Tuesday 12 March 2019 9:56pm
Professor Rickey Yada from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver will come to Otago in June as the 2019 Harraways 1867 Visiting Professor.
Vancouver-based Professor Rickey Yada has been named as the second Harraways 1867 Visiting Professor and will arrive as a guest of Otago on 6 June.
The University of British Columbia Professor of Food Science and Dean of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, has also been recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Science for his global contributions to food science and technology.
Dunedin’s Harraway and Sons Ltd made the annual visit by an eminent scholar possible for five years as part its 150th anniversary of commencing operations with a steam-powered flourmill.
Professor Yada’s visit coincides with the University’s 150th anniversary and includes two public lectures, workshops and presenting the plenary lecture at the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology conference in Christchurch on 3 July.
Head of Department of Food Science Professor Indrawati Oey says through these forums Professor Yada will share his knowledge and experience with the Otago and food science community and wider public.
Professor Yada has an accomplished track record not only as a researcher and academic, but also as a leader for several international organisations, including past President and Fellow of the International Academy of International Union of Food Science and Technology.
He is also the North American Editor for Trends in Food Science and Technology, on editorial boards for several journals, and has authored over 220 journal publications and several book chapters.
Professor Yada’s research expertise is in food structure and health relationships focusing on factors regulating the quality of horticultural commodities and their molecular markers related to biochemistry and plant physiology, as well as protein structural parameters at a molecular level.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne says Professor Yada’s visit will be hugely beneficial to the University in terms of teaching and research, in advancing current knowledge in food science and technology and in the provision of advice and service to the food industry.
His visit will build on the success of this year’s inaugural visit by Belgian researcher Professor Marc Hendrickx. One outcome of Professor Hendrickx’s visit is the establishment of a joint research programme aimed at improving the quality of Harraways' products.
Following this initiative, Callaghan Innovation recently awarded a PhD Fellowship Grant to conduct part of this research programme.
Professor Yada will present two public lectures, the first in Dunedin on 20 June and the second in Auckland on 5 July at Otago House at the end of his visit to New Zealand.