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October 1, 2003

Outstanding Food Science Award honorees announced

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University's Department of Food Science honored 11 professionals as this year's Outstanding Food Science Award recipients during a recent ceremony.

"We are very excited to welcome these individuals back to campus," said Suzanne Nielsen, department head. "The Department of Food Science is pleased to recognize these individuals and the contributions they made to the food science profession, and we are honored to be associated with them."

Recipients are nominated by faculty and staff and voted on by the department's promotions committee. Ten recipients were picked this year and one was recognized from 2002.

The Outstanding Food Science Award recipients are:

Alfred A. Bushway, of Orono, Maine, is a professor of food sciences at the University of Maine. He served as chair of the Department of Food Science from 1985 to 1995. As department chair, he worked directly with state governments to handle food-science related requests. He approved processes for acid and acidified foods for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources and New Hampshire Agriculture Department as part of their licensing procedures for food processors. He received his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of Maine and then studied biochemistry at Purdue, earning his master's degree in 1975 and a doctorate in 1978.

John N. Butts, of Lansing, Ill., is vice president of research for Land O' Frost, a privately held company that produces meat products for retail, food service and industrial customers. He provides technical and regulatory direction for the company's retail, contract packaging food service and military contracts. Butts is active in professional organizations such as the Special Poultry Research Committee, of which he was a founding member. Butts received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Kansas State University and received his doctorate in food science from Purdue in 1974.

S. John Davies, of Cincinnati, is chairman of the board of Enerfab Inc. Enerfab controls 95 percent of the global market in constructing bulk aseptic storage tanks. Davies was influenced by Purdue Professor Phillip Nelson and recognized the promise of bulk aseptic storage. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1948 and then attended Harvard University at the age of 19, becoming the youngest graduate student ever to attend the school.

Theodore E. Hartung, of Lincoln, Neb., is the associate vice chancellor emeritus with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was named dean of agriculture in 1974. He began his career at the University of Nebraska in 1965 as chairman for the Department of Poultry Science. Hartung received his bachelor's and master's degrees in poultry science at Colorado State University, where he also worked as an Extension poultry specialist. He received his doctorate in food technology from Purdue in 1962.

Clayton S. Huber, of West Hartford, Conn., served as dean of the College of Biology and Agriculture at Brigham Young University until 1998. He currently is a professor in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science at BYU, while on a three-year mission in West Hartford, Conn. At BYU, Huber maintained a research program that included studies of solar dehydration of foods, poultry and egg, stability of dehydrated foods, water activity of intermediate moisture foods, and freeze dehydration. Huber received his bachelor's and master's degrees in dairy science at Utah State University. After serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he received his doctorate in food science from Purdue.

Peter W. Mauger, whose widow resides in Harbor Springs, Mich., was honored posthumously. He was president of Naas Foods from 1978 to 1988. Under his leadership, Nass Foods grew to become a leader in the tomato processing industry. The company constructed storage tanks at its Geneva, Ind., facility for aseptically processed chopped tomato products throughout the year. Mauger graduated from Colgate University in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He passed in 1988 from pancreatic cancer.

Kenneth N. May, of North Wilkesboro, N.C., is president and CEO of Holly Farms Poultry Industries Inc. Holly Farms is the world's largest producer, processor and marketer of fresh broiler chicken products. He began his career at the University of Georgia as assistant professor of poultry and food technology. In 1968 he moved to Mississippi State University as a professor of poultry science. In 1970 May went to Holly Farms Poultry Industries, where he became vice president in 1973. In 1985 he was named president and CEO. In 1988 May received an honorary doctorate from Purdue. May received his doctorate in Food Technology from Purdue in 1959 after receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees from Louisiana State University.

Darrell G. Medcalf, of Gig Harbor, Wash., retired as president of Health Comm Inc. in 2000. He began working with academic appointments at North Dakota State University and was professor and head of the chemistry department at the University of Puget Sound. Recognized for his expertise on starch and polysaccharide chemistry, he authored more than 40 research papers and holds several U.S. patents. In 1992, prior to joining Health Comm, Medcalf was vice president of research for Kraft General Foods, where he coordinated worldwide programs in basic science. He was awarded the Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award from Purdue in 1992. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Louis and Clark College, then completed his master's degree in 1962 and his doctorate in 1964 in biochemistry from Purdue.

Gale Shemwell Rudolph, of Alpine, Utah, is a senior scientist and director of food product development with USANA Health Sciences Inc. Rudolph received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Purdue in 1974 and 1975, respectively. Early in her career, she was a manager with Mayhew Foods in Sussex, England. She then returned to the states and began working for Perdue Inc. and Clorox's technical center. In 1994 Rudolph became the manager for product development at Chef American. Prior to her current position, she worked at Weider Nutrition International as director of product development. Rudolph received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Purdue in 1974 and 1975, respectively. She completed her doctorate in nutritional sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1983.

Marion P. Williams, of Sudbury, Mass. is senior vice president of technology for Welch's. At Carnation Company Research Laboratories he began his career in the food industry. Williams then moved to Texas and began working for Anderson Clayton Foods as director of new product development. In 1981 he began at Kraft General Foods, where he introduced the company's first university recruiting and training program. Williams became Welch's senior vice president of technology in 1992. In 2000 he received Purdue's School of Agriculture's Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award. He graduated from Purdue with a bachelor's degree in 1968 and a doctorate in 1973.

Honored after being named an Outstanding Food Science Award recipient last year was:

John Luck, of Savannah, Ga., who was recognized posthumously. Luck worked for Armour, Glidden and General Mills Inc. At General Mills, he was the youngest research director in the food industry in the United States and won an award from the Institute of Food Technologists for creating a controlled growing environment. Luck received a bachelor's degree in 1949, a master's degree in 1951 and a doctorate in biology in 1954, all from Purdue. Luck died prior to last year's award ceremony, when he was honored with an Outstanding Food Science Award. His family was present this year to receive the award.

Writer: Meggie Issler, (765) 494-8402, agnews-stories@purdue.edu

Source: Mike Reckowsky, (765) 494-6303, mreckowsky@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu; https://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/AgComm/public/agnews/


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