John Clark Award
This award, in memory of John Clark, is given annually to the CSBE/SCGAB member who, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, has produced outstanding work in industry, teaching, research, or extension in one or more of the fields of food engineering, or related industry. The award recipient is selected from nominations from at least three members of CSBE/SCGAB and must have been a member of the Society for at five years.
Ce prix, désigné à la mémoire de Monsieur John Clark, est décerné chaque année à un membre qui s'est distingué dans le domaine du génie alimentaire ou dans une industrie connexe par l'enseignement, la recherche, la vulgarisation ou le travail en industrie. Le récipiendaire du prix John-Clark est choisi parmi les candidats mis en nomination par trois membres et est membre de la SCGAB/CSBE depuis au moins cinq ans.
Nomination Form
2024 John Clark Award
Dr. Chandra B. Singh is a perfect example for a dedicated researcher, educator and leader in postharvest storage, handling, and processing of crops (cereals, oilseeds, pulses, sugar beets, potatoes, and specialty crops) helping farmers and agri-food processing industries and technology companies. Dr. Chandra has 15 years of combined industry and academic experience. He worked in the industry as Biosystems Engineer and as Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, and currently holds Senior Research Chair position in Agricultural Engineering and Technology at the Lethbridge College. Dr. Singh’s work in the industry and at academic setup focuses on resolving real-time industry-scale problems faced by crop producers and food processors through his applied research program. Dr. Singh is a Professional Engineer a (P.Eng.) and Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.) registered in Alberta. Dr. Singh is serving as CSBE regional director of Alberta, and he was the chair of the local organizing committee which successfully organized the 2023 CSBE AGM and Technical Conference held in Lethbridge. He is serving the professional engineering community at various levels by providing his service to the journals and educating and training next generation engineering professionals.
Dr. Singh, as a distinguished researcher and a leader in postharvest storage, handling and processing of grains and tuber crops has co-authored more than 45 referred research articles and 12 book chapters, presented his work at 42 international and national conferences and 7 invited talks. Dr. Singh received research funding of more than $7 million including a CFI grant of $2.3 million to establish Advanced Postharvest Technology Centre (APHTC) including Food Quality Testing Lab, Biosafety Lab, Grain Testing Lab, Advanced Analytical Lab, Imaging Lab, and On-farm Grain Storage and Drying Research Facility. Dr. Singh’s work resulted in many new technologies reaching the farmers and industries; most significant ones are, development of grain management software, adding CO2 sensors to the grain management system, and developing new sensors for sugar beets and incorporating industry 4.0 to the grain and tuber storage management system. Dr. Chandra developed an automated machine vision system for grading, QA, and safety inspection of almonds. After joining the Lethbridge College in the year 2019 as a research chair, he founded the APHTC and started a new research program.
Dr. Singh has supervised 20 postdoctoral fellows/research associates/visiting academics including 6 current postdoctoral fellows/research associates at the APHTC who are working on various projects related to different aspects of storage, handling and processing of grains, potatoes, sungar beets and specialty crops. As a supervisor, Dr. Chandra’s guidance and constant encouragement helped his research fellows to secure prominent academic and research positions at reputable institutes and in the industry. Dr. Chandra Singh taught engineering courses to the undergraduate and graduate students. He always encouraged students to be innovative and introduced real-world problems in classroom setup and played a crucial role in student success. He was regarded highly for his teaching skills by the students.
Chandra B. Singh est l'exemple parfait d'un chercheur dévoué, d'un éducateur et d'un leader dans le domaine du stockage post-récolte, de la manutention et de la transformation des cultures (céréales, oléagineux, légumineuses, betteraves sucrières, pommes de terre et cultures spécialisées) qui aide les agriculteurs, les industries de transformation agroalimentaire et les entreprises de technologie. M. Chandra a 15 ans d'expérience combinée dans l'industrie et l'enseignement. Il a travaillé dans l'industrie en tant qu'ingénieur en biosystèmes et professeur associé à l'École d'ingénierie de l'Université d'Australie du Sud, à Adélaïde (SA), et occupe actuellement une Chaire de recherche en ingénierie et technologie agricoles au Lethbridge College. Les travaux de M. Singh dans l'industrie et dans le milieu universitaire se concentrent sur la résolution de problèmes en temps réel à l'échelle de l'industrie auxquels sont confrontés les producteurs de cultures et les transformateurs de produits alimentaires dans le cadre de son programme de recherche appliquée. M. Singh est ingénieur professionnel (P.Eng.) et agrologue professionnel (P.Ag.) enregistré en Alberta. Singh sert comme directeur régional de la SCGAB pour l'Alberta, et il était le président du comité organisateur local qui a organisé avec succès l'AGA et le congrès technique de la SCGAB de 2023 qui ont eu lieu à Lethbridge. Il est au service de la communauté des ingénieurs professionnels à différents niveaux en offrant ses services aux revues et en éduquant et en formant la prochaine génération de professionnels de l'ingénierie.
