History of the Stephen Chang Award

The Author: Gary R. List

Stephen S. Chang (1918-1996) was a distinguished lipid chemist, professor, and philanthropist as well as a leader in the work of AOCS and IFT.  Dr. Chang came from China to the US in 1947. He did his graduate work at the University of Kansas and at the University of Illinois. After receiving the PhD under Professor Fred Kummerow. He held positions in industry at AE Staley and Swift.  In 1960 Dr. Chang was recruited to build a food science program in lipids at Rutgers University in New Brunswick New Jersey. The group was quickly recognized as a top choice for training in lipid science. A number of his students became prominent leaders in AOCS and the fats and oils industry. They include Thomas Smouse (AOCS President, 1983)  .RG Krishnamurthy  (Kraft Foods ) David Min (Professor Ohio State University ) Michael Blumenthal (Founder ,Libra Technologies) Dr. Chang became head of the Food Science Department and supervision of the lipid group was assumed by Chi-Tang Ho.

Dr. Chang was widely recruited as a consultant and along with royalties from a number of US patents was financially successful. The Chang’s (wife Lucie) used their wealth for humanitarian efforts .These included scholarships for Chinese students and funds to establish a library at Rutgers University. In 1990 the Chang’s established awards for excellence in lipid science. A fund of 100,000 dollars was presented to AOCS as an endowment with the interest from the investment to present an award of 5000 dollars to the recipient. In recent years the honorarium has been reduced because of low investment returns In addition a jade galloping horse became emblematic of the AOCS Chang Award. About 30 of the jade horses were donated to AOCS.  The horse is considered to represent excellence in Chinese culture.  To be eligible for the award “Candidates must have made significant and distinguished in basic research that have been utilized by industries for the development of products related to lipids. Candidates may be recognized for either one major breakthrough or by an accumulation of publications.”

Dr. Chang was also quite active in the   Institute of Food Technologists and received a number of Awards from IFT including the Nicholas Appert Award their highest honor.  The Chang’s endowed an Award for lipid/ Flavor science as well. The award consists of a Stuebin Crystal Sculpture and a 3000 dollar honorarium. It was first presented in 1993 and the initial recipient was Professor Edward Perkins (AOCS President, 1981).  Other AOCS members to receive the IFT Chang Award include David Min, Pamela White, Alex Marangoni, Michael Eskin, Gary List, Wassef Nawar, John DeMan, Michael Blumenthal, Fereidoon Shahidi, Eric Decker, and Casimir Akoh.  Michael Blumenthal has the distinction of receiving both the IFT and AOCS awards in the same year. (2001)

A number of scientists have received Chang award from both IFT and AOCS.  They include Casimir Akoh, Eric Decker, Fereidoon Shahidi, Gary List, Alex Marangoni and the aforementioned Michael Blumenthal.

The following is a short biographical sketch of the AOCS Chang Award recipients.

1991 John Kinsella (1938-1993)
The initial recipient was born in Ireland and received his BS from the University of Dublin. Kinsella did his graduate work at Penn State University (MS, PhD 1965, 1967). He was hired to replace a vacancy in the Dairy science department and taught lipid science .Kinsella rapidly established himself as a researcher in the area of physical chemistry of proteins as well as lipid biochemistry. Before long scholars from all over the world came to study in his laboratory. They applied their work to improve food along with new uses for lipids and proteins. His group extended their work into health related areas as well. His lipid work extended into lipid oxidation, natural antioxidants, and the nutrition of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Kinsella made numerous changes in the department including the securing of funding for a food processing and development laboratory. Soon the group evolved from dairy science to packaging, toxicology and related areas with the addition of faculty with expertise on biotechnology, chemical engineering, and biophysics.   Kinnsella served as Department Chair (1977-1985) Associate Director, Institute Food Science (1977-1980) and Director (1987). He received numerous awards from technical groups .He held several patents and published more than 500 papers, numerous book chapters and several books. In 1990 Kinsella accepted the position of deanship of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science at the University of California, Davis.  In May 1993 Kinsella passed away from a heart attack. His colleagues said “a bright star has been extinguished.”

