Sharon Shoemaker, PhD, joined UC Davis in 1991 as founder and director of the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research (CIFAR), where she brings together a wide variety of organizations and individuals, forming collaborations and project teams to conduct applied research, and organize conferences to disseminate state-of-the-art knowledge in emerging technology areas.

Since founding CIFAR, she has initiated a number of new activities at UC Davis through guidance of an executive committee and advisory affiliates board. A sampling includes:

• Multi-investigator research and forums on lignocellulosic conversion since 1991;
• Dedicating the Herman Phaff Yeast Culture Collection (1996);
• Establishing and directing the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center site in Advanced Processing and Packaging at UC Davis (94-’04);
• Administering the nation-wide testing of technology for more efficient use of water and energy, plus waste reduction, in food processing operations (’92-’02);
• Constructing a Roadmap for energy efficiency in California’s food processing industry;
• Creating research directories of UC Davis faculty in Food for Health (editions ‘96, ’98, ’01, ’02) and in Utilization of Agricultural “wastes” (‘01); and
• A collaborator with the nationally recognized Food Foresight (since 1993).

Shoemaker holds B.S. degree in Chemistry, M.S. degree in Food Science and Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry and Nutrition from Virginia Tech. After doing post-doctoral training in biochemical engineering, she worked for 15 years in the biotechnology industry before joining UC Davis. Her career research focus has been on biomass, especially studying cellulases and their applications; developing enzyme-to-mixed sugar processes and optimizing microbial strains for production of the value-added products, such as lactic acid and ethanol. Her industrial experience led to patents on cellulases, novel yeast strains to convert biomass-to-ethanol and novel bacterial strains to produce new forms of cellulose. She also led team efforts to improve enzyme systems to convert biomass-to-sugars and subsequent fermentation to chemicals, and to characterize and develop ligninase systems for use in the pulp and paper industry.

Shoemaker is a signaturee in the original DOE Biomass Roadmap Compact, a DOE Industries of the Future valued partner in Agriculture, and invited lecturer at the Marcus Wallenburg Prize (Sweden, 1985). She has been a long-time contributor to strategic plans, technical programs and organizing committees for DOE, USDA, and American Chemical Society. She currently serves as a reviewer for the Department of Energy’s National Stage Gate Biomass Program. At the state and regional level, she is a member of the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research projects that developed ethanol processes using wood and rice straw feedstocks. Sharon served on the Yolo County Ethanol Task force, developed an ethanol marketing report and has authored many papers and patents. At the international level, she advises cellulosic bioethanol and bioproducts programs in China, India, Chile, Japan, Germany, Finland, Canada and UK. She serves on the editorial board of the ACS Journals, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and Biotechnology Progress and is the 2002 recipient of the Charles D. Scott Award for Biotechnology Research Applied to Production of Fuels and Chemicals.

David Reid joined the faculty of the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis in 1981. Recruited to perform fundamental research into the freezing process, he has developed and maintained strong industry contacts throughout his career at Davis, so it is not surprising that he has been closely associated with CIFAR since its inception.

Reid holds BSc and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow, with his specialization being in Physical Chemistry. After a 1 year post-doctoral stint at SUNY-Buffalo, he returned to the UK, spending 13 years as a research scientist with Unilever Research. His focus was the physical chemistry of water in food systems, with a particular focus on freezing. On joining UC Davis, he maintained this focus of understanding the physical chemistry of the role of water in foods, looking both at food freezing and clarifying the factors which influence both frozen storage stability and at the effect of water removal in the concentration process. Ever since his time at Unilever, he has been an active participant in the International Symposium on the Properties of Water (ISOPOW), where the role of water in foods and pharmaceuticals is the theme of the discussions.

Reid has for many years received significant research support from industry, and has served for many years on scientific advisory committees for AFFI (American Frozen Food Institute) and GCCA (Global Cold Chain Alliance). He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture since 1999.

