I am currently Associate-Professor and Head of the Department of Food Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. I completed my BSc, MSc and PhD here at Stellenbosch, and have been working full-time within the Department since 1993. I am passionate about working with students and instilling in them the basic principles of food science and the important role it plays in sustainably feeding the world. I am an active researcher in the field of food processing wastewater treatment, sustainable water use in the food industry, safety of irrigated fresh produce and irrigation water disinfection systems, as well as food processing. I am particularly interested in the inter-relatedness of many scientific disciplines within food science, specifically related to food and nutrition security.
I have been involved with the South African Association for Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST) since 1997, serving in many roles, including President from 2010 – 2013. I have served on the organising committee of several conferences (including chairing the Scientific Programme Committee for the IUFoST 2010 World Congress of Food Science and Technology in Cape Town, South Africa) and more recently the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in the USA’s Annual Meeting Scientific Programme Advisory Panel (2016-2018).