1992 Earl Hammond
Earl Hammond received his PhD from the University of Minnesota on 1953 under Dr. Walter Lundberg. Hammond spent most of his career at Iowa State University where he retired with the rank of University Professor. His career spanning over 60 years has encompassed many areas of lipid research. Among these are glyceride structure, oxidation, flavor chemistry, dairy products, biotechnology, biofuels, and last but not least plant breeding for production of trait modified vegetable oils with reduced linolenic acid content. In the early 1960s the removal of linolenic acid from soybean oil was considered a top priority because if poor flavor and oxidative stability. Fractionation was practiced on a commercial scale and efforts to improve the oil by partial hydrogenation were not entirely satisfactory for production of liquid salad/cooking oils. Some early reports suggested that plant breeding was a solution but little progress had been made to reduce the linolenic acid content to 3% or less needed for acceptable stability. Hammond recognized that an agronomist would be needed of any progress were to be made. Hammond teamed up with Walter Fehr and began his plant breeding studies at Iowa State University in the late 1970s and by the mid 1980’s succeeded in growing soybeans   whose oil met the 3% linolenic acid target. Further work brought beans with 1% linolenic acid. By the early 1990s interest in commercializing the low linolenic oil became a reality with introduction of low linolenic soybean oil. By Kraft foods. Although sales amounted to 500 million dollars annually the higher costs associated with grower premiums and identity preservation the product was not well received by the food industry and was taken off the market after several years. However trans fat labeling laws enacted in 2003 brought renewed interest in trait modified oils as replacements for hydrogenated oils. In the meantime mid and high oleic soybean oils were introduced and commercialized. Latest estimates place the production of trait modified soybean oils at over one billion pounds annually. Earl Hammond will be remembered as a pioneer in the soybean industry.

1993 Robert Allen (1920-2001)
Robert Allen was affectionately known as Mr. Hydrogenation and became the first industrial scientist to receive the Chang award.  Aside from AE Bailey Allen contributed more to our knowledge of catalytic hydrogenation than anyone else. Bailey first described the 6 separate steps in which hydrogenation occurs in 1951. Since that time the only modification came from Allens research published in 1955. When hydrogen is adsorbed on the catalyst surface dissociation into H* and H* occurs which allows for both saturation and isomerization to occur. Allen received his PhD from Kansas University on 1949 and began his career in the fats and oils industry at Armour on 1950. His first research centered on the use of animal fats as feedstocks for oleochemicals for which he received patents on the separation of mono and dicarboxylic acids and a continuous process for fatty acid esters for the production of emulsifiers. His interest in hydrogenation began in 1953 and his first publication showed that contrary to other reports the migration of double bonds occurs in equal direction from the carboxyl group in the fatty acid chain. Subsequent work showed that positional isomers hydrogenate at the same rates.

Allen left Armour to take a position at Anderson Clayton where his research   shifted to more practical problems but first he obtained a gas chromatograph, a computer and mathematician/statistician. He then used response surface analysis to study catalysts and the effects of hydrogenation parameters on product composition and their properties. This basic work lead to the introduction of soft margarines to the market place. Chiffon margarine became a best seller for many years .He also developed the flavoring compounds and the anti-browning properties during frying that made Chiffon a success. Both processes were patented. Allen also held patents on improved shortenings as well. Allen was easy to spot at AOCS meetings as he was simply dressed and accompanied by his wife of many years. Allen donned a suit and served as AOCS President on 1971.  In addition to the Chang award Allen received the Supelco award in 1986 and was an AOCS Fellow.

1994 Rex Sims
Rex Sims received his PhD in organic chemistry from Northwestern University in 1949 and began his career on the fats and oils industry at Swift and Company in the same year. His early research was directed at stabilizing animal fats during rendering. The results showed that lard can be stabilized against oxidation by the addition of BHA and BHT during the rendering process. Sims described the effects of high temperature storage of lard as a material for shortening manufacture. Sims was the first to report the effects of hydrogenation variables on trans acid formation in soybean oil. Conditions that promote reduction of polyunsaturates also promote trans acid isomerization. His results have been confirmed by later workers. Mattil and Sims reported a method to increase the yields of monogylcerides from the gylcerolysis of fats in the presence of aromatic nitrogenous bases such as pyridine.

Sims left Swift in 1961 to take a position with General Foods as principal scientist for fats and oils. Here he did the basic work leading to the introduction of frozen imitation dairy products. Cool Whip was first marketed in 1966 and is still the leading retail brand. His expertise in emulsifiers lead to other products including dream whip, skake and bake, stove top, and tang. Other accomplishments include development of natural low cholesterol eggs and a process for recovery and stabilization of coffee oil. Sims was recognized for his work on stabilization of frozen emulsions with the IFT industrial achievement award in 1970.  Sims authored 35 technical publications and held 15 US Patents.

