New Zealand’s Harjinder Singh receives William C. Haines Dairy Science Award
Professor Harjinder Singh, co-director of the Riddet Institute at New Zealand’s Massey University, was presented by the California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF) with the William C. Haines Dairy Science Award in recognition of his contribution to the field of dairy science. The award was given to Singh on March 18 at the 10th Cal Poly Dairy Ingredients Symposium in San Francisco where he gave a presentation on the use of milk proteins as potential nano-encapsulation and nutrient delivery systems.
“Dr. Singh is an excellent candidate for this award,” said Joseph O’Donnell, executive director of the CDRF. “He is an authority on milk proteins and their relationship to dairy technology and processing. His research has contributed to the fundamental understanding and functionality of milk proteins and hydrocolloids in food systems, knowledge that has formed the solid basis of the development of new dairy products with improved nutrition, functionality and shelf-life.”
“It is a great honor for me to receive this award recognizing excellence in dairy research and development,” said Singh. “Many graduate students, postdoctoral scientists and collaborators at Massey University deserve to share the recognition this award presents. The continued support of the New Zealand dairy industry for multidisciplinary, fundamental work on milk protein structure and functionality at Massey University is greatly appreciated. The ability of the dairy industry worldwide to innovate by developing new products with leading edge functionality depends on how well the fundamental knowledge about dairy ingredients can be translated into product development ideas and concepts. Close interactions between industry and academic researchers are essential to make academic research more relevant and to facilitate uptake of knowledge by the dairy industry.”
Holder of an endowed Chair in Dairy Science at Massey University in New Zealand, Professor Singh serves as director of the Riddet Institute, which was recently established as a National Centre of Research Excellence in Food Innovation, one of seven such centers sponsored by the New Zealand government and part of a partnership between Massey University, University of Auckland and University of Otago and the Crop and Food Research and AgResearch organizations. He has published 200 peer-reviewed papers, 15 book chapters and holds four patents. His research program is directed at generating fundamental knowledge on structures, interactions and functions of dairy components, such as milk proteins and the effects of different environments and novel processing technologies. His recent work explores the use of milk proteins and phospholipids in designing nano-encapsulation and delivery systems for bioactive compounds.
Professor Singh has a long-standing relationship to the California dairy industry, participating in a regular exchange of ideas and collaboration over the last six years. In 2002, a CDRF-funded project allowed Cal Poly student Annie Bienvenue (now on the staff of the U.S. Dairy Export Council) to conduct milk protein research at Massey University. A subsequent project brought Professor Singh to work at the Cal Poly Dairy Products Technology Center for six months where he continued his work on the influence of minerals in milk proteins as they become concentrated to produce NFDMP (known internationally as SMP). An additional project that grew out of this collaboration was the study of heat interactions of beta-lactoglobulin alone and with kappa-casein.
Established in 2004, the William C. Haines Dairy Science Award was created to recognize individuals who, through their accomplishments in research and development in the field of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, technology, nutrition, and/or engineering, have made a significant contribution to dairy science and the betterment of the dairy industry and consumers of dairy products. Past award winners include David Barbano of Cornell University, Todd Klaenhammer of North Carolina State University and Paul Ross of the Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre.
The award, named for William C. Haines, former vice president of product innovation for Dairy Management Inc., includes an engraved plaque, $1,000 in cash and travel expenses to an annual dairy industry event co-sponsored by the CDRF. A committee of dairy personnel representing producers, processors, manufacturers and researchers make the final award selection. Nomination forms for the 2009 award are available online at www.cdrf.org under “Awards & Giving.” The deadline to submit 2009 nomination forms and supporting materials is Sept. 22, 2008.
