UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Dr. Christopher Raines, 29, assistant professor of meat science and technology at The Pennsylvania State Univ. in the College of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Dairy and Animal Science, died on Dec. 18 in a one-vehicle accident, reports AgWeb.

His academic interests included meat color chemistry, meat product display, packaging systems, consumer demand and red meat product trends, industry sustainability, meat production and meat safety. Raines helped small meat processors as an extension meat specialist by providing educational programs and information on meat quality, safety and compliance topics.

He was also considered a college pioneer in utilizing social media as educational and communication tool. In doing so, he garnered a national reputation as a leader in the US agricultural community.

Raines joined the Penn State faculty in 2008, after earning his doctorate in food science from Kansas State Univ.