1995 Alloys Tappel
Al Tappel received his BS from Iowa State University in 1948 after serving as an ensign in the naval reserve from 1944-1946. Tappel received the PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1951. After graduation he became an instructor in the food science department at the University of California and quickly promoted to assistant professor and eventually to Full professor and emeritus status.  Tappel was a pioneer in the study of lipid peroxidation in vivo and its effects on cellular damage. He was the first to demonstrate the synergistic effects of antioxidants .Combinations were shown to be more effective than each acting alone. A study based on his work showed that certain combinations of antioxidants extended the life span of laboratory animals up to 30% and in studies designed to accelerate the aging process a 175% increase was observed. Tappel published extensively .His 525 publications have been cited 24,000 times and 25 have received 200 or more citations. Tappels “Lipid peroxidation damage to cell components” (Fed Proc. 32 1870-1874) published in the 1970s continues to be highly cited with nearly 1100 citations.

1996 Thomas H. Smouse (1936-1995)
Tom Smouse took his PhD under Dr.Stephen Chang. He held positions at Anderson Clayton, Ralston Purina and Archer Daniels Midland. Smouse was an authority on the flavor chemistry of soybean and other edible oils .He published extensively in this area and contributed to several books. At the urging of Dr. Robert Allen at Anderson Clayton Smouse became very active in AOCS .He served on the governing board, as treasurer, vice president and as President of AOCS in 1983. Smouse became ill in 1995 and passed away in August that year. Colleagues had offered to nominate him for the Chang Award but he refused. He was awarded the Chang award posthumously in 1996. His memory was honored with a scholarship bearing his name.

1997 Albert J. Dijkstra
Albert Dijkstra was a physical chemist by training and received the PhD in gas kinetics from the University of Leyden. He began his career in the fats and oils industry in 1978 as head of research and development at the Vandermoortele group located on Izegem, Belgium. His first project involved a linear program to make fat blends in the most economical way. He developed a directed interesterification process to produce diet margarines with low saturated fat content .A Patent was issued in 1980. Other research included an improved dry fractionation process for tropical oils and the total degumming  process. Dijkstra conceived and developed a mathematical model for stripping steam in countercurrent steam deodorization. Dijkstra has reinterpreted many of the processes used in the edible oil industry including hydrogenation, interesterification and degumming. He proposed a new mechanism for interesterification which was subsequently supported by experimental data.

Dijkstra has written or contributed to a number of books including a 3rd revision of the popular reference book “The Lipid Handbook .More recently a monograph on Trans Fatty Acids and Edible Oil Processing from a patent perspective have been published. In celebration of the 100th anniversary Dijkstra translated and annotated Michel Chevreul’s classic work on the chemistry of animal fats from old French to English. His Awards include the Bailey Medal, Fellow AOCS, AOCS Processing Distinguished service Award, The Chevreul Medal (French Oil Chemists Society) and He was the initial recipient of the Euro Fed Lipid Lipid Technology Award. He serves on the editorial boards of JAOCS and the lipid Library. He was the first scientist outside of North America to receive the Chang Award.

1998 M. Thomas Clandinin
Thomas Clandinin is Emeritus Professor in the Agricultural and Nutritional Department at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada where he received the PhD degree. His research program is internationally recognized in the area of fatty acid metabolism and infant requirements for essential fatty acids. His group was the first to demonstrate that dietary fat alters membrane structure and the normal functions of cells. He has published extensively in top clinical journals.

1999 Edwin Frankel
Edwin Frankel began his long career at the Northern Regional Research Laboratory in Peoria Illinois after recieveing the PhD in dairy science at Michigan State University in 1956. In Peoria he conducted research on soybean oil oxidation from 1956-1960 until he took a position at Proctor and Gamble. He then returned to Peoria until his retirement in1988. His career in Peoria covered both edible and industrial uses of fats and oils. Although his work on industrial uses was very profitable, his interests were in lipid oxidation. After retirement from USDA Al Tappel invited him to join his group at UC Davis. Here he was able to pursue lipid oxidation studies. Frankel in addition to teaching food chemistry began a research program on lipid oxidation and biological antioxidants found in wine, fruits, spices and beverages .as well as vegetable oils, fish and algae oils containing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. While in Peoria and at UC Davis Frankel’s laboratory became a mecca for foreign postdoctoral scientists from countries all over the world. They include Norway, Japan, Spain, Finland, Germany and Korea.  His consulting activities include analytical work for companies in the US, Japan, and Europe, Frankel is the author of about 300 publications, 8 patents, 20 book chapters and has written 3 books. Lipid Oxidation 1st ed. (1998) 2nd Edition (2005) is considered to be the standard reference book in the field. He authored a third book entitled “Antioxidants in Food and Biology. Facts and Fiction”2007. His awards and honors are extensive and include the Bailey Medal, Fellow, and the Supelco Research Award (AOCS) ,The Kaufmann Lecture (DGF) The Lewkowitsch Lecture,(SCI) and International Lecture (ISF), Vesely Award (Czech Chemical Society of Fats and Oils). Frankel has been the keynote speaker for the Finnish Chemical Congress and The Lipid Forum held in Denmark. Frankel has been the most cited author in agricultural science by the Institute for Scientific Information, Thomson Corp. In addition to research Frankel has organized and taught short courses on lipid oxidation for AOCS (7) IFT and ISF.

