The award was in recognition of Rao's research on the rheological properties of fruit juices and purees, pectin gels, and starch dispersions. Not only is Andy an internationally recognized expert in food rheology, but he is an outstanding educator and one of the most genuinely amiable and cooperative members of this department. Rao received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1969, came to Geneva in 1973, and has been one of the mainstays of the food science program ever since. Rao, a food engineer, specializes in rheological properties of foods, thermal processing of foods, and extraction, filtration, and concentration of fruit juices.
Rheology is the science of deformation and flow of matter.
Over the years, the Fruit and Vegetable Processing Pilot Plant at Geneva has provided me unique opportunities for preparing samples of apple sauce, apple juice, and tomato concentrates, specifically for studying their rheological properties. Like many other scientists, Rao's biggest challenge has been finding funding. He notes that funding for research in food engineering has been limited to the USDA NRI program. Allocation to the program has remained stagnant for a long time and was cut for 2001. Rao looks forward to the future of both his program and rheology.