CHICAGO – Colin Dennis, Ph.D., has been named the 76th president of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific society of professionals in industry, academia, and government engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas. Dennis succeeds Mary Ellen Camire, Ph.D. 

Colin Dennis, president of IFT.

Dennis began his career in food science and technology in 1970 as the first mycologist in the UK Government’s Institute of Food Research. He later was named the first director of food technology at Campden Food & Drink Research Association. During his seven years in that role, he initiated research in chilled foods, aseptic packaging and hygienic design. He subsequently served as director-general of the organization, now Campden BRI, for 21 years.

Additionally, he has served on government and industry advisory committees in the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Canada, Belgium, India and Abu Dhabi. He has served on the selection panel for the World Food Prize and has volunteered in numerous capacities in the food science and technology community. As a visiting professor at Queen’s Univ., Belfast, and Royal Agricultural Univ., Dennis taught undergrad modules, provided strategic guidance and hosted students for industrial training.

He received a bachelor’s degree in botany and biochemistry and a doctorate from Sheffield Univ.

“It is a great honor to serve as the next president of the Institute of Food Technologists, especially given the important public dialogue involving how we will feed billions of people in the decades ahead,” Dennis said. “As we address this challenge, it will be imperative that we continue to emphasize the importance of science and innovation so they are universally accepted as essential to a safe, nutritious, and sustainable food supply worldwide.”

John Coupland, Ph.D., has been named IFT president-elect. He will succeed Dennis as the 2016-2017 president.