He presently is a consultant to the California Olive Oil Industry.

2000 Bengt Herslof
Herslof received a BS. In chemistry from the University of Lund (1968) and the PhD from the same school in 1976.  He began his career in lipids at Karlshamns in Sweden as the manager of the analytical group. Here he developed analytical techniques for the separation of lipids by reversed phase HPLC and refractive index detection. The methods have found widespread use through the world for routine control of triglyceride oil fractionation. Herslof left Karlshamnsfor a position at Kabi Nitrum (now Pharmacia & Upjohn) where he remained 6 years before approaching   them with the concept of large scale producing pharmaceutical grade lipids. Pharmacia declined but Karlshamms agreed to invest in the idea and Karlshamms Lipid Teknik was born in 1980. For about a decade of the company’s existence, Herslof also served as an adjunct professor on analytical chemistry at the University of Stockholm where he continued his research and by 2000 he had authored over 65 publications and held 12 patents. Lipids as drug delivery and functional foods continue to be a focus of lipid Teknik.

2001 Michael Blumenthal  
Michael Blumenthal received his PhD under Dr Stephen Chang (1974). He began his career at TJ Lipton as technician in the laboratory and pilot plant. (1962-1964) From 1964-1965 he served as a research chemist at DCA industries. In  1967 he became co-owner of AARLAB providing analytical service during which he decided to devote full time  to his PhD research at Rutgers University  After graduate school he became a group at Best Foods. (Division Corn Products, (1974-1975)

Blumenthal then returned to DCA as a project manager where he developed a process to replace par frying of fabricated frozen foods. (1976-1979) In 1980 Blumenthal founded and became technical director of Libra Laboratories and Libra Technical Center.

His major interests have always been the chemistry of deep fat frying. A major problem has been when to discard a fat. Although a number of tests have been proposed many of them require a laboratory and analytical skills. Moreover the fast food industry employs unskilled labor which further compounds the problem.  A major development at Libra was the development of test kits for the discarding of frying fats. Blumenthal is 50 year member of the American Chemical Society and a long-time member of AOCS and an honored student. He has the unique distinction of receiving both IFT and AOCS Chang awards in the same year. (2001) He has been an IFT distinguished lecturer from 2002-2005 in 11 different cities.

2002 Vijai Shukla
Dr. Shukla is director of International Food Science Center A/S, Denmark .he has been active in food research since 1969 and has published extensively and authored several books. His research interests have ranged from physical phenomena, mechanisms of autoxidation, isolation of lipids, spectral properties of lipids, analytical methodology, and fatty acids in health and nutrition. Shukla is an expert on confectionary fats. Including cocoa butter, substitutes, replacers and extenders. In 1996 he established a new refinery in the Netherlands and successfully demonstrated that oxidation in bulk oils (500-1000MT /shipment) can be completely arrested and products of high quality were delivered to customers. Shukla has been interested in the quality of encapsulated fish oils and has demonstrated that it is possible to produce ultra-refined fish oil with extremely low levels of oxidation products. (peroxide, anisidine values) The oil is in commercial production. Shukla designed several natural antioxidants having 50-60 times more power than existing products. Shukla developed a designer oil containing high amounts of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. Nutridan is derived from vegetable oils without use of solvents. The product can be used in a variety of foods or encapsulated for pharmaceutical applications, Shukla has presented numerous invited national/ international lectures. He has been very active in AOCS and is an AOCS Fellow. He is also a recipient of HJ Dutton award for analytical chemistry. Shukla sponsors the AOCS Young Scientists Award (2000-2016)

2003 David Horrobin (1939-2003)
David Horrobin was educated in England and received both MD and PhD degrees in medicine/surgery and neurophysiology /neuroendocrinology respectively. Horrobin held academic appointments in Africa Great Britain and Montreal .While there he developed a theory implicating altered fatty acid metabolism in schizophrenia .but failed to get failed to get funding for the research. To raise money for his research he left academia academia in 1977 and founded a company called Efamol Evening Primrose Oil (EPO) was sold and touted as remedy for various ailments including eczema.in 1987 Efamol was renamed Scotia Pharmaceuticals. The company was very successful with market capital of 600 million Euros in 1996 and Horrobin was among the 213 wealthiest persons in the United Kingdom.

