Professional Membership: Eligibility and Guidelines

  1. Food Science and Technology professionals nominated for membership must be employed in a position directly related to Food Science and/or Technology, or Allied field, in industry, government, non-profit, trade association, private practice, or academic institution.
  2. The statement of qualifications for professionals should clearly illustrate how contributions of the nominee have distinguished the nominee from other professionals with similar employment. Please write in the third person.
  3. The statement of qualifications for professionals should demonstrate the relationship of recognitions, honors and other achievements to the professional strengths of the nominee.

Benefits of Membership

  1. Recognition – The process to become a member is one of nomination and review. Only those with the highest standards of excellence are approved for membership.
  2. The opportunity to connect and pursue excellence with others having similar values.
  3. Opportunities for leadership either by serving in an elected office or through committee appointments.
  4. Opportunities for awards and scholarships–especially for students

Join now!

Are you ready to join? Please see the membership form below to know more about the detailed membership criteria. Your membership form must be submitted by two active Phi Tau Sigma members.

Please read prior to submitting a nomination for membership

  • This is a nomination process and not an application. The ΦTΣ Honor Society Nomination for Membership form shall be reviewed by the nominators prior to submission.
  • The name of the nominee as printed on the nomination form will be used for membership certificate.
  • An alternate email address of the nominee should be included, if there is one.
  • The nominators must be members in good standing (have paid their dues) in Phi Tau Sigma, and may be professionals, students, or one of each.
  • The “Other Contact” name and email address should be for the Chapter Advisor, President, representative, or other individual, who will also be notified of the outcome of the Membership Qualifications & Evaluation Committee review. If the nominee will not be affiliated with a local chapter, this field can be left blank.
  • Please do not send attachments; they will be deleted.
  • All nominations from a single institution should be submitted as individual documents (pdf or Word format), not as a single packet. Email the nomination documents to the Executive Director: klkotula@msn.com. All nominators must be on the submission email, whether as the sender or copied on the email.
  • The Membership Qualifications and Evaluation Committee reviews all nomination and makes recommendations to the Executive Committee. The nomination evaluation process usually takes a month or so. Incomplete nominations will delay the evaluation or result in rejection. 
  • The nomination fee must be paid prior to review of the nomination material by Membership Qualifications and Evaluation Committee. Please follow the instructions on page 2 above that are repeated here:
  • Send this form as an email attachment to the Executive Director: klkotula@msn.com
  • The payment can be by a check drawn on a US bank to Treasurer Kantha Shelke, Ph.D.: 33 West Ontario, Suite 57F, Chicago, IL 60654.   OR You may pay online at www.phitausigma.org/membership-dues/

Professional member dues are $40 per year, student member dues are $20 per year. Lifetime membership is $400 with no recurrent billing. Submit nomination fee equal to first year dues at the same time as this form.  If elected to membership, the nomination fee is your first year’s dues or may be deducted from a Lifetime membership. Payment is required with this nomination form.

  • A nominee who is rejected must wait at least 4 months before reapplying, to allow more courses to be taken, and/or more relevant activities to be accomplished.
  • Membership of anyone can be revoked for non-payment of dues, except Lifetime Members and Emeritus Members.
  • This document is on the Phi Tau Sigma website, subsection Membership. If you have questions or need clarification contact Executive Director, Kathryn L. Kotula, Ph.D., klkotula@msn.com
  • New members can send and receive messages via the phitausigma@lists.osu.edu list service that enables direct communication with all members in good standing. Anyone may unsubscribe from the listserv at this link https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/phitausigma
  • Thank you for your interest in Phi Tau Sigma.  We wish you continued success in advancing the profession of food science and technology.

Why Join?

“…I want to build and maintain a lifetime connection with this group of dedicated Food Science professionals.” Dongjun Zhao, Ph.D.

“..because I truly believe in the organization’s vision and mission.  Giving back to the scientific community (and particularly students) helps to advance the future of our field.” Taylor C. Wallace, Ph.D.

“The organization has strong values that I admire…I wanted to make a statement of my commitment to those values…to say I am committed to this organization for life.” Steven Wilson, MBA

“I have observed Phi Tau Sigma take efforts to include all Food Science students and provide them the needed guidance, contacts and exposure for advancing their careers.  I am myself one of the beneficiaries…Becoming a Lifetime member amounts to giving something back to Phi Tau Sigma for everything it did to my career.” Ravin Gnanasambandam, Ph.D.

“…it represents high commitment to excellence in academics, service and leadership in every area but specifically in the area of food science and technology.” Fatemeh Malekian, Ph.D.

“…because I always forgot to send my dues in.  The second and probably the most important reason is because I believe in the Phi Tau Sigma purpose…to recognize and honor the professional achievement of food scientists and technologists, especially students.” Maria L. Plaza, Ph.D.