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Department of Food Science and Technology

CFAES

Endowed Chairs and Distinguished Professors

ENDOWED CHAIRS

  • Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science

Virginia and Frank Bazler have long supported food safety efforts at the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. In 2007, they funded the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Designated Professorship in Food Science, which allowed them to make an annual gift supporting a named professor and to experience the impact of their support during their lifetimes. In 2010, they documented an estate gift that, when realized, established, and endowed the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science.
Ahmed E. Yousef, Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), has been named the college’s Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science. His five-year term began August 15, 2021.
In this new position, Yousef will lead a team of food scientists focused on a three-pronged approach to food safety: research to promote food safety; outreach in terms of getting the research news out to the food processing industry and informing consumers to improve food safety; and teaching the next generation of food safety scientists.

Ahmed YousefCurrent Chair Holder: Dr. Ahmed Yousef earned his Ph.D. in Food Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining Ohio State as an Assistant Professor in 1991. Since joining OSU, Dr. Yousef has been searching for natural alternatives to currently used synthetic food preservatives. His team discovered potent antimicrobial agents produced by beneficial bacteria; both the agents and bacteria are suitable for applications in food preservation. Since the late 1990s, Dr. Yousef and his research team have worked to develop methods to pasteurize shell eggs and to decontaminate fresh produce while maintaining products’ fresh qualities. His breakthrough uses a combination of mild heat and pressurized ozone to pasteurize shell eggs. This process can eliminate Salmonella and other pathogens inside raw shell eggs. His ozone research also led to developing methods to decontaminate spinach, apples, and other fresh produce. As a result of this research, Dr. Yousef established the largest ozone research laboratory in the U.S. right here at Ohio State. Because of his food-safety expertise, Dr. Yousef frequently appears in television, radio, and newspaper interviews to explain issues related to foodborne disease outbreaks and products recalls.

  • Carl E. Haas Chair in Food Industries

The Haas Endowed Chair is made possible by the fruit and vegetable processing industry proximate to Ohio. Established by Mr. Haas ('18 B.S. Horticulture), industry, alumni, and friends.  Major corporate donors included the Mid America Food Processors Association; Bob Evans Farms, Inc.; Heinz USA; L.K. Baker & Company; Rudolph Foods, Inc.; Bryan Canning Company, and others.  Mr. Haas made many contributions to the food industry.  Mr. Haas served in the infantry in France during World War I, where he began as a private and left as a 2nd lieutenant.  He retired from President of a long and successful family business (The Haas Brothers Company) in Cleveland, Ohio.  This fresh fruit and vegetable wholesale company was founded by his father and run by the family; by the time it was sold, it had existed for more than 80 years.  He was very tied to the Cleveland community, felt strongly about his accomplishments, and had continued interests in The Ohio State University.  Mr. Haas died July 25, 1989, at the the age of 96.  He was past president and director of Northern Ohio Food Terminal and was a member of the Director's Council for the Food Industries Center.  OSU recognized that the food industry constitutes a major segment of the nation's economy; and most of the nation's largest food-related corporations operate facilities in Ohio to process, package, and distribute the state's diversified food production.  The University has had a reputation for supplying the food industry with the research and technical information required in today's sophisticated system, along with highly trained graduates capable of their own research programs and implementation of data into industry procedures.  Thus, the Haas Chair was established as a way of reaching the dedicated goal of excellence in foods at OSU.

Osvaldo CampanellaCurrent Chair Holder: In 2019 Dr. Osvaldo Campanella assumed the role of the Carl E. Haas Endowed Chair in Food Industries. Dr. Campanella holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and a PhD in Food Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, USA. On completion of his PhD he moved to New Zealand as a faculty in the Department of Food Technology, Massey University.  In that university he focused his research on Food Engineering, Heat Transfer Modeling, Food Extrusion, Rheology and Dairy Technology. Professor Campanella was appointed at Purdue University in 1999 where he continued working on areas of Food Engineering and Rheology applied to biomaterials, notably and Thermal Processing until 2018.

