Dunford selected as AOCS Fellow

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

An Oklahoma State University Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center faculty member has been selected as a 2018 American Oil Chemists’ Society Fellow.

Nurhan Dunford, FAPC oil and oilseed specialist and professor in the OSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, will be recognized May 6 at the Welcome Plenary Session during the 2018 AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This award recognizes members with at least 15 years of continuous AOCS membership who exemplify achievements in science and extraordinary service to the society.

“Certainly, it is a great honor to be selected,” Dunford said. “Many of the AOCS Fellows are my mentors, and it’s humbling to be included in this extraordinary group of people who donate and volunteer their time to help the society. My involvement in AOCS broadened my knowledge in the field and also expanded my professional network.”

Jerry King, a University of Arkansas professor and one of Dunford’s professional colleagues, nominated Dunford for the prestigious award.

“I have known Nurhan for many years, particularly in conjunction with the field of lipid-oil-fats technology and feel she is richly deserving of this honor,” King said. “Dr. Dunford has not only made numerous scientific and technical contributions in this area, but also in related areas embracing lipid science in food and agricultural science.”

Dunford has been a productive member of AOCS for more than 20 years. Her activities show a strong leadership role in the society, in addition to her technical presentations at AOCS meetings and in AOCS journals, King said.

For the past several years at FAPC, Dunford’s research has focused on developing functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals – foods with medicinal benefits – from wheat and other grain and oilseed byproducts, especially on undervalued or underutilized products and byproducts from the oilseed industries to enhance those industries.

Recently, she has focused her attention on oils derived from non-traditional sources that could be used as industrial oils or food oils. Dunford saw the opportunity in capturing oils from Oklahoma native species algae and using algae as a biomass resource and functional remediation tool for industrial wastewater.

Roy Escoubas, FAPC director, said Dunford’s education as a chemical engineer, a chemist and a food process engineer has allowed her the ability to thoroughly investigate science and engineering logic to model and optimize food processes and products. While, her industry experience has consistently driven her back to logic, manufacturing feasibility and potential for profit.

“Nurhan is a great asset to FAPC, and we are extremely proud of her accomplishments,” said Roy Escoubas, FAPC director. “It is always exciting to see our faculty recognized for their outstanding work. We look forward to seeing what else Nurhan accomplishes in the years to come.”

For more information about Dunford and her accomplishments, view the Faces of FAPC video at https://youtu.be/YY1nDBAj7dY.

FAPC, a part of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, helps to discover, develop and deliver technical and business information that stimulates and supports the growth of value-added food and agricultural products and processing in Oklahoma.

Story by Mandy Gross