Andy Rao

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 18, 2003

Contact: Linda McCandless, 315-787-2417

Cornell Food Scientist Receives Engineering Award

By John Zakour

GENEVA, NY: The American Society of Agricultural Engineers has named Cornell University food scientist M.A. "Andy" Rao winner of the 2003 IAFIS-FPEI Distinguished Food Engineering Award.

Rao conducts research on rheological properties and thermal processing of foods at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. He is being recognized for his contributions to the engineering and scientific community and food processing industry in understanding food fluid and semi-fluid flow.

Rao helped develop the "Vane Method" measurement of stress for a variety of food products-a standard measurement tool used by the food industry today. He has also actively supported and promoted food engineering through cooperative professional teaching and research activities in Brazil, India, Mexico and Portugal.

"Andy Rao's research on the physical properties-specifically on rheological properties-of foods has established him as a national leader and expert in the field," said Cy Lee, chairman of the Food Science & Technology department at Geneva. "He is very deserving of this the award and we are honored to have him in our department."

Rao's research program deals with properties of foods (e.g., viscosity), their measurement, and their role in processing and quality. In processing, his group focuses more on the foods than on the machines used to process them. They also study properties of valuable components extracted from plant foods, such as pectin and starch, which are widely used in food industries. Their goal is to understand how food properties are affected by chemical and physical composition so they can predict them without conducting complex experiments.

"The Food Engineering Award is redemption for the work we have been doing on physical, especially rheological, properties of foods at the Geneva Experiment Station," said Rao. "It is heartening that the techniques we developed for concentrated apple juice, applesauce, and tomato concentrates are being applied to various other foods in industry and academia."

A 28-year member of ASAE, Rao holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Ohio State University. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists, and received the Scott-Blair Award for Excellence in Food Rheology from the American Association of Cereal Chemists. Rao first came to Geneva as an assistant professor in 1973. He was promoted to associate professor in 1978 and full professor in 1986.

Sponsored by the International Association of Food Industry Suppliers Foundation (IAFIS) and the ASAE Food and Process Engineering Institute (FPEI), the award was presented to Rao earlier this year at the IAFIS Annual Conference. As is customary, representation is also given at the ASAE Annual Meeting, held July 28-31 in Las Vegas. The award consists of a gold medal, a bronze medal, and a $2000 cash award, and travel expenses to the IAFIS Annual Conference.

The American Society of Agricultural Engineers is an international educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to biological, agricultural, and food systems. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in St. Joseph, Michigan, ASAE comprises of 9,000 members representing more than 100 countries. Details can be found on their web site at: http://www.asae.org

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