K-State's Daniel Y.C. Fung honored in Spain as a Distinguished Professor

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Source: Daniel Y.C. Fung, 785-532-1208, dfung@k-state.edu
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News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6451, media@k-state.edu

Tuesday, January 9, 2006

K-STATE'S DANIEL Y.C. FUNG HONORED IN SPAIN AS A DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR

MANHATTAN -- A Kansas State University professor who is an internationally recognized expert in the field of rapid methods and automation in microbiology has received a special recognition from a university in Spain.

Daniel Y.C. Fung, professor of food science and animal sciences and industry at K-State, is the first scientist to be honored as a Distinguished Professor by the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain. The presentation was made Nov. 23, 2006, by Alfred Ferret, dean of the university's Veterinary School. The Spanish university has around 50,000 students.

The honor is in recognition of Fung's contributions as a keynote speaker and principal lecturer for the Spanish university's Rapid Methods and Automation in Food Microbiology workshop series since it began in 2002. The conference draws around 200 national and international participants each year.

Fung is a widely known expert in rapid methods and automation in food microbiology, devoting his career to developing faster processes for detecting spoilage and harmful and beneficial microorganisms in food and the environment. He also has worked on controlling pathogenic organisms by physical methods, chemical methods and fermentation procedures. He has received three U.S. patents dealing with pathogen detection and fermentation technology. He also launched and has led an international workshop on rapid methods in automation in microbiology at K-State since 1981. The conference has attracted more than 4,000 scientists from 60 nations in the past 26 years.

Fung has received numerous awards for his work, including the 1997 Institute of Food Technologists International Award; the 2001 Waksman Outstanding Educator Award, given by the Society for Industrial Microbiology; and the 2006 Institute of Food Technologists' Carl Fellers Award for outstanding achievement in food science and technology. He is a fellow of the Food Institute of Technologists, the International Academy of Food Science and Technology and the American Academy of Microbiology.

Fung received his bachelor's degree from International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan; a master's in public health from the University of North Carolina; and a doctorate in food technology from Iowa State University. He has been a K-State faculty member since 1978.