Faculty Directory

Faculty members in the Department of Grain and Food Science come from many different backgrounds and focus on a variety of disciplines.

Joseph Awika

Department Head

202 Shellenberger Hall
awika@ksu.edu
785-532-6161

Dr. Awika joined Kansas State University in 2024 as the Head of the Grain and Food Science Department and Director of Food Science Institute. He was previously on faculty at Texas A&M University (2008-2024), where he also served as Food Science & Technology Department Head (2021-2024). He also previously served on faculty at University of Missouri-Columbia (2005-2008) and Arkansas State University, Jonesboro (2004-2005). He obtained his Ph.D. from Texas A&M in 2003, and B.S. from Egerton University, Kenya in 1996.

Areas of Expertise: Food chemistry and processing.

Adjunct Faculty

Emeritus Faculty

Sajid Alavi

Professor

Dr. Sajid Alavi is a Professor in the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University. He joined the faculty in 2002 after obtaining his Ph.D. in Food Science/Food Engineering from Cornell University in the same year. Prior to that he received his M.S. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1997 and B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1995.

Guy Allen

Senior Agricultural Economist

Guy commenced serving as the Senior Economist for the IGP Institute at Kansas State University in the spring of 2019. In this role, he facilitates programs in marketing, supply chains and risk management of agricultural commodities.

Karen Blakeslee

Extension Associate

Karen Blakeslee is coordinator of the Rapid Response Center (RRC), an Extension Agent resource for Food Science, as well as the co-director of the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab (KVAL). The RRC was formed in 1995 as a resource for Kansas State University Research & Extension Agents. Resource topics included Food Science, Human Nutrition, Food Service and other consumer topics.

Paul Blodgett

Associate Director IV

Paul Blodgett holds the position as Associate Director IV of Hal Ross Flour Mill. He oversees all milling assets and operations of both the Hal Ross Flour Mill and Shellenberger Hall. Blodgett assists instructors with their courses at Hal Ross, and he also teaches the undergraduate course over Material Handling during the spring semester.

Carlos Campabadal

Instructor/IGP Outreach Specialist

102C IGP Institute
campa@ksu.edu
785-532-3187

Carlos is a faculty member of the Department of Grain and Food Science that works at the International Grains Program Institute (IGP) as an outreach specialist and instructor focusing in the areas of grain storage, quality and processing, U.S. grain grading and export systems, and feed manufacturing. He serves as the coordinator for the Spanish-Speaking Outreach program and main contact with the Latin American grain industry. He also collaborates in research and extension at the Stored Product Protection Research group and Feed Technology group of the Department of Grain and Food Science, and serves as the Extension Leader for the department.

Aaron Clanton

Bakers National Education Foundation (BNEF) Instructor

107 Shellenberger Hall 107
alclanton@ksu.edu
785-532-4396

Aaron Clanton joined Kansas State in 2019 as BNEF Instructor after 20 years of experience with grain based food production. He is a graduate of Kansas State University with bachelor’s degrees in Milling Science and Management, and in Chemical Science. He also holds a master’s in Business Administration.

Hulya Dogan

Ross Endowed Professor

210 Shellenberger Hall
dogan@ksu.edu
785-532-2628

Dr. Dogan received her Ph.D. in Food Engineering from Middle East Technical University in Turkey; this is where she optained her B.S. and M.S. in Food Engineering. She joined the Department of Grain and Food Science faculty in 2006. Professor Dogan is the co-leader of our Milling Science and Management (MSM) undergraduate degree program.

Huseyin Dogan

Professor of Practice

304 Shellenberger Hall
hdogan@ksu.edu
785-532-5321

Huseyin Dogan joined the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University in 2006 as an Associate Engineer. Two years later, he joined the department’s faculty as an Instructor & Associate Engineer. Dogan is responsible for teaching the CAD-Flow Sheets for Grain Processes (GRSC 210), Electricity and Industrial Power Distribution (GRSC 560), Cereal Food Plant Design (GRSC 555), and Fundamentals of Grain Processing (GRSC 101- distance version) undergraduate courses. Additionally, Huseyin is the Coordinator for the department’s online Bakery Science Stand-Alone Minor program.

