Fatih Ozogul is a Professor in the Department of Seafood Processing Technology at Cukurova University in Turkey. He has more than 20 years of practical experience as a researcher/lecturer. His job also involves teaching in the field of food science and microbiology. He received his PhD from Lincoln University (United Kingdom) in Food Science and Microbiology in 2002. He has many publications in SCI & SCI-E (over 250) in the different food science journals, 3 edited books as well as more than 20 chapters in the international food books. His publications have received more than 9000 citations (h-index 51) in Scopus. He is an associate editor of Food Bioscience, Measurement: Food and Frontiers in Microbiology (Food Section) and also editorial board member for Trends in Food Science and Technology and Data in Brief. According to the rankings made by Stanford University, he has been on the list of the World's Top 1% Scientists in the field of Food Science for the last three years. He was ranked among the 0.1% of the world scientists in the field of Agricultural Sciences according to Most Cited Researchers List’ published by Clarivate (Web of Science) Analytics in 2023 and became a ‘Highly Cited Researcher’.Sneh Punia Bangar is an assistant professor in the Department of Packaging Science and Graphic Media at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences at Clemson University, SC, USA. Her research focuses on the design and development of sustainable biopolymer-based films, coatings, and packaging materials derived from starch, cellulose, lignin, and other natural polymers. A key aspect of her research is adding value to agricultural and food industry waste by extracting functional biopolymers with applications in food and packaging. She has authored or coauthored more than 100 research/review articles, 15 authored/edited books, 35 book chapters, and 20 conference proceedings/seminars. She is also the associate editor of the Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization (Springer), an editorial board member of the International Journal of Food Science and Technology (Wiley), academic editor of the Journal of Food Quality (Hindawi), and a section editor of Current Food Science and Technology Reports (Springer). Her significant contributions to academia and research were acknowledged with the “Award of Honour in 2019 for her outstanding achievements. She is the recipient of the GSG Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant (2022) and CAFLS Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award (2023) at Clemson University, USA. Dr. Bangar received the “Professor Gurcharan Bains Award from the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) in 2023 for her incredible contribution to Food Science and Technology. In addition, she has been listed (2023 and 2024) in “World Ranking of Top 2% Scientists, published by Stanford University, USA. Dr. Bangar was awarded Clemson University’s Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Award for 2024. She has an H-index of 72 with ~15000 citations, as per Google Scholar. Dr. Nitya Sharma is a Program Manager for Food Loss and Waste at WRI India's Food, Land, and Water Program. With a background in food engineering and technology, she has an extensive academic and research portfolio that includes over 60 publications in high-impact journals, 10 outreach publications, 9 book chapters, a patent, and 16 international conference presentations. Dr. Sharma earned her Ph.D. in Processing and Food Engineering from Banaras Hindu University and furthered her research skills as a visiting researcher at the University of Reading, UK. She has held roles such as Marie Sklodowska-Curie Post-Doctoral Fellow at Teagasc, Dublin, and post-doctoral and research positions at IIT Delhi and the DST-Centre for Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing. She has developed new technology packages and methodologies for food quality assessment and has transferred knowledge to the industry and local farmers. Dr. Sharma serves as an associate guest editor for few journals and is a life member of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists India (AFSTI) and an associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. Dr. Sharma’s current role is focused on advancing research in agriculture and food sustainability. She contributes to efforts in reducing food loss and food waste, enhancing food security, and promoting sustainable food systems.
