News Release
For Immediate Release — September 2, 2008
UTIA Researcher named Fellow for Food Safety Organization
KNOXVILLE - A worldwide group of scientists working to keep our food supply safe recently named a University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture researcher to a distinguished honor.
Dr. Michael Davidson, professor of food microbiology and head of the Department of Food Science and Technology, was selected as a Fellow of the 3,300-member International Association of Food Protection at its meeting in Columbus, Ohio in August.
The IAFP is focused on protecting the microbiological safety of food – dealing with issues like E. coli and Salmonella,” Dr. Davison says. “This is a group of scientists doing very critical work right now.”
Dr. Davidson has been involved with this organization for more than 20 years. He served on the Journal of Food Protection editorial board from 1983 to 2001, when he was named as the scientific co-editor. In 2005, he received the IAFP President’s Recognition Award.
It is a great honor to be selected as a Fellow in the principal organization of your peers,” Dr. Davidson says. “It would not have been possible without the many excellent students and colleagues I have had the pleasure of working with over the years.”
IAFP is honoring Davidson both for his service to the organization, and his research in the field of Food Safety. In a release from IAFP, the organization says, “Dr. Davidson has contributed to IAFP and its affiliates with distinction over an extended period of time. Internationally recognized for his research and expertise with antimicrobial food additives, Dr. Davidson is further distinguished in the field by his dedicated committee service to IAFP and numerous other organizations.”
Dr. Davidson first served at UTIA from 1979 to 1991, achieving the rank of Professor of Food Microbiology. He worked at his alma mater the University of Idaho from 1991 to 1999, and then returned to Knoxville. He was named Department Head in 2008. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists and the American Academy of Microbiology. He holds an M.S. in Food Science from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Food Science from Washington State University.
---
Contact:
Contact: Chuck Denney - (865) 974-7367