EPO was sold in 25 countries as supplement for treatment of a wide range of afflictions including alcoholism, high cholesterol, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and breast pain. However the US Food and Drug Administration claimed that Horrobin had not satisfactorily demonstrate the efficacy and safety of his supplement. He was told not to ship products to the US .Horrobin agreed but circumvented the order by shipping to the US and repackaging the supplements. The FDA caught on and seized a million dollars’ worth of EPO. Horrobins business dealings were not the only source of his problems. Others questioned his ethics in advertising and science in general. He was ousted from his company in 1998 and was declared bankrupt in2001. Horrobin was a prolific writer (over 500 technical articles) and served as editor of technical journals some of which he started. Horrobin passed away before receiving the Chang award. His obituary had mixed reviews of his life and career. A major contributor to biotechnology, industry, intellectual acumen, and original thinking he was praised. Others said: “Horrobin may prove to be the greatest snake oil salesman of his age.”

2004 Casimir Akoh
Casimir Akoh received the BS (1981) from the University of Nigeria and his MS (1985) and PhD (1988) from the University of Washington .Currently Akoh is a distinguished research professor at the University of Georgia. Akoh is the author of numerous refereed publications (250)   .holds 3 patents, and 40 book chapters. He has edited 7 books on lipids including “Food Lipids” 3rd ed. This book is widely used as a textbook in food science courses. A 4th edition is forthcoming. Akoh has made about 250 presentations (150 invited) at national/international meetings. He is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards from AOCS, IFT, and ACS. They include Fellow (AOCS,IFT,FAGFD) , Lifetime Achievement Award, Biotechnology,  Supelco/Pelick research award, AOCS) , Samuel Prescott Award, Research Development  Award, Nicholas Appert Award ,SS Chang Award(IFT) He has been a highly cited ISI researcher in agricultural science since 2009.His research has focused on the enzymatic transformation of lipids to improve functional and nutraceutical foods , infant formulas and trans tat replacements in margarine/spreads. His research group has explored the on corporation of conjugated linoleic acid into structured lipid formulations. A number of his students have been recognized as AOCS honor students. He has been a leader in AOCS on the governing board, as secretary, vice president and as AOCS president in 2009.

2005 Kiyotaka Sato
Dr. Sato is a professor in the faculty of Applied Bioscience at the Hiroshima University in Japan.  He is internationally recognized as an authority on fat crystallization and polymorphism and has published extensively in the open literature and has authored books in his area of expertise. His research has focused on finding optimal ways to design materials with tailored functionalities based on the principles underlying the formation of lipid structures including molecular structures and network formation. Thermodynamic and kinetic factors Award are also considered. Dr. Sato is the recipient of the Kaufmann Lecture and the Euro. Fed Lipid Technology Award, Antalya, Turkey. (2013)

2006 Frank Gunstone
Dr. Gunstone received the PhD under Professor TP Hilditch in 1945 at the University of Liverpool.   With the exception of 1945-1954 where he taught at the University of Glasgow, he spent the majority of his career at Saint Andrews University. Here he through his research and teaching he became the dean of lipid chemists. In 1971 he was promoted to full professor and upon retirement in 1989 became professor emeritus. Dr. Gunstone has authored over 300 publications covering virtually every area of lipid chemistry including autoxidation, hydrogenation, triglyceride structure, synthesis of fatty acids, reaction chemistry, analytical applications, crop science and biochemistry. Retirement does not apply to Dr. Gunstone. Since 1989 he has written 100 papers, book chapters, and books.  Many of his books are rich sources of reference material. The Lipid Handbook first published in 1986 has undergone 2 revisions. Other books serve as textbooks for both undergraduate and graduate courses in lipid chemistry and food science. Dr. Gunstone’s contributions to lipid chemistry extend beyond research. A number of his graduate students have become distinguished researchers and leaders in lipid science. Dr. Gunstone has been the recipient of virtually every award given for excellence in lipid chemistry. They include the Bailey Medal, the Supelco, Fellow (AOCS), the Chevreul Medal (French), the Normann Medal (DGF), Hilditch and Lewkowitsch Lectures (SCI), Fellow Royal Society Edinburgh, Kaufmann memorial Lecture, and the Bek -Neilsen Lecture (PORIM). It is noteworthy that two of his students have received the Bailey, Supelco, Dutton, and Fellow awards from AOCS. (Marcel Ken Jie and W.W. Christie)

2007 Peter Elias
Peter Elias received the MD degree from the University of California, San Francisco and currently Professor of dermatology, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Elias is internationally known for his work on lipids in dermatology He has published extensively in peer reviewed journals (350), 50 book chapters and books, and over 400 abstracts. He has received many honors and awards and serves on the editorial boards of several journals. His research interests include structure, function and metabolic basis for the epidermal permeability, the pathogenesis of ichthyoses and inflammatory dermatoses, and the mechanisms of normal differentiation.