  • J.T. "Stubby" Parker Endowed Chair in Dairy Foods

Several industry leaders saw the need to keep Ohio at the fore-front of dairy products research and began to investigate the possibility of creating a endowed chair specifically for dairy foods in the 1980's. Key among these was Joseph Soehnlen of Superior Dairy, who investigated the potential for obtaining such a chair, and presented the idea to John Lindamood. Later, as chair of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Jim Martin then championed the cause. It was soon evident that to raise the amount of money needed would require the dedicated effort of some enthusiastic industry supporters. The resulting committee was chaired by Webb Jennings. Many people spent much time and effort in money raising efforts. Among those most active were Webb Jennings, Jim Lindeman, John Miller and Keb Lehman.

The J. T. "Stubby" Parker Chair was established on February 2, 1990 following a major gift from Thomas L. Parker in memory of his father, J.T. "Stubby" Parker. J.T. Parker's life work was in the dairy industry and he was the originator of Drumstick in Columbus, Ohio. Over the years when the dairy plant was fully operating, Drumstick frequently used the pilot plant facilities in testing new concepts. Additional gifts from 28 companies and numerous individuals provided the required $1,250,000 by 1993. Since then re-investment of some of the funds and additional gifts have brought the principal to more than $1,800,000.  

The objective of the endowment is that "the income shall be used to support the work of a distinguished professor whose research, teaching and public service focus on stimulating new research into the chemical, microbiology and/or engineering phases of the dairy foods industry."

Dr. Jimenez-FloresCurrent Chair Holder: In May 2016 Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Flores assumed the role of the JT Parker Chair in Dairy Foods. Dr. Jimenez-Flores comes to us from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he had been a professor and served as the Director of the Cal Poly Center for Applications in Biotechnology from 2013 - 2016. His focus on education is to develop the curriculum of dairy processing for undergraduate students, and help graduate students find relevance in their research as it applies to dairy products, processes and human health. Dr. Jiménez-Flores research has a strong connection with the interrelationship of dairy foods and dairy components with human nutrition and well-being. To this end his research group applies principles of chemistry, biochemistry, physics and biotechnology in the laboratory and Pilot Plant environments.

  • Dale A. Seiberling Professorship in Food Engineering

Established in 2001, the Dale A. Seiberling Professorship in Food Engineering supports an internationally recognized food engineer, with preference given to dairy engineering, to investigate current significant industrial problems in food engineering. The endowment also makes provisions for the “Jean F. Seiberling Scholarship” for graduate students as well as support for distinguished visitors to the dairy and food engineering program; annual research in dairy and food engineering that advances the mission of the food engineering program; and support for special programs in dairy and food engineering as identified by students, faculty, staff, and dairy and food industry representatives.

Dale A. Seiberling was an Instructor in Dairy Technology during the 1950s, when automation was being incorporated into dairy processing plant operations.  He became the champion of Clean-In-Place (CIP), as the approach to reduce the significant amounts of labor from hand-washing required to ensure the efficient and safe operations of a dairy plant.  In the years that followed, Dale was a part of several companies, and eventually his own company, and became the “Father of CIP” throughout the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry. 

  

HeldmanCurrent Holder: In August, 2012, Dr. Dennis Heldman joined the faculty at The Ohio State University as Dale A. Seiberling Endowed Professor of Food Engineering. He is involved in teaching and research with a focus on sustainability of the food system. He was awarded B.S. (1960) and M.S. (1962) degrees from The Ohio State University, and PhD (1965) from Michigan State University. In 1966, he joined the faculty at MSU. In 1984, he became VP of Process R&D at Campbell Soup Company, then moved to the National Food Processors Association as Executive VP of Scientific Affairs in 1986. In 1991, Heldman joined the Weinberg Consulting Group Inc, and then was appointed Professor at the University of Missouri in 1992. From 1998 to 2004, Heldman was Professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and was a consultant involved in applications of engineering concepts to food processing from 2004-12.

DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORS

Distinguished Professors of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

In 2019, the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) announced four inaugural Distinguished Professors of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The title was bestowed on a competitive basis to four full professors who have excelled in teaching, research, or outreach/engagement. In addition, their work has significantly impacted their fields, students, college, university, and/or the public. 

Food Science and Technology CFAES Distinguished Professors