Dr. Balu Nayak recognized as IFT FED Member of the Month

Dr. Balunkeswar (Balu) Nayak, an Assistant Professor of Food Processing in the School of Food & Agriculture, has been named the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Food Engineering Division (FED) member of the month.  He is also a recipient of the 2016 FED VBalu-IFTolunteer award. Prior to joining at the University of Maine, he has worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Food Allergy Research and Resources Program in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Nayak received his Ph.D. in Food Engineering from Washington State University, and his Masters of Technology in Post-harvest Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India. His research focuses on: stability of food bioactive compounds during post-harvest processing and in the supply chain; green methods to reduce water and energy use for extraction and development of value-added food products rich in bioactive compounds; behavior, analysis and reduction of food toxicants (mainly allergens) during food processing.Dr. Nayak applies non-thermal processing techniques to improve safety and quality offood products, while reducing the food waste. Dr. Nayak advises a number of graduate and undergraduate students. He is a member and has been actively involved in several committees of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). He currently serves as a scientific editor for the Journal of Food Processing and Technology and Trends in Post-harvest Technology. Dr. Nayak is recipient of numerous awards and has recently selected for the 2016 IFT Emerging Leaders Network Program.