2008 Eric Decker
Eric Decker received the BS (1982) from Pennsylvania State University, the MS from Washington State University in Food Science (1985) and the PhD in food science and Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts under Professor Fergus Clysdale. He held positions at the University of Kentucky prior to returning to U Mass .where he became full professor.(2000) In 2008 Dr. Decker became  Department Head and Director, Industry Strategic Research Alliance at U Mass. Dr. Decker has published extensively in top peer reviewed journals (300), authored 30 book chapters edited 6 books  and holds 9 patents. His research interests include lipid oxidation, antioxidants, mechanisms of lipid deterioration, encapsulation of lipids, muscle lipids, and behavior of emulsions in food systems. He has given numerous invited lectures throughout the world and is widely consulted by the food industry.  He has received numerous honors and awards including Fellow IFT, AGFD, Chang Award IFT, Samuel Cate Prescott Award, IFT. Award for the Advancement of Agricultural   and Food Science, (AGFD, ACS).Young Scientist Award, IFT, distinguished lecturer, IFT highly cited author ISI 2005-present. Division lecture Award, Muscle Food Division, IFT.

2009 Nissim Garti
Dr. Garti was educated at the Hebrew National University in Jerusalem, Israel where he received the BS, (1969), MS (1971) and the PhD (1974). He currently is full professor at the same institution. Dr. Garti has published over 400 publications and holds over 100 patents. His research interests include the crystallization and polymorphism of lipids, emulsion chemistry, nano-particles, micro-emulsions, structured lipids, hydrocolloids, industrial coatings, food processing, polymers, natural antioxidants, surfactants, and natural products. He has received the Supelco/Pelick research award (AOCS), the Rockefeller Award, The IFT Award for Industrial Research, The Corporate Achievement Award (AOCS), and the Lord Kaye award for excellence in surfactant chemistry. Dr. Garti is the founder of numerous start-up companies in Israel and serves as a consultant to international companies. Several of his discoveries have been commercialized. His research on novel nano-sized self-assembled lipid carriers have been utilized as improved solubilzation and bioavailability carriers for drug delivery. (AOCS Corporate Achievement Award, 2011)

The book crystallization of fats edited by Garti and Sato was first published in 1990 and a second edition followed in 2001. The book is considered the standard reference source in the field.

2010 David McClements
David McClements received the PhD  (food science) from the University of Leeds in 1989 .He did postdoctoral research at Leeds ,the University of California (Davis) and the University College( Cork ) He currently is professor in the food science department at the University of Massachusetts. McClements is a prolific author with over 600 peer reviewed publications with an h index of 72 and nearly 19000 citations. He is considered a world class authority on emulsion chemistry. He is the sole author of Food Emulsions: Principles, Practice, and techniques. (3 editions of book, 1999, 2005, 2015) In addition he is the sole author of Nano-particle and Microparticle based delivery systems: Encapsulation, protection and release of active components. He has edited a total of 11 books.  His awards and honors include Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow ACS IFT, Fellow AGFD, ACS. He is the most highly cited author in the Agricultural Sciences .Recipient of the Hilditch Lecture award (SCI), The Marcel Lonin Research Prize, The Babcock Hart award ,Samuel Cate Prescott  Award ,Research and Development Award ,(IFT), Young Scientist Award ,Award for the advancement of Agricultural and food chemistry,(AGFD,ACS). His research interests include the design fabrication and characterization of structured delivery systems to improve functional performance of active ingredients in foods, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals. Other interests are the study of the physio chemical basis for the gastrointestinal fate of colloidal delivery systems and food matrices and  nutraceutical foods.  

2011 Colin Ratledge
Colin Ratledge recieved the BS from Manchester University in 1957 and the PhD from the same University in 1962. From1964-1967 he held a position at Unilever, Sharnbrook, Bedford England.  He finished his career at the University Of Hull, UK where he was lecturer, reader, full professor, Department Head biochemistry and, from 1988 until retirement in 2004, Professor of microbial biochemistry and emeritus professor in perpetuity. Dr. Ratledge will be remembered as the father of single cell oils an entirely new area of lipid chemistry. His pioneering work on the biochemistry of lipids in oleaginous microorganisms laid the foundation for the production of biofuels and nutraceuticals from lipids generated from microorganisms grown on simple sugars. Dr. Ratledge authored over 200 publications, 108 reviews /book chapters, 18 books. He presented over 100 invited lectures. As a consultant he helped a number of companies bring single cell oils to commercialization including DuPont, DSM, Martek J&E Sturge (UK) and Photonz, (New Zealand) as well as number of startup companies in the UK and Europe. 

