Dr. VM Balasubramaniam
Griffin Campus
Koehler-Ayres Professor
Dr. Bala’s Extension and Industrial Outreach programming includes short courses focused on high-pressure processing and other nonthermal food processing technologies, pilot-scale trials demonstrating high-pressure, and advanced food processing applications.
Dr. Bala leads multidisciplinary research in food engineering focused on the design and validation of advanced thermal and nonthermal processing and sanitation technologies for pathogen control and quality preservation. His research encompasses high-pressure processing, ultrashear technology, superheated steam applications, alternative proteins, and mathematical modeling of food processes.
Dr. Faith Critzer
Athens Campus
Interim Department Head & Professor
Dr. Critzer’s team focuses on identifying food safety risks tied to the production and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as identification of and education on risk mitigation strategies. The most recent work from her lab group has focused on Listeria control in the packinghouse; preharvest agricultural water treatment in order to inactivate bacterial foodborne pathogens; and validation of antimicrobials in postharvest flumes using industry-relevant conditions. She also has a passion for communicating science-based best practices and outcomes of research to the produce industry with more than 5,000 contact hours annually.
Dr. Laurel Dunn
Athens Campus
Assistant Professor & Extension Coordinator
Laurel is a food microbiologist and the Extension Coordinator for the Department of Food Science and Technology. Her program focuses on the microbial safety of fresh fruits and vegetables during production, postharvest handling, processing, and throughout distribution. She provides food safety technical assistance for conventional and controlled environment produce farms and offers training to assist with regulatory and audit compliance for these operations. Laurel has a particular interest in working with small and beginning farms. Laurel also assists with implementation of food safety programs for food manufacturers, including HACCP and Preventive Controls programs.
Check out Dr. Dunn’s Faculty Focus on Youtube!
Dr. James “Jim” Gratzek
Griffin Campus
Food PIC, Director
James “Jim” Gratzek joined the UGA Extension Food Science and Technology team as the Director of UGA’s Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center in 2022. He is focused on improving the Food and Agricultural economic performance of the state. Jim has 30 years of experience in food product development and has worked on product, package, and process development. After receiving his PhD in Food Engineering from the University of Georgia, Jim developed significant expertise in food processing and product development while serving in positions at Campbell Soup, Tetra Pak, General Mills and SunOpta. He is recognized as a Thermal Process Authority and has been a long-time member of the Institute for Thermal Process Specialists. Much of his career was spent working on shelf-stable canned foods including hot-fill, traditional canned and aseptically packaged products. Jim has extensive experience working on frozen and refrigerated food types including frozen fruit, vegetables, and ready meals. He has participated in building new R&D teams, capabilities, and research facilities, and has participated in the launch of several hundred commercial products.
Joseph Harrison
Athens Campus
Program Coordinator II
Joseph Harrison manages Extension Food Science’s technical services on UGA’s Athens Campus. He is EFS’ primary point of contact for thermal process origination, product classifications, product labeling, and document issuance. Additionally, Mr. Harrison coordinates the annual Flavor of Georgia Food Product Contest. His work promotes the competition throughout the state, recruits participants and judges, and oversees contestant logistics. With his background in public policy and administration, Mr. Harrison’s focus is on helping Georgia-based food producers comply with state and federal food regulations.
Kris Ingmundson
Family and Consumer Sciences, Athens Campus
Public Service Professional AD
Kris Ingmundson is the Assistant Food Safety and Preservation Coordinator working with the National Center for Home Food Preservation, where she supports Extension programming for home canning and other home food preservation methods. She has over 20 years of experience in retail food service and supports Extension agents with their retail food safety programming. She is a Certified Professional – Food Safety, and recently finished her Master of Public Health degree in Environmental Health Science, where her capstone project focused on correct use of disinfectants in foodservice environments.
Dr. Kevin Mis Solval
Griffin Campus
Assistant Professor
Dr. Mis Solval is an Assistant Professor of Food Process Engineering with more than 13 years of academic and industry experience in food ingredient development, scale-up processing and using SMART technologies to optimize food processing operations. His research is focused on developing food applications for cannonball jellyfish and food by-products developing applications for SMART technologies in food processing settings. Since joining UGA in August 2018, he has secured nearly $1M in competitive funding as PI and Co-PI from the GA Sea Grant, GA Department of Agriculture, USDA NIFA AFRI, and the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) to support his research and extension programs.
Check out Dr. Mis Solval’s Faculty Focus on Youtube!
Dr. Carla L. Schwan
Family & Consumer Sciences, Athens Campus
Assistant Professor & Extension Food Safety Specialist
Carla is a food microbiologist and serves as the director of the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Her research and Extension programs address emerging topics related to home food preservation methods, including canning, freeze-drying, and fermenting. Carla also provides leadership and training focusing on consumer and retail food safety. She has gained extensive experience through her work in countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Paraguay, and the United States. During her trips to these countries, Carla has worked with culturally diverse individuals and audiences, helping them understand food safety, processing, preservation, and public health. Besides her passion for international research and development, Carla really enjoys offering multiple annual in-service training programs for UGA county-based faculty covering food preservation, consumer food safety, and ServSafe® Food Protection Manager Certification.
Dr. Hualu “Lu” Zhou
Griffin Campus
Assistant professor of Food Chemistry
My lab will focus on using advanced food science and technologies to enhance the food nutrition, safety, and quality, and to create the next-generation foods for our community. To be successful, we will use or develop a variety of food and chemistry techniques to understand their potential fundamentals, design, and applications, including the experimental techniques (such as food nanotechnologies, emulsion technologies, and INFOGEST in vitro digestion model) and computing techniques (such as quantum chemistry, molecular modeling and dynamics, and data analysis). The ongoing projects are mainly focusing on 1) how to effectively encapsulate, protect, and deliver bioactive agents (such as vitamins, β-carotene, and polyphenols), and 2) revealing physicochemical fundamentals in creating sustainable foods with desirable attributes (such as appearances, texture profiles, and nutrition).
Check out Dr. Zhou’s Faculty Focus on Youtube!