Prof Da-Wen Sun, Prof of Food and Biosystems Engineering, from UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine
Prof Da-Wen Sun , Prof of Food and Biosystems Engineering, from UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine has recently been awarded research funding of €1.14 million for two major grants from the EU and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF).
The EU 7 Framework Project “MINICRYSTAL – Method for Improving the Quality of Frozen Foods by Assisting the Freezing Process and Reducing the Size of the Ice Crystals” is based on UCD technology of ultrasound-assisting freezing developed by Prof Sun.
With previous funding from UCD President’s Research Award, and SFI Research Frontiers Programme, Prof Sun and his team have shown the promising ability of using power ultrasound to initiate ice nucleation and to control crystal size distribution in the frozen food product, leading to shorter freezing time, increased freezing efficiency and improved product quality.
This new EU project of €1,086,610 with a UCD share of €462,989 involves universities, research organisations and industrial companies from six countries, and will design and develop a prototype system for its industrial validation in food freezing facilities, which will be cost-effective, easy to operate and readily integrated with commercially available freezing equipment.
The DAFF FIRM project is one of the only three successful UCD projects funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under the recent round of the FIRM programme. This new FIRM project led by Prof Sun is in collaboration with Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre with a total grant of €835,519, of which UCD shares €676,919.
Prof Sun is an international leading researcher in computer vision application in food quality evaluation. The new FIRM project will expand his research by adapting the hyperspectral imaging technique to develop a novel screening imaging system that will be able to assess the quality of meat and its tenderness. The system will be a rapid, non-destructive and non-contact system which will interest both industry and consumers.
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