhD in Physicochemistry and Quality of Bio-Products, Agrocampus (faculty of agriculture and food sciences), Rennes. Subject: Water transfer during dehydration by spray drying and rehydration of dairy proteins. Influence of the carbohydrate and mineral environment.

Current Job Title(s):  Research Engineer at the Joint Research Unit on Science and Technology of Milk and Egg, (INRA – Agrocampus Ouest)

Professor Harjinder Singh
The Riddet Institute
Massey University, New Zealand

Professor Harjinder Singh currently holds Fonterra Chair in Dairy Science at Massey University, New Zealand. He is also a Director of the Riddet Institute, which has been established recently as a National Centre of Research Excellence.
 
Professor Singh gained his Bachelor and Masters degrees from Punjab Agricultural University in Biochemistry and his his Ph.D. in Dairy Science and Technology from University College Cork, Ireland in 1986. He worked as a research scientist at the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute between 1987 and 1989. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Food Chemistry in 1990 at Massey University, and became the New Zealand Dairy Industry-sponsored Chair (full-Professor) in 1998.
 
Professor Singh was awarded the Marschall Rhodia International Dairy Science Award by the American Dairy Science Association in 2001 for his outstanding contributions to dairy chemistry and Massey University Research Medal in 2005 for research leadership. In 2008, he was awarded the William C. Haines Dairy Science Award by the California Dairy Research foundation. He was awarded Massey University Research Medal (individual) for distinction in research in 2008. His contributions to food science have been recognized by his election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealand (2002), Fellowship of International Academy of Food Science and Technology (2006) and Fellowship of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (2006). He was selected one of ISI highly cited researchers in 2006.

He serves as an Associate Editor of Journal of Food Science and is a member of the editorial boards of Food Research International, International Dairy Journal, Le Lait, Food Hydrocolloids and Encyclopaedia of Dairy Sciences.

Professor Singh current research programme involves understanding structures, interactions, and functions of milk proteins; food emulsions, encapsulation, protection and delivery of bioactive compounds in foods and food formulations. He has published 210 research papers in international journals, and holds 4 patents. He has presented 50 keynote addresses at national and international conferences.

Dr Andy Stapley
Department of Chemical Engineering
Loughborough University, UK

Andy Stapley gained MEng (1990) and PhD (1995) degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and followed these by postdoctoral research into chocolate moulding at the University of Birmingham (1995-1999). He joined Loughborough University as a Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1999, where he first became interested in spray freeze drying. This interest was boosted by the award of a research council (EPSRC) grant in 2000, which enabled the construction of a spray freezing and spray freeze drying pilot plant at Loughborough.

This is believed to be the only example of its type that allows freeze drying in a fluidised bed at sub-atmospheric pressures. He has co-supervised 3 PhD students on related projects which have included the spray freeze drying of whey protein and of soluble coffee. He is currently leading a consortium of 3 universities and 3 companies on a UK Government (DEFRA Feasiblility LINK) project to examine the commercial feasibility of the process. His research interests also include spray drying, conventional freeze drying and fat crystallization. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2007.

Dr Roderick Williams
Research Team Leader
Food Science Australia

Roderick joined the then CSIRO Division of Food Science and Technology in 1996 (Food Science Australia since December 1997).  At Food Science Australia he specializes in the physical properties of foods and the molecular basis of food functionality.  The primary focus of his work has been a number of projects based on dairy foods.  These have been in the areas of: interactions between dairy components and high molecular weight carbohydrate-based stabilisers.  The micro-structural properties and processing characteristics of milks with altered casein: whey protein ratios.  The mineral fortification of milk and milk powders (resulting in the development of a patented strategy).  The heat processing of concentrated milk, a range of projects surveying the composition of milk across significant dairying regions of Australia.  This work has been supported by grants awarded by Dairy Australia. 

Previous Positions: From 1990 Roderick was employed as an Assistant lecturer at Monash University and in addition to teaching duties, was involved in projects in the immunological detection of cancer-related mucins and glycoproteins and the purification and analysis of these molecules.  These projects also involved collaborations with pharmaceutical companies in Finland and Japan to develop commercial diagnostic tests based on the monoclonal antibodies developed at Monash University.  Roderick was also employed briefly at Price Henry’s Institute of Medical Research In Melbourne on a project investigating the role of matrix metaloproteases and tissue remodeling.