Nuria Acevedo, Ph.D., a Lifetime Member of Phi Tau Sigma, is currently a Principal Scientist of Technical Innovations at Griffith Foods North America. Prior to joining Griffith Foods, she was an Associate Professor at Iowa State University and she currently holds an affiliate faculty position at ISU. She is a prominent scholar in the area of soft material science of lipids and physico-chemical properties of foods with emphasis on the development of novel techniques to engineering lipid matrices with improved functional properties and nutritional value.  She received her Ph.D. degree in Food Chemistry and finalized her first postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. After a Post-doctoral Research Associate position at the University of Guelph she joined ISU as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor at the same University. Nuria has made many scholarly contributions; her research has led to over 60 research papers in high impact scientific journals, 2 patents, more than 90 conference presentations and several book chapters.

Nuria has served as a member of the Phi Tau Sigma Nominations and Election Committee for several years and is currently a member of the Membership Qualifications & Evaluation Committee. She has been actively contributing to the Edible Applications Technology Division of the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) and as a Co-Chair of the AOCS Professional Educator Common Interest Group (PE CIG). In addition to her service, she is a current member of IFT and The Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) where she has contributed as volunteer in several occasions.

Vision for ΦΤΣ: I am honored and excited to stand for election to the Phi Tau Sigma Board of Directors. As a proud member of Phi Tau Sigma and the Food Scientists’ community, I would like to offer my knowledge, experience, and dedication to helping Phi Tau Sigma excel and grow as a world-class Professional Society where excellence and outstanding achievement are recognized and encouraged. I believe my experience and past practice with several Committees and leadership activities, together with my energy and enthusiasm in all that I do will add positively to the mix on the Board of Directors. I want to add my energetic and enthusiastic dynamic to the Board of Directors and use it to work with staff, members, and the Food Science Community to achieve all the desirable outcomes for Phi Tau Sigma. As a member of the board, I will work to keep Phi Tau Sigma strong, sustainable, and engaged with its vision.