M. Singh, en tant que chercheur éminent et leader dans le domaine du stockage, de la manutention et du traitement des céréales et des tubercules après la récolte, est coauteur de plus de 45 articles de recherche et de 12 chapitres de livres, et a présenté ses travaux lors de 42 conférences nationales et internationales et de 7 conférences invitées. M. Singh a reçu un financement de recherche de plus de 7 millions de dollars, dont une subvention de la FCI de 2,3 millions de dollars pour la création d'un centre de technologie post-récolte avancée (APHTC) comprenant un laboratoire de contrôle de la qualité des aliments, un laboratoire de biosécurité, un laboratoire de contrôle des grains, un laboratoire d'analyse avancée, un laboratoire d'imagerie et une installation de recherche sur le stockage et le séchage des grains dans les exploitations agricoles. Les travaux du Dr Singh ont permis de mettre de nombreuses nouvelles technologies à la disposition des agriculteurs et des industries; les plus importantes sont le développement d'un logiciel de gestion des céréales, l'ajout de capteurs de CO2 au système de gestion des céréales, le développement de nouveaux capteurs pour les betteraves sucrières et l'incorporation de l'industrie 4.0 au système de gestion du stockage des céréales et des tubercules. M. Chandra a mis au point un système automatisé de vision artificielle pour le classement, l'assurance qualité et l'inspection de la sécurité des amandes. Après avoir rejoint le Lethbridge College en 2019 en tant que titulaire de chaire de recherche, il a fondé l'APHTC et lancé un nouveau programme de recherche.
Le Dr Singh a supervisé 20 boursiers postdoctoraux/associés de recherche/universitaires invités, dont 6 boursiers postdoctoraux/associés de recherche actuels de l'APHTC qui travaillent sur divers projets liés à différents aspects du stockage, de la manipulation et de la transformation des céréales, des pommes de terre, des betteraves sungar et des cultures spécialisées. En tant que superviseur, les conseils et les encouragements constants du Dr Chandra ont aidé ses chercheurs à obtenir des postes universitaires et de recherche de premier plan dans des instituts réputés et dans l'industrie. Le Dr Chandra Singh a donné des cours d'ingénierie à des étudiants de premier et deuxième cycles. Il a toujours encouragé les étudiants à faire preuve d'innovation et a introduit des problèmes du monde réel dans les cours, jouant ainsi un rôle crucial dans la réussite des étudiants. Il a joué un rôle crucial dans la réussite des étudiants. Les étudiants l'estimaient beaucoup pour ses compétences pédagogiques.
2021 John Clark Award
Akinbode Adedeji, PhD is nominated for the 2021 John Clark Award in recognition of his dedicated contributions to engineering for agricultural, food and biological systems with a specific focus on Food Engineering as well as his outstanding service to CSBE/SCGAB and ASABE through his editorial and leadership activities. Akinbode is originally from Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, graduated as a Bachelor of Technology in Food Engineering from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria and began his graduate studies in food technology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He obtained a PhD in Bioresource Engineering from McGill University in 2010 with his thesis focusing on the various physical properties and engineering characteristics of the most commonly consumed kids favorite - chicken nuggets. In 2014, Dr. Adedeji joined University of Kentucky as an assistant professor of food engineering. His research interests have been focused on food engineering for increasing the use of underutilized grain value-addition (physicochemical characterization, baking quality, and extrusion process development), bourbon waste conversion to value-added products (high fiber source; protein extraction), abiotic stress effect on functionality change in food macromolecules and bioactive compound accumulation, non-invasive characterization of foods using hyperspectral imaging and acoustic emission –machine learning approach, and non-thermal processing (pulsed UV light, ultrasonication) of food.
