MANHATTAN, KANSAS, US — Yong-Cheng Shi, PhD, a professor in the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University, was recently awarded the Alsberg-French-Schoch Memorial Lectureship Award from the Cereals & Grains Association.

Established in 1965 to honor chemists who have made distinguished contributions to fundamental starch science, the Alsberg-French-Schoch Memorial Lectureship Award was developed by the Corn Refiners with a grant to the Cereals & Grains Association for its administration. The award is given every two to four years and includes the opportunity to present a lecture (generally 20 minutes) on some phase of starch science during a session of an annual meeting of the association.

Shi received his PhD in grain science with an emphasis in starch chemistry from KSU. Prior to becoming a faculty at KSU in 2006, he worked for National Starch Food Innovation from 1994 to 2005.

His research areas include structure and function of cereal carbohydrates, physical, chemical, and enzymatic modifications of starches and flours, and developing technologies and products for food, nutrition, emulsion, encapsulation, and pharmaceutical applications. He has 15 granted US patents, numerous corresponding patents throughout the world, and more than 60 publications pertaining to starch and cereal carbohydrates. He co-edited a book with C. C. Maningat on “Resistant Starch: Sources, Application and Health Benefits” in 2013, and was an associate editor of Cereal Chemistry from 2006-13.