Dr. George Annor is an Associate Professor of Cereal Chemistry and Technology and a McKnight Presidential Fellow in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota. He is also chair for the General Mills Endowed Professorship in Cereal Chemistry and Technology.
Dr. Annor’s research focuses on components of cereals and grains and how they are affected by breeding, agronomy, and non-thermal processing techniques.
With faculty in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Dr. Annor is working to explore the food and functional characteristics of new and novel cereal, protein, and oilseed crops. As an example, Dr Annor developed a method to rapidly screen large numbers of samples for wheat gluten quality at the early stages of wheat variety development. He also collaborates on breeding programs focusing on oats and corn and is working on potential uses of ingredients made from intermediate wheatgrass (Kernza), a crop known for producing ecosystem services. Dr. Annor has also worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the past to develop Food Composition Tables for West Africa.
Dr. Annor has been an active member of The Minnesota section of IFT and has contributed to the section in various ways. He is currently the chair of the Macy Award committee and a Director-at-Large. Dr. Annor has also served as MNIFT President, Silent Auction Committee Chair, MNIFT Secretary, Programming Committee Chair and more!
History of the Award
The President’s Award was established by the Minnesota Section of the Institute of Food Technologists in 1987. In the words of the Bylaw adopted to formally establish the Award, its purpose is “to recognize a member in the section who has served the Section and the profession in an outstanding manner”.
The Award consists of an engraved plaque with the citation and an honorarium. The presentation is featured at the first dinner meeting of the year for the Minnesota IFT Section.
All members of the Minnesota Section are eligible for this award. The selection of the award is made by a committee of the Section, which is comprised of current and former Presidents of the Minnesota Section.
Nomination for the award may be made by the any member of the Minnesota Section. The Award recognizes the dedication that many IFT members have for their professional scientific society and says “thank you” to all who have given their time to improve the future of the food sector.