Muthupandian Ashokkumar, Professor
Asst. Deputy Vice-Chancellor International, University of Melbourne; Deputy Head, School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne; Editor-in-Chief, Ultrasonics Sonochemistry (JIF: 7.279)

Lecture for Students and Teachers
Title: Ultrasonic Technology for Food and Bioprocessing
Time: Nov. 20, 2019, 9:00
Place: The No.3 lecture hall on the third floor of the conference center.

Introduction to Prof. Muthupandian Ashokkumar:
Professor Muthupandian Ashokkumar (Ashok) is a Physical Chemist who specializes in Sonochemistry, teaches undergraduate and postgraduate Chemistry and is a senior academic staff member of the School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne. He is currently the Assistant Deputy Vice-Chancellor International at the University of Melbourne. Ashok is a renowned sonochemist, with more than 20 years of experience in this field, and has developed a number of novel techniques to characterize acoustic cavitation bubbles and has made major contributions of applied sonochemistry to the Materials, Food and Dairy industry. His research team has developed a novel ultrasonic processing technology for improving the functional properties of dairy ingredients. Recent research also involves the ultrasonic synthesis of functional nano- and biomaterials that can be used in energy production, environmental remediation and diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. He was the Deputy Director of an Australian Research Council Funded Industry Transformation Research Hub (ITRH; http://foodvaluechain.unimelb.edu.au/#research; Industry Partner: Mondelez International) and leading the Encapsulation project (http://foodvaluechain.unimelb. edu.au/research/ultrasonic-encapsulation). He has received about $ 15 million research grants to support his research work that includes several industry projects. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, an international journal devoted to sonochemistry research with a Journal Impact Factor of 7.3). He has edited/co-edited several books and special issues for journals; published ~380 refereed papers (H-Index: 54) in high impact international journals and books; and delivered over 150 invited/keynote/plenary lectures at international conferences and academic institutions. Ashok has successfully organised 10 national/international scientific conferences/workshops and managed a number of national and international competitive research grants. He has served on a number of University of Melbourne management committees and scientific advisory boards of external scientific organizations. Ashok is the recipient of several prizes, awards and fellowships, including the Grimwade Prize in Industrial Chemistry. He is a Fellow of the RACI since 2007.

Abstract:
The interaction between sound waves and gas bubbles in liquids leads to acoustic cavitation. Extreme temperature conditions, chemical effects and strong physical forces are generated during acoustic cavitation. Both the chemical and physical effects have been used for synthesizing a variety of nanomaterials that include functional metal and polymer nanoparticles. The physical forces have long been used in preparation of food emulsions and extraction of useful compounds from plant and other materials. In recent years, many other applications of ultrasound in food and bioprocessing have been developed. In dairy industry, heat stability of dairy proteins is one of the major issues. High temperature processing is commonly used to extent the shelf life of milk and milk protein based products. The components of milk, in particular whey proteins are sensitive to heat treatment. Heat-induced gelation/aggregation of dairy proteins causes operational difficulties in dairy industry. Ultrasonic processing of whey protein solutions has been shown to increase the heat stability of these proteins. Ultrasonic encapsulation of nutrients in a protein/carbohydrate shell is another application that has been developed recently. The presentation will provide an overview of various recent applications of ultrasound in food and bioprocessing and biomedical areas.

(School of Food and Biological Engineering)