CFAES Give Today
CFAES Alumni Magazine

News from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

$3.5 million gift funds new CFAES endowed chair in food science

Ahmed Yousef, CFAES Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

$3.5 million gift funds new CFAES endowed chair in food science

 

Ahmed E. Yousef, CFAES Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, has been named the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science.

Yousef, who joined CFAES’ FST in 1991, has won numerous awards and authored or co-authored some 200 publications. His research focuses on improving human health through combating emerging foodborne pathogens and the use of beneficial microorganisms. This research also improves food safety through the discovery, invention, and implementation of new decontamination methods.

Virginia and Frank Bazler have long supported food safety at CFAES. In 2007, they funded the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Designated Professorship in Food Science, which has allowed them to make an annual gift supporting a named professor—and to experience the impact of their support during their lifetimes. In 2010, they documented an estate gift that, when realized, established and endowed the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science.

 

 


“This $3.5 million endowment will provide resources for continued research and growth in food safety across the college.”

—Tracy Kitchel, CFAES senior associate dean and director of faculty and staff affairs.

 

“This endowed chair will help to improve food safety for years to come by creating enduring support for research, engaging with producers, and educating the next generation of food scientists,” said Melissa L. Gilliam, Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost. “We are so thankful to the Bazler family for establishing this legacy at Ohio State.”

Dean Kress echoes that sentiment, noting the significance of this, just the 10th endowed chair for CFAES.

“An endowed chair is one of the highest honors an academic institution can bestow upon a faculty member,” Kress said. “We are grateful for the Bazler’s support to create this endowed chair for CFAES, and we are excited to welcome Dr. Yousef to this position.”

Yousef will lead a team of food scientists focused on research to promote food safety and outreach to the food processing industry, to inform consumers about ways to improve food safety, and to teach the next generation of food safety scientists.

“This $3.5 million endowment will provide resources for continued research and growth in food safety across the college,” said Tracy Kitchel, CFAES senior associate dean and director of faculty and staff affairs. “This is a significant investment in the FST department, with broad ramifications for our college and university.”

Since joining CFAES, Yousef has led the search for natural alternatives to synthetic food preservatives. Additionally, he and his research team have developed new ways to pasteurize shell eggs and to decontaminate fresh produce while maintaining the foods’ fresh qualities.

The method he developed for shell eggs, for instance, uses a combination of mild heat and pressurized ozone for pasteurization, a process that can eliminate salmonella and other pathogens inside the eggs. Ozone is key, too, to the method developed to decontaminate fresh produce.

In his time at CFAES, Yousef has established the largest ozone research laboratory for food decontamination in the United States, and because of his food safety expertise, he is frequently interviewed by the media on issues related to foodborne diseases and product recalls.

 

December 8, 2021 - 2:16pm -- brown.3384@osu.edu
Authors: 
Body: 

 

Ahmed E. Yousef, CFAES Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, has been named the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science.

Yousef, who joined CFAES’ FST in 1991, has won numerous awards and authored or co-authored some 200 publications. His research focuses on improving human health through combating emerging foodborne pathogens and the use of beneficial microorganisms. This research also improves food safety through the discovery, invention, and implementation of new decontamination methods.

Virginia and Frank Bazler have long supported food safety at CFAES. In 2007, they funded the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Designated Professorship in Food Science, which has allowed them to make an annual gift supporting a named professor—and to experience the impact of their support during their lifetimes. In 2010, they documented an estate gift that, when realized, established and endowed the Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science.

 

 


“This $3.5 million endowment will provide resources for continued research and growth in food safety across the college.”

—Tracy Kitchel, CFAES senior associate dean and director of faculty and staff affairs.

 

“This endowed chair will help to improve food safety for years to come by creating enduring support for research, engaging with producers, and educating the next generation of food scientists,” said Melissa L. Gilliam, Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost. “We are so thankful to the Bazler family for establishing this legacy at Ohio State.”

Dean Kress echoes that sentiment, noting the significance of this, just the 10th endowed chair for CFAES.

“An endowed chair is one of the highest honors an academic institution can bestow upon a faculty member,” Kress said. “We are grateful for the Bazler’s support to create this endowed chair for CFAES, and we are excited to welcome Dr. Yousef to this position.”

Yousef will lead a team of food scientists focused on research to promote food safety and outreach to the food processing industry, to inform consumers about ways to improve food safety, and to teach the next generation of food safety scientists.

“This $3.5 million endowment will provide resources for continued research and growth in food safety across the college,” said Tracy Kitchel, CFAES senior associate dean and director of faculty and staff affairs. “This is a significant investment in the FST department, with broad ramifications for our college and university.”

Since joining CFAES, Yousef has led the search for natural alternatives to synthetic food preservatives. Additionally, he and his research team have developed new ways to pasteurize shell eggs and to decontaminate fresh produce while maintaining the foods’ fresh qualities.

The method he developed for shell eggs, for instance, uses a combination of mild heat and pressurized ozone for pasteurization, a process that can eliminate salmonella and other pathogens inside the eggs. Ozone is key, too, to the method developed to decontaminate fresh produce.

In his time at CFAES, Yousef has established the largest ozone research laboratory for food decontamination in the United States, and because of his food safety expertise, he is frequently interviewed by the media on issues related to foodborne diseases and product recalls.

 

Summary: 
Ahmed E. Yousef, CFAES Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, has been named the Virginia Hutchinson Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Chair in Food Science.