New Fonterra award for engineering excellence

New Fonterra award recognises engineering excellence in food industry

A new Fonterra-sponsored award to recognise innovative thinking in the fields of biotechnology and food processing was presented before some of Australasia’s finest chemical engineers in Auckland last night.

Internationally renowned chemical engineer Professor Xiao Dong Chen was honoured at Chemeca 2006 – the Australasian Conference of Chemical Engineering - for his contribution in the fields of food processing, chemical, and biochemical engineering.

The award recognises outstanding contributions in the industrial application of novel technology in the bio processing field from an individual or group of chemical engineers in Australia or New Zealand.

The award was one of eight presented at the ceremony in recognition of excellence in the Australasian engineering community. Fonterra joined Alstrom, Exxon Mobil, Fluor, Shedden Uhde, Rio Tinto and WorleyParsons as sponsors of the prestigious awards, which are supported by the Engineers Australia Chemical College, the Institution of Chemical Engineers in Australia, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and the Society of Chemical Engineers New Zealand.

Fonterra’s General Manager Capital Projects, Ross McCowan, presented the award and said the company was proud to be recognising the work of Professor Chen and supporting an award which celebrates the development of innovative technology in food and bioprocess engineering.

“A commitment to continued innovation underpins Fonterra’s vision to Lead in Dairy,” said Mr McCowan. “The company recognises the important role that leadership, such as that exhibited by Professor Chen, plays in the development of innovative technology that will ensure the sustainability of the dairy industry. We congratulate Professor Chen on his outstanding achievements.”

Professor Chen, over his 13 year academic career, has published 364 refereed artcles and supervised over 45 PhD and Masters students. He held a Personal Chair in chemical engineering at The University of Auckland before recently joining the Department of Chemical Engineering at Monash University in Australia. He has played a leading role in the development of a number of innovative initiatives, devices and analytical methods applied to dairy processing and other industries.

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