A Fellow of IFT, Reid serves as their representative on the board of the National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research (NCFAR), a coalition that seeks to increase the level of government funding for food and agriculture research. He is also a Fellow of IAFoST (International Academy of Food Science and Technology). In 2007, AFFI presented him with a career leadership award, and he is the 2012 recipient of the Frozen Food Foundation Freezing Research Award.

Throughout his career, Reid has focused on the application of fundamental research to practical situations. He sees the mission of CIFAR as being an essential component of a successful integration of research, know-how and resources. Only by close, committed collaboration of all the players can we reach an effective, sustainable future.

As the former Director of Energy & Indirect Procurement for Del Monte Foods, Lewis has over 30 years of experience in all facets of operations management including production management, technical, laboratory and quality services, process reengineering, engineering, maintenance, supply chain management and energy management. Glen is a member of the American Production & Inventory Control Society (APICS) Board of Directors – Sacramento Chapter. He is certified in energy procurement and management by the Association of Energy Engineers and completed the US Department of Energy-Federal Energy Management Program.  With the US Department of Energy, California Energy Commission, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CIFAR, Lewis has led a spectrum of major federal and state energy technology and supply chain-related initiatives applicable to California’s food industry relating to demand response and energy efficiency.  He was recently a project leader for the US Air Force-Air Combat Command in electricity smart grid development for the military.   

Lewis was the team leader for a US Department of Energy demonstration project for the US food industry. The demonstration project objective was to develop Best Practices in enterprise energy management (EEM) to optimize WAGES resource management (Water, Air, Gas, Electricity, Steam) and to integrate with enterprise asset management (EAM) to maximize equipment life cycle energy efficiency and working capital management. The EEM-EAM Best Practices demonstration project earned a 2005 State of California Flex Your Power award for Energy Education & Leadership.  The technologies, currently called Green Energy Management System (GEMS), are applied in the food and beverage industry as well as other energy-intensive industries for energy management and sustainability integration.  Sierra Nevada Brewery is a leadership example of GEMS technologies integrated with sustainability objectives and metrics.  In addition, the GEMS technologies have been innovatively integrated with wastewater chemistry and realtime weather data.  The applicable work is recognized by the US Department of Energy-Office of Scientific & Technical Information as a Best Practice in energy-water resource management.

Lewis is a graduate of UCLA and received his MBA from The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. He completed an executive education program in supply chain management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA and continues executive education there in operations, technology and supply chain management.

Ricardo Amón, born in Barranquilla, Colombia is a resident of the City of Davis, California since 1981.  During this time completed a Bachelors of Science in Community Development and Behavioral Sciences, and a Master of Science in International Agricultural Economic Development, both from the University of California (UC), Davis.  Upon graduation, was selected to the California State Executive Fellows Program, and matched with the California Energy Commission to implement SB 1145 (Mello, 1986), the California Farm Energy Assistance program. 

Hired by the Energy Commission in 1988, lead the state’s Energy in Agriculture Program, advancing science, technology and best practices to reduce energy consumption and convert biomass to energy at agricultural farms and food processing companies.   Responsible for the management of over 40 million dollars, allocated in grants for research and emerging technology demonstration projects, peak load reduction incentives, low-interest loans, technical support and technology transfer activities.  Developed experience with collaborative projects, creating value products in partnership with the UC Cooperative Extension Service; the Irrigation Training and Research Center at CalPoly San Luis Obispo University (ITRC); and the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT) at Fresno State University.  These collaborative efforts provided rebates to conduct irrigation water pumping plant test and repairs, advance irrigation water management technologies and management practices, and enhance irrigation district operation system performance.  Hardware development was accompanied by training and education programs.

In addition to gaining practical technology adoption experience with irrigation and water management systems, was involved in emerging technology development and adoption programs at greenhouse buildings, dairy operations, wineries and food processing facilities.  Also an instrumental member of the Energy Commission’s Industrial program team delivering DOE’s Industrial Best Practices education, training and system assessments.  Retired from the Energy Commission in 2009.   

