Food Engineering Research Group

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, University of Kentucky

The overall objective of my research area is the training of Masters and Ph.D. students in the Food and Bioprocess Engineering area through the development of new technologies with near term commercial application. My research has focused on the development of optical sensors which capitalizes on the miniature size of optical fibers and the latest advances in optoelectronics. More recently the development of systems for measurement of microbial concentrations has seen increased efforts. The following summarized the people and the activities of this group.

Dr. Fred Payne

[Vita]

[Teaching]

Fred is a professor in the Food Engineering area.  His research involves the development of optical sensors that capitalize on the unique features of optical fibers and the latest in optoelectronics. The overall objective of his research is the development of optical sensor technologies for food process monitoring and control applications.  He patented a sensor technology for optically determining the coagulum cutting time in cheese making in 1992 and has developed a sensor for that application.  A host of other sensor technologies are currently under development in the Food Engineering laboratory.

Dr. Manuel Castillo

[Vita]

Manuel is Assistant Research Professor in the Food Science and Technology area. With ten years experience in dairy products processing, he is currently focused on the study of the kinetics of chemical reactions involved in cheese processing to develop a sensor technology for simultaneous monitoring of milk coagulation and curd syneresis. He expects that this combined sensor technology would allow to predict the optimum cutting time and to control the curd moisture content in cheese making.

Dr. Daniel Alvarez

[Vita]

Daniel is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering as well as the Animal and Food Sciences Department, with more than 12 years experience in pork carcass processing, and both off-line and on-line measurement methods for assessing meat quality. He is currently focused on the study and monitoring of the optical properties of comminuted meat products to develop of an optical sensor technology to control meat emulsification. In 2007, he was instrumental in obtaining a $100.000 KSEF grant that will enable him to continue the development of an optical backscatter sensor for monitoring and controlling meat emulsification during the chopping process.

Garrett Chandler

[Vita]

Garrett is a M.S. graduate student currently working on an embedded processor platform that can be used on all of the sensor technologies developed and under development by the group.  Experience in this field was obtained as a research assistant on a low pressure plant growth project for NASA.  Garrett received a B.S. degree in May 2003 from Texas A&M University.

Grace Danao

[Vita]

Grace is a Ph.D. graduate student currently working on a sensitive water quality monitoring sensor.  For her M.S. research project, Grace developed an algorithm for detecting product transitions in liquid piping systems using a transmission sensor.  She received her M.S. degree in December 2001, and her B.S. degree from the University of Florida in May 2000.

Yasir Saeed

Yasir is a M.S. student in Electrical Engineering currently working on development a general purpose embedded processor platform for Intelligent Sensors in the Center for Robotics and Manufacturing Department. Yasir received a B.S. degree in December 2001 from the University of Kentucky and plans to finish his M.S. program in December 2003.