Prof. Osvaldo Campanella, from Ohio State University (USA) is the new Visiting Professor of CentraleSupélec. He will during two months in the Chaire de Biotechnologie of LGPM in the project “Bio-based plastics with enhanced performance through extrusion of starchy products”, with focus on obtaining new biomaterials for different applications.

The project

There is a rising trend in developing alternatives to conventional plastics, with lower environmental impact. The so-called bio-based plastics are produced from renewable sources using biopolymers, mainly starch. They can be compostable or biodegradable, as well as used for different purposes, such as packages, agricultural supplies, medical, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.

Although there is a vast literature producing starch-based plastics, the majority of the studies have focused on the casting technique, a simple and efficient approach, but only used at the laboratory scale. Therefore, this project will focus on the extrusion technique, a more complex, but scalable technology, thus contributing to future scale up for industrial application.

The Chaire de Biotechnologie recently received and installed a last generation extruder in that expanded the possibilities of research to produce bio-based plastics. Prof. Osvaldo Campanella is a leading researcher in the areas of extrusion and starch, whose experience can complement the LGPM knowledge in the field. Moreover, this new cooperation between CentraleSupélec and Ohio State University is strategic, presenting great potential for both institutions.

Who is Prof. Campanella ?

Professor Osvaldo H. Campanella holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina). Started his research career working on fluid mechanics modeling of complex fluids in different systems associated with chemical and bioprocesses. He conducted his graduate studies at the University of Massachusetts (USA) where he gained a Ph.D. In Food Engineering. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Professor Campanella was appointed in the Massey University (New Zealand) where he focused his research on Food Engineering, Heat Transfer, Food Extrusion and Rheology. Professor Campanella was at Purdue University (USA) from 1999 to 2018, where he continued working in the areas of Rheology, Food Engineering, and Thermal Processing.

In 2019 he moved to the Department of Food Science and Technology at the Ohio State University as the Carl E. Haas Endowed Chair in Food Industries. In that year, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Association for Engineering and Food (IAEF), a distinguished award reserved to recognize exceptional, long-lasting achievements and contributions to the progress of food engineering.

Professor Campanella has published more than 220 scientific articles related to rheology, extrusion, cereal processing, food engineering, thermal processing, physicochemical characterization of biomaterials, and other areas related to engineering and technology. He has published two books related to the extrusion processes for food and non-food biological materials and the science and technology of fibers in food systems. His research group has participated in more than 250 presentations in Conferences (AIChE, Cereals & Grain, COFE, IFT, etc.) and he has given more than 40 plenary conferences, industry presentations, and courses in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay), Australia, China, England, France, Korea, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan. He also holds four patents related to biomaterials.