Excellence in Research Award

Winner of the 2007 Excellence in Research Award:

Dr. Liangli Yu

Liangli (Lucy) Yu is a remarkably talented food chemist who has established a superior record of accomplishments as a researcher. She has 74 refereed publications, one patent with 12 patent and invention disclosures filed since 2001. Dr. Yu’s lab has been particularly productive with an average of 10 refereed publications per year since 2004 in journals such as Food Chemistry and Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Her work has impact factors ranked in the top 10% of the Journal Citation Report’s Food Science and Technology category. Dr. Yu has edited two books – one in Chinese and one in English – and has written 10 book chapters, including one in Bailey’s Industrial Oil and Fat Products.

Dr. Yu’s research addresses nutraceutical properties, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of bioactive molecules derived from agriculturalsources such as grains, berries and fruits. Her laboratory uses electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrophotometry and florescence to measure antioxidant activity.

Her funding record is admirable with more than $850,000 received in extramural and intramural funding. This is mostly from competitive sources such as USDA National Research Initiative program and the National Science Foundation. She has also received considerable support from industry foundations and trade associations including the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, Maryland Soybean Board and the Colgate Palmolive Company.

Dr. Yu and her graduate students have been widely recognized. She was named 2008 Young Scientist of the Year by the American Oil Chemists’ Society and in 2006 she was the Young Scientist of the Year from the Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society. Her excellent and well trained graduate students have also been recognized by the Grocery Manufacturers of America/Food Products Association and have been 1st place winners at campus and off-campus research competitions. Two of her recent Ph.D. students were placed in tenure track positions at Virginia Tech and Virginia State University.

Dr. Yu’s work has also garnered the attention of the media. CNN and the BBC ran a segment on the antioxidant capacity of a whole wheat pizza dough model system that she presented 2006 ACS meeting in San Francisco. Her accessibility to the press was in line with her willingness to help in others’ labs as well as work with colleagues across campus.

Award Details

Candidates should be actively involved in a distinguished research program in basic or applied sciences which has gained significant recognition. It must be clear that the awardee has made a valuable contribution to science. All faculty and staff with an appointment with the Agriculture Experiment Station (AES), either in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or in departments outside of the college (such as Entomology) are eligible for this award. Candidates may be located in academic units on campus, or at off-campus components of the research and education centers. The same person may receive this award more than once during his/her career in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

• Each department, program, or unit in AGNR is encouraged to make at least one faculty/staff nomination for the Excellence in Research Award.
• Nominations from non-university sources are also encouraged
• Nominating packets should include:
  • 1-2 page nominating letter
  • 1-2 page narrative of accomplishments
  • Total package not to exceed 3 pages
• Nominations are due by February 13 of each year
• 5 copies of the nominating packet should be submitted to Gail Yeiser, 0106 Symons Hall, College Park, MD 20742

Previous Recipients...

• 1970 Marvin K. Aycock, Jr.
• 1971 Raymond L. King
• 1972 Hugh G. Grant
• 1973 A. Morris Decker
• 1974 Robert E. Menzer
• 1975 Emory C. Leffel
• 1976 J.H. Axley
• 1977 S.B. Mohanty
• 1978 D.S. Fanning
• 1979 Joseph Soares
• 1980 Amihud Kramer
• 1981 James L. Heath
• 1982 F.W. Wheaton
• 1983 Wayne J. Kuenzel
• 1984 Dennis Stimmart
• 1985 Hugh D. Sisler
• 1986 Ian H. Mather
• 1987 D. Scott Glenn
• 1990 Inder K. Vijay
• 1991 Kenneth McConnell
• 1992 Robert G. Chambers
• 1993 Richard E. Just
• 1994 Jay Scott Angle
• 1995 Bruce L. Gardner
• 1996 Phylis B. Moser-Veillon
• 1997 Thomas W. Castonguay
• 1998 Richard A. Erdman
• 1999 Mary Ann Ottinger
• 2000 Erik Lichtenberg
• 2001 Tom Porter
• 2002 Ramon Lopez
• 2003 Nancy E. Bockstael
• 2004 Richard Kohn
• 2005 John A. List
• 2006 Dr. Yang Tao
• 2007 Siba Samal