Professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University. I received my B.S. and Food Engineer degrees from the Universidad Nacional Agraria, La Molina, in Lima, Peru. Later, I received my Master and Doctorate degrees in Food Science from Oregon State University (1994 and 1998, respectively). I worked as research scientist for the Joint Institute of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN– UMD/FDA) and the USDA Human Nutrition and Research Center before joining The Ohio State Univ. I am the undergraduate coordinator in our program (~200 students) and serve as undergraduate liaison with the college and contact for prospective students. I advise over 80 students with responsibilities on planning their study, minors, course selection and career planning. I have received the CFAES Rodney F. Plimpton Outstanding Teacher Award, the OARDC Distinguished Junior Faculty Research Award and the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Educator Award. My major area of research interest is the applications of spectroscopic techniques for chemical detection and characterization in the agricultural field. Through the collaboration with leading optical sensing industries, my molecular vibrational Lab has pioneered the application of portable and micro- devices combined with chemometrics for screening of target components. My research has been nationally and internationally recognized for the integration of pattern recognition analysis to complex spectral information to identify potential tampering of foods. My research has generated over 80 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters and has been featured in multiple national and international meetings.