In 2010, he was hired by the California Biomass Collaborative at UC Davis (UCD) to conduct a statewide waste to energy residue assessment in the agricultural, food and beverage processing industries.  Since mid- 2011 joined the UCD California Institute for Food and Agricultural Research (CIFAR) to implement the Food and Beverage Industry Energy Management Program, using the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Superior Energy Performance products and services.   Ricardo is also providing expert services to Navigant Consulting, producing an Agricultural industry Characterization Study for the Investor Owned Utilities’ compliance with the Public Utilities Commission Long-Term Efficiency Plan.   

Alex F. McCalla, PhD, is Professor emeritus of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Graduate School of Management, UC Davis. Dr. McCalla received his first two degrees from the University of Alberta before moving on to the University of Minnesota where he received his doctorate in Agricultural Economics in 1966. Throughout his academic career he was associated with UC Davis where he served as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Associate Director of the California Agricultural Experiment Station (1970 75) and Founding Dean, Graduate School of Management (1979 1981).

Dr. McCalla is best known for his research in international trade where he has published extensively. The quality of his research and communication skills have been recognized by the American Agricultural Economics Association which presented him with its Quality of Communication Award in 1979 and its Quality of Research Discovery Award in 1982. He was elected Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association in 1988, a Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society in 2000 and a Distinguished Scholar of the Western Agricultural Economics Association in 2004. He was a founding member and co convener of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium. He served as the Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) from 1988 to 1994.

He elected early retirement from the UC Davis in 1994 to become the Director of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department of the World Bank in Washington, D.C.  During his tenure he led a major effort to revitalize the World Bank's commitment to Rural Development. He was Director of Rural Development from 1997-1999.

In 1998 and 1999, respectively, he was awarded the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, by McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and the Doctor’s Degree of Honor by the Georgian State Agrarian Universit. In 2004 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Alberta.

He served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of CIMMYT- the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, a CGIAR Center with Headquarters in Mexico,(2001- 2005) and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis. He is a Past-President of the UC Davis Emeriti Association.

Sam Cunningham, PhD, is the owner of Cunningham Business Consulting Inc, a firm with a network of relationships in global food and agriculture businesses.  He is a charter member and current Chairman of the Nutrition Research Committee for the Almond Board of California.

Dr. Cunningham is a professional food scientist with strong international business experience.  He began his career as Professor at the University of Tennessee (Food Science) prior to spending 10 years in business development with Frito-Lay Inc and Pepsico Foods International.  Before beginning the consulting business, Dr. Cunningham was Director of R&D/QA at Blue Diamond Growers in Sacramento California, the world’s largest almond company.

Dr. Cunningham is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists, American Oil Chemists Society and other professional organizations.   He has degrees in food science and a doctorate in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University. 

Dr. Cunningham and his wife, Diana, have has two grown sons, two grandsons and live in Folsom, California.

Mark Fenn is Managing Director, Business Planning International, LLC.  Specializing in small business environment logistics, remote systems applications for independent business collaborations, creating business plans, project analysis, financial models and solution implementations.  Fenn has over 30 years experience in operations; finance; accounting; corporate planning and analysis; strategic investments and acquisitions. 

Prior to starting Business Planning International, Fenn held positions at Rayonier Inc. a multinational forest products company. He served in numerous roles including Director Corporate Planning & Analysis responsible for the planning and analysis of strategic growth and acquisition opportunities in the US and Australia.  Assistant Corporate Controller leading financial, accounting and systems function for Forestry, Real Estate and Wood Products Divisions, generating $350 million in sales.  Director of Financial Planning responsible for all aspects of corporate forecasting, budgeting & planning.  Fenn also held financial management positions at Ingredient Technology Corporation a food ingredient processor and importer; as well as, Microdot Inc, a manufacturer of industrial, automotive and aerospace subassemblies.