2020 John Clark Award
Dr. Manick Annamalai obtained bachelors (Agricultural Engineering) and masters (Food Process Engineering) from the Tamilnadu Agricultural University (India) and PhD (Biosystems Engineering) from the University of Manitoba. Manick has 20 years of experience in academia and food industries. At present, he is an Associate Professor with the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph.
His research activities are in two main streams: 1. Bio-imaging techniques for food safety and quality 2. Processing and product development for health and wellness (whole grains, pulses, and healthy sugar substitute). He has published 63 articles in peer reviewed journals and 17 book chapters, edited 9 books and presented more than 100 conference papers.
He has secured more than 2 million dollars in research grants as a Principal Applicant and Co-Applicant through 21 projects. He has supervised and graduated 12 postgraduate students as a main supervisor. He currently advises or co-advises 10 PhD students. He has been working continuously to develop novel quality assessment tools for wide range of food industries to improve the profitability and food safety.
Apart from scientific research and development, Manick has the passion to communicate the nutrition knowledge to the community. To promote whole grain consumption, improve their availability, and motivate researchers across the world, he established “Whole Grains Research Foundation” in 2015 as a Founder and President. Using this foundation, he has been organizing whole grain conferences and workshops. As Chairman, so far, he has organized 8 international Conferences/Symposium/Workshop on whole grains.
2019 John Clark Award
Dr. Fuji Jian is a professional engineer and assistant professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Jian received his Ph.D at the University of Manitoba in 2003, and excellence of his Ph.D. studies was awarded as “Governor General’s Gold Medal for outstanding graduate studies academic achievement in Canada” and the “CSAE/SCGR 2004 Ph.D. Thesis Award”. After working for a grain storage company (OPI System, Calgary, Canada) for 5 years, he returned to academia as an instructor in 2010 and assistant professor in 2015.
Fuji’s research interests are in the area of post-harvest grain quality, stored-product protection and sensor development with the sole purpose to enhance food safety and security. He is the leading authors in 62 of 76 referred journal papers and book chapters, and authorized and co-authorized more than 30 conference papers. These publications covered: 1) mathematical modeling of grain storage ecosystems; 2) insect biology and ecology inside stored grain bulks; 3) sampling inside grain bins; 4) physical property of stored grain bulks; 5) safety storage of grain and monitoring; 6) insect control and pesticide resistance; 7) grain aeration and drying; 8) sensor development; 9) biomass processing; and 10) particle segregation. Fuji published more than 20 mathematical models and his expertise in mathematical modeling and grain storage ecosystem has been instrumental in revitalisation of grain storage monitoring industry.
Fuji has taught Grain Storage/Crop Preservation, Plant and Animal Physiology for Engineers, Unit Operation, Transfer Phenomena, and Modelling and Simulation of Biological Systems. He is currently supervising/co-supervising 8 M.Sc/PhD students. His group pioneered the study on the use of steam to control insects in stored grain, application of compact microwave device for monitoring insects inside grain bulks, stored-product insect density estimation by using electronic traps, identification of stored grain insects using image restoration classifier neural network, and particle segregation during grain loading and unloading. Dr. Jian is a worthy recipient of the John Clark Award.
2018 John Clark Award
Oon-Doo Baik is a Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. Oon-Doo has taught Modeling of Food Processes, Modeling in Biosystems, Transport Processes, and Food and Bioproducts Engineering, courses needed in the understanding of unit operations during food and bioproduct processing. His research has been on the use of electro-technologies for food processing and storage applications, heat and mass transfer processes, extraction of bio-components and biomass processing. Oon-Doo’s research group reported inherent non-uniform temperature distributions during RF heating based on theoretical and experimental determination. Through 3-D multi-physics simulations, his group also determined the magnitude of selective heating during RF assisted disinfestation to kill insect pests without significant damaging grain qualities. They also suggested a new concept of applicator for inline RF disinfestation. Oon-Doo has been active in attracting funding for his research for a total amount of $ 2.3 M over his tenure at the University of Saskatchewan. He has co-authored 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 53 conference presentations. He has made 27 invited presentations in different conferences on such as seafood processing, modeling and simulation of processing operations, radio frequency applications in food processing and extraction of bio-active compounds.
