Lifetime Achievement Award for Plant & Food Principal Scientist

Principal Scientist Plant & Food Research and Riddet Institute Fellow, Dr Nigel Larsen, has been presented with the Plant & Food Research Lifetime Achievement Award for his 35 years of contribution to the knowledge of food science and materials science in New Zealand and overseas.

In addition to co-founding the Biopolymer Network, a company that converts sustainable natural resources to biopolymers and biocomposite products, he has also played significant leadership roles in numerous large multi-year, multi-agency research projects in food science. Dr Larsen has led significant government-funded initiatives in collaboration with the New Zealand cereal industry to enhance the quality of the cereal-based consumer products that the industry produces. Most recently, he has been leading a multi-faceted strategy to lower the levels of proteins in foods made from New Zealand wheats that trigger coeliac disease. This involves projects across breeding, farming, milling and baking.