Fenn is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and received an MBA in Finance from the University of Connecticut.

Mike Campbell.

Allen Bah, MBA, is an Executive Vice President of Global Investment Holdings Co, Ltd (GIH). GIH is a 23 year old integrated financial service firm headquartered in Taipei, with branch offices in China. Since inception, GIH has invested and nurtured 400 portfolio companies, about 200 of them have achieved successful exit (85% via IPO). Many of the companies have grown into multinational firms (e.g. TSMC, Acer, ASUS, D-Link, UMC, Del-solar, NSP & etc) with active presence in the Greater China and North American markets.

 While with GIH, Mr. Bah played a lead role in the development, negotiation and execution of an investment and strategic alliance relationship with Bank of Nova Scotia (the third largest bank in Canada). Moreover, he is responsible for the firm’s international operations and plays a key role in the firm’s Financial Advisory Services (i.e. investment banking), and Venture Capital division respectively.

Prior to GIH Mr. Bah held several positions, as a venture Partner of Ventana Capital, as Executive Vice President & a founder of Wearne USA Inc. and in the strategic planning and international banking departments of Bank of America. 

Thomas C. Wong, Ph.D. is retired from the position of Director of Research for E&J Gallo Winery, Modesto, CA. He obtained his B.S. degree in Food Science and Technology from Oregon State University in 1967, and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Chemistry from the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis in 1970. He started to work for Gallo Winery right after graduation. During his first 10 years as Senior Research Scientist, he invented many important wine processing material and developed many processing techniques. All these developments were aimed for more efficient raw material utilization, reducing process time and labor costs, water and energy usage. His other expertise was in solving processing and quality problems in wines.  He was promoted to Director of Research in 1980 and served in that position until his retirement in 2001. His great success in R&D  is his ability to visualize and select research projects that have high potentials to be developed into successful commercial products. His other ability is to simplify complex industrial processing steps into more efficient and cost-reducing new schemes, without sacrificing quality of the products. All these achievement were made possible when he was given the opportunity to initial his own research projects and developed them from laboratory research results all the way to industrial production scale. Because Gallo Winery is the world’s largest winery, its production scale may mean many million gallons of wine, or thousands tons of non-wine products. His research interests and scientific specialties are in industrial application of enzymes, solid-liquid separations, including developing an asbestos replacement for wine filtration and a new membrane filter for microbial (yeast) removal in wines , fermentation technology, natural colors and natural polymers, oxidation problems in foods and beverage, anti-oxidative food components, nutriceutical properties in foods, bio-processing of heat sensitive material, food stability, food packaging and packaging material, by-product recovery from food wastes, and food waste treatment. He owed his ability to do wide varieties of  research to the good course works and dedicated teachings from talented professors in food science and technology at the above two universities. From 2001-2007, he served as advisor to the president of Valley Research, an international enzyme company located in South Bend, Indiana. The majority of Valley Research’s enzyme products are for food applications, although it also supplies enzyme to fermentation, feed and fuel-ethanol industries. In his advisory capacity, Tom further extended his expertise to other non-wine industries, including dairy, fruit and fruit juice, corn syrup, fat and oil, starch and baking, flavor, nutritional and dietary supplement, protein and protein hydrolyzates, feed, and ethanol fuel. In addition to his involvement in enzyme R&D in Valley Research, Tom also involved in production, marketing and sales of enzyme products. As many food companies started to depend on the technical services of their vendors, Tom help solved many production problems for the customers of Valley Research, although most of these problems are not related to application of enzymes. Tom also served for many years as industrial advisor for Cornell University, Oregon State University, University of Calif at Davis, China Agricultural University in Beijing, the Wine Institute (US), Tobacco and Wine Bureau of Republic of China, Taiwan. Food and beverage industries in People’s Republic of China.