2012 Gary List
Gary R. List, the 2012 recipient is retired from the US Department of Agriculture Northern Research Laboratory, Peoria IL. His research focused on edible oils and oilseed processing. His research has encompassed, analytical methods, fat modification, oilseed processing, lecithin, trait modified oils, and trans fat replacements.    He is the author of 380 publications, proceedings, book chapters, (36) abstracts as well as editing 8 books on fats and oils. His awards include Fellow (AOCS, IFT, AGFD, RSC ), Chang Awards (AOCS, IFT,),  Bailey, Dutton Award of Merit, Baldwin Distinguished Service, Processing Award, Supelco/Pelick Research Award (AOCS), Harold Macy Award, Division Lecture, Tanner Lecture Award (IFT),  Chemist of the Year, Peoria Section, Fellow Ag and Food Chem. Division (ACS), Outstanding Achievement  Award, (United Soybean Board) and Lipid Technology Award (Euro. Fed Lipids) Academic awards include Doctor of Science (honoris causa, U of Illinois) Distinguished Alumna, Illinois Central College, Phi Tau Sigma, American Men/Women Science, Marquis Who’s Who, Madison’s Who’s Who, 5 Outstanding Paper Awards Annual AOCS Meetings, Fellow George Washington Foundation, Son’s of the American Revolution .

He contributed to 3 revisions of the standard fats and oils textbook “Baileys Industrial Oil and Fat Products” and served on the editorial board for the 6th edition. He serves on the editorial boards of numerous journals including JAOCS, INFORM, The Lipid Library, The Chemist, and Lipid Technology. He has a passionate interest in preserving the history of fats and oils technology and has contributed many articles to the Lipid Library including a history of the AOCS/ Pelick Research Award. He had the honor of preparing a biographical memoir of Dr. Ralph Holman (1978, Award NAS 1981) for the National Academy of Science online memoir section. In collaboration with Dr. Albert Dijkstra as translator, he and J .Wisniak edited Chevreul’s classic book on the chemistry of fats and oils and brought the only translation in English in honor of the 100th anniversary of AOCS (Published 2009)

2013 Alejandro Marangoni
Alejandro Marangoni is a Professor and tier 1 Canada Research Chair Food .health and aging at the University of Guelph where he obtained the PhD in 1989. His work concentrates on the physical properties of foods, particularly fat crystallization and structure. He has published over 200 refereed journal articles, 50 book chapters and 14 patents. He is the recipient of many awards including a premier research excellence award ,the first AOCS young scientist award the TL Mounts award , AOCS Fellow, and the Supelco/Nicholas research award. He was recognized by IFT with the Stephen S. Chang Award for lipid/flavor science. He received a tier two Canada Research chair and two distinguished researcher awards from the Ontario Innovation Trust, an EWR Stacie Memorial Fellowship given to the top 6 Canadian scientists from multi disciplines, He is the first editor of the new journal Current Opinion in Food science and Technology. He is a member of the editorial board of Food Research International and was editor in chief of the journal for 15 years and raised its impact factor from 0.69 to3.5.

Marangoni has co- founded several high-technology companies and is the co-recipient of the 2008 Guelph Partners for Innovation “Innovator of the Year.” For his discovery of a platform technology for the manufacture of structured oil in water emulsions to replace hi-saturate high trans shortening. Recently he discovered edible oleogels structured by a cellulose derivative .He has trained over 100 scientists in his laboratory many of which occupy prominent positions in academia and industry including 9 professors at major North American Universities, Marangoni was honored as one of the 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians in 2012.

2014 Fereidoon Shahidi
Fereidoon Shahidi is a University Research Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He did his undergraduate work in his native land of Iran graduating with a B.Sc. in 1973 and received the Ph.D. from McGill University in 1977. His research interests have covered numerous areas of food and lipid chemistry including lipid oxidation, nutraceuticals and functional foods, marine lipids, aquaculture, muscle foods, and isolation and characterization of natural antioxidants. He has published extensively with nearly 500 peer reviewed journal articles as well as numerous (60) books and many book chapters. He has been consistently a highly cited researcher in agricultural and food chemistry for a number of years. His publications have been cited over 28,000 times with an h index of 78. He has supervised some 60 graduate students and 50 visiting scientists and post-doctoral fellows. He serves on the editorial boards of numerous national and international journals as well as editor in chief of several, including Journal of Functional Foods.  He is the recipient of many prestigious awards from AOCS, ACS, and IFT including Fellow in each society. He is the recipient of both the IFT and AOCS Chang awards in recognition of his research on lipids.  Dr. Shahidi was the editor in Chief for the 6 volume edition of “Bailey’s Industrial Oil and Fat Products” (6th Revision, 2005).    

