Honored for pioneering research that makes our favorite foods safer and better for us, Juming Tang, Regents Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, was honored this fall with the International Association for Engineering and Food’s (IAEF) Lifetime Achievement Award.
Recognized Sept. 26, 2019, at the International Congress on Engineering and Food in Melbourne, Australia, Tang is internationally known for his work in food safety technologies, helping make packaged, prepared foods safer, tastier, more nutritious, and more economical.
Tang’s proudest achievement is development at WSU of two new technologies: microwave assisted thermal sterilization, or MATS, and microwave assisted pasteurization systems, or MAPS, which help address modern safety standards and will particularly benefit rural communities, where most small and medium companies are located.
“Hundreds of individuals have contributed to the success of MATS and MAPS,” said Tang—among them engineers, current and former students, staff in his lab and department, colleagues at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center and in WSU’s Colleges of Agricultural and Resource Sciences and College of Engineering, members of the Seafood Products Association, National Food Product Association, and other food company associations, as well as regulatory agencies including the FDA and USDA FSIS. “I’m thankful to so many colleagues, friends and fellow scientists for their partnership in the meaningful work that led to this humbling award.”
Newly elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences, Tang is the Institute of Food Technologists representative-elect to the IAEF. In 2016, he launched the USDA-NIFA Center of Excellence for Food Safety using Microwave Energy at WSU. In 2018, he was the inaugural recipient of the WSU President’s Distinguished Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Learn more about Tang’s research here.