Food Science Professor Wins Top Professional Honor

A professor in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences has been selected for a prestigious honor in the food science community.

Hao Feng, Ph.D., the Blue Cross Blue Shield Endowed Professor of Urban Food Systems and professor of food and bioprocess engineering at North Carolina A&T State University, was named a 2024 IFT Fellow by the Institute of Food Technologists. IFT is a nonprofit scientific organization of more than 11,000 IFT members from 90 countries committed to advancing the science of food and solving food challenges across the global food system. Each year, IFT recognizes members who have achieved career excellence and provided significant service and leadership to both the organization and food science. 

Feng will be celebrated at the IFT FIRST: Annual Event and Expo, which will be held July 14-17 in Chicago. He is one of 10 IFT Fellows named for 2024.

“The college commends Dr. Feng on being recognized by his peers for his scholarship and leadership over a productive and impactful career,” said Shirley Hymon-Parker, Ph.D., interim CAES dean. “It’s also important to note that Dr. Feng is the only IFT Fellow this year from a Historically Black College and University. This honor underscores the exemplary faculty we have in the college, and the excellent work they are doing.”

Feng came to N.C. A&T in 2022 after 21 years in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. At Illinois, Feng became a globally-recognized expert in applying high-intensity ultrasound to food processing to improve food quality and safety. His broad research portfolio also focuses on sustainable food systems, novel drying technologies, plant protein-based plant nanostructures that can protect and deliver bioactive compounds, and development of electrification-driven modalities for food processing and bioprocessing.

At N.C. A&T, Feng serves as director of the $12 million Urban and Community Food Complex, which is now under construction at the N.C. A&T University Farm. The 15,000-square foot building will house a food processing pilot plant, a food safety lab, a sensory lab, a food quality lab and a creamery that will produce ice cream. It is intended to expand the university’s teaching, research and outreach missions by supporting faculty, students, community members and food and agribusiness entrepreneurs in various endeavors. It’s scheduled to open in 2025.

For Feng, his leadership role of the Urban and Community Food Complex will allow him to apply his extensive research and development background to address new challenges in food production.

“This new center will be a major platform for serving the community, small farmers, small business owners and government agencies,” Feng said. “Because we’re in the center of a food desert, we’ll be helping people improve food security issues and serve as a technology incubator for the local community. It will provide a lot of new opportunities for many different stakeholders. I’m extremely excited about its potential.”

Feng is the former site director of the Center for Advanced Research in Drying, a National Science Foundation Industry University Cooperative Research Center jointly established by Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Illinois. He is the author of three books, 25 book chapters, and more than 170 peer-reviewed journal articles. Before coming to Illinois, Feng earned his doctorate in food engineering from Washington State University and served as a visiting scholar at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and a lecturer at the Kunming University of Science and Technology in his native China.