2015 Uwe Bornscheuer
Dr.Uwe Bornscheuer (1964) is internationally known as an authority on biocatalysis and the use of enzymes for the modification of lipids.  He currently is the director of the biocatalysis and enzyme research group at Uni- Griefswald University in Germany.  His research centers around the identification of new biocatalysts by screening from strain collections,the discovery of new enzymes ,cloning and expression from suitable hosts,and creation of tailor made enzymes ,and applications of commercial enzymes for the conversion of lipids for industrial application. Enzymes studied include lipases transaminases, Baeyer-Villiger monooxgenases, esterases, and oxidases and others.. The applications include synthesis of optically pure compounds for pharma ceuticals, structured trigylcerides, detergents /sugar esters, development of enzyme cascade reactions and novel reaction systems. (SpinChem.)  His research group has published extensively (over 340 papers)and holds 40 patents. He is the author of 31 book chapters and 7 review articles.  His research is highly cited with nearly 15,000 citations and and an h index of 62. Bornscheuer has received the Normann Medal, (DGF) and the Chevreul Medal (French Oil Chemists).

2016 John Harwood
is Professor School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. He received his BS degree in 1966 and a PhD from the University of Birmingham in 1969. From 1969-1971 he studied under Paul Stumpf at UC Davis. In 1979 He was awarded his D.Sc degree. Professor Harwood is internationally recognized as an authority on plant biochemistry. He is the author of over 600 publications including 3 books (Lipid Biochemistry, The Lipid Handbook). His awards include the 2011 Supelco Award in Lipid Science, Fellow of the AOCS, Learned Society of Wales, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Further information is given in the part three history of the AOCS Supelco/Nicholas Pelick Award in The Lipid Library.

2017 Moghis Ahmad
Moghis Ahmad received his Ph.D in 1978 from Aligarh Muslim University in India. He did a postdoctoral study at Texas A&M and held positions as a chemist at Sigma Aldrich, and Associate Director Lipid Chemistry Division, Director, and Vice President of NeoPharm USA. From 2006 to present he has been Vice President Chemical Technology and Manufacturing, Jina Phamaceuticals (Libertyville, IL, USA). Moghis has published extensively in the open literature and holds 35 US Patents. Much of his research has been proprietary and not been published. Nonetheless, his research in lipids has covered synthesis of lipids, characterization of unusual fatty acids from seed oils fatty, acid derivatives, reaction chemistry of fatty acids and phospholipids. Dr. Ahmad has been very active in AOCS activities. He has edited a number of AOCS press books all of which have been best sellers for the Society. He was a leader in the AOCS Phospholipid Division having served as secretary/treasurer, vice-chair and chair. Dr. Ahmad has also been a leader in the international Lecithin and Phospholipid society as secretary and Vice President 2007-present. He has served on 8 AOCS award committees. He has been active in AOCS continuing education programs as a lecturer and has organized and chaired technical sessions at the AOCS annual meeting for the past 10 years. Moghis was elected an AOCS Fellow in 2014 and is a Fellow in the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the world.

2018 Michael Eskin
Michael Eskin  is a professor and dean at the University of Mannitoba,Winnepeg MT. Mike received a BS (hon) in biochemistry from the University of Birmingham UK in 1963 and the PhD in physiological chemistry from the same school (1966). He has spent most of his career at the University of Manitoba where he was promoted to full professor in 1980. Mike has published extensively in top peer-reviewed journals (over 130) as well as numerous book chapters (over 35) and 84 (proceedings, In addition, he has edited 13 books. He is the author of Food Biochemistry, which has undergone a number of revisions. Mike has received a number of Awards from multiple societies. He is a Fellow in both IFT and AOCS. His awards from AOCS include the Bailey and Mounts .He is the recipient of the IFT Chang award and is one of the few to have won them both. In recognition of his contributions to the Canadian canola industry, he washas elected to The Royal Order of Canada the highest civilian award. Mike has been active in the editorial boards of four international journals including Editor in Chief Lipid Technology 2012-2017. Mike contributed to the 5th and 6th revisions of “Baileys Industrial Oil and Fat Products” (1996,2005).

His research interests have included canola oil and protein .lipid oxidation frying oils and analytical methods developments.

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