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Foodmeet - Executive Panel Members
Arie Altman
Arie Altman
Professor (Emer.), Horticulture, Plant and Agricultural Biotechnology. Founding Director, Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1999-2005). Past President 1994-1998, International Association of Plant Biotechnology (IAPB). Director, the Otto Warburg Center of Biotechnology in Agriculture (1992-1998). Member, Israel National Committee for Biotechnology and Ministry of Agriculture Committee for Transgenic Plants. Guest Professor and Research Associate: Tel Aviv University, University College of London and Cambridge University. Major Research: Plant tissue cultures and Agricultural Biotechnology, Plant response to drought and salinity stress, Plant evolution: Plant gene-human culture–coevolution.
Michael T. Weber
Michael T. Weber grew up on a cash grain farm in East Central Illinois and graduated from Tuscola High School. He started his professional career working for 3 years as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer/agricultural extension agent in rural areas of Huila, Colombia. He completed a B.S. degree from Southern Illinois University and an M.S/Ph.D. from Michigan State University (MSU).
Donald L. Smith
Donald L. Smith (Distinguished James McGill Professor) has conducted research in the production and physiology of crop plants, with an emphasis on plant-microbe interactions, most recently, within the context of biofuel feedstock production. Specific areas of research have been: nitrogen metabolism, nitrogen fixation, low temperature stress and legume nodulation, methods for injection of metabolites into plants, cereal production, plant growth regulators, intercropping.
Shlomo Nir
Shlomo Nir is Professor Emeritus at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). 1969 Ph.D-Theoretical Physics. Thesis: Atomic Spectroscopy; calculations of energy levels. 1970 Fellow, Inst. Life Sciences, HUJI. 1970-1980. RPMI, Buffalo NY. Cancer Research Scientist I-IV, and Assoc. Prof. Biophysics; University of NY, Buffalo. 1980 Assoc. Prof. HUJI; Dept Soil and water Sciences.1985 Professor. 2003 Professor Emeritus. Recent research mainly on Water Purification. Developed models for: 1. Simultaneous adsorption of several cations(including organic caions) to surfaces, electrostatic equations and specific binding in a closed system: applied to biological membranes and clays, and extended to organic cations. 2. Particle aggregation, extent and kinetics. 3. Membrane fusion and endocytosis 4. Pore formation by peptides. 5. Kinetics of filtration for a solution with several pollutants. The model has yielded simulations and predictions for removal of chemicals and bacteria for laboratory and pilot scales. 6. Degradaion during filtration. The model, which predicts steady state phenomena was applied in (i) removal from fish ponds of off flavor compounds (ii)Very efficient purification of lake drinking water. Designed organo-clay complexes, which remove from water efficiently chemicals and microorganisms. Published 265 articles in Journals and books, 4 books, 6 patents; h-index 96.
Gary Williamson
Williamson has extensive experience in international research in academic, institute and industrial environments. Prior to joining the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food in October 2018, he was Professor and Chair of Functional Food, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, UK, and before that, was Research Group Leader at the Nestle Research Center in Switzerland.
Francesco Branca
Dr Francesco Branca is the Director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva. He graduated in Medicine and Surgery and specialized in Diabetology and Metabolic Diseases at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma. He obtained a PhD in Nutrition at Aberdeen University.
