John Floros, professor and head of food science, has been elected president of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the premier scientific and educational society serving the food science and technology field. Floros will serve as IFT president-elect for a year, starting this summer. His one-year term as president will begin in the summer of 2007.

“This election is a direct reflection of the quality of our teaching, research, and extension programs, the achievement of our alumni, and the respect that the Department of Food Science enjoys nationally and internationally,” says Floros.

Founded in 1939, IFT is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the science and technology of food through the exchange of knowledge. IFT members, who number about 25,000, represent a broad cross-section of food professions in industry, academia, and government throughout the world. IFT publishes the Journal of Food Science and conducts the world’s largest annual convention on food grown, processed, manufactured, distributed, and eaten worldwide, the IFT Food Expo.

Floros has been head of the Department of Food Science since 2000. His research incorporates chemical engineering, applied mathematics, and industrial statistics to understand many phenomena that drive food-processing and packaging systems. His work has generated significant innovations and efficiencies in food-manufacturing systems, while improving the value, quality, safety, and shelf life of food products.

—Chuck Gill