Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Research Asst
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
Hefei Zhao is a Ph.D. Candidate in Department of Food Science and Technology and Food Processing Center (FPC), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Food Science and Technology from Jiangnan University, China. During his master’s degree program, he worked on separation and purification of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) derived from steam-exploded wheat straw by using integrated membrane technology. He also applied mathematical modeling to mimic the mass-transfer of non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the diafiltration process of XOS syrup by using nanofiltration (NF) technology. Currently, his doctoral dissertation at UNL, advised by Dr. Changmou Xu, focuses on developing functional ingredients of under-utilized agricultural commodities and applying natural antioxidants and polyphenols derived from grapes in fatty foods. His areas of interest also include evaluating the functional properties of proteins (plant and egg white proteins) for an appropriate application in food products and developing fast analytical methods (Machine-Learning-Driven Raman Spectroscopy and FTIR) to detect food quality and compositions such as edibles oils, lipid oxidation, and proteins. He is also endeavoring to apply intelligent algorithms and mathematic models, such as Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Machine/ Deep learning to solve technique and engineering problems in the field of food nutrition, science, and technology.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
8:55 AM – 9:20 AM CDT