Kelly Getty

Professor and Extension Specialist; Co-Director, Kansas Value Added Foods Lab

Kelly J.K. Getty, Ph.D., received her B.S. (1988) and Ph.D. (1999) in Food Science from Kansas State University and M.S. (1994) from Pennsylvania State University in Food Science.

Elisa Karkle

Assistant Professor

108 Shellenberger Hall
ekarkle@ksu.edu
785-532-6194

Dr. Elisa Karkle is an assistant professor in the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University. Her research is focused on ingredient functionality and interactions in bakery systems; coupled with instrumental, sensory and nutritional assessment of end-product quality. Recently funded projects include baking quality of sustainable grain and non-grain flours; processing and nutritional impact of sourdough fermentation; soy ingredients in baking, and impact of enzymes on dough rheology and bread quality.

Yonghui Li

Associate Professor; Graduate Program Director; Wheat Quality Lab Director

Dr. Yonghui Li is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Director in the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and master’s degree in Biosystem Engineering from Zhejiang University, China, and his Ph.D. in Grain Science, K-State. His research focuses on understanding the structure, chemistry, modification and functionality of grain proteins and bioactive peptides with the aim of developing high-quality, functional grain-based foods, ingredients and nutraceuticals.

Abbey Nutsch

Teaching Professor; FDSCI Undergrad Teaching Coordinator

Dr. Abbey Nutsch is a Teaching Professor and Food Science Undergraduate Program Coordinator in the Department of Grain and Food Science. She received B.S. (1994) and Ph.D. (1998) degrees in Food Science from Kansas State University with an emphasis in food microbiology. After spending five years as the Director of Technical Services for a commercial food testing and research laboratory, she returned to K-State in 2002 to serve as a coordinator for a multi-institutional research initiative.

Chad Paulk

Associate Professor

103 Shellenberger Hall
cpaulk@ksu.edu
785-532-1245

Dr. Chad Paulk is an Associate Professor of Feed Science and Management in the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University. He received his B.S. (2009) from the University of Georgia, and M.S. (2011) and Ph.D. (2014) from Kansas State University. He previously served as an Assistant Professor of Swine Nutrition and Production at Texas A&M University in the Department of Animal Science from 2014-2017.

Julia Guazzelli Pezzali

Assistant Professor; Pet Food Program Director

Dr. Julia Guazzelli Pezzali earned her Bachelor’s in Veterinary Medicine from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, her MS from Kansas State University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Guelph. During her M.S., Pezzali investigated the utilization of various carbohydrate sources on nutrient digestibility and sulfur amino acid metabolism in dogs. Additionally, she characterized the production of extruded sorghum crisps for inclusion in granola bars for dogs. In her Ph.D., Pezzali conducted multiple trials to validate the indicator amino acid oxidation technique in domestic cats. Subsequently, she utilized this technique to empirically determine the minimum Phe and Met requirement in adult cats.

Deanna Retzlaff

Teaching Professor

retzlaff@ksu.edu

Deanna Retzlaff earned her B.S. degree in Animal Sciences from the University of Tennessee (Martin, TN). She then continued her education at Kansas State University, earning a Ph.D. in Food Science with a focus on food safety. Deanna left the university to manage a commercial analytical laboratory before returning to K-State in 2002.

Kaliramesh (Kali) Siliveru

Associate Professor; University Outstanding Scholar

209 Shellenberger Hall
kaliramesh@ksu.edu
785-532-4071

Dr. Kaliramesh (Kali) Siliveru is a University Outstanding Scholar and the associate professor of grain processing in the Department of Grain and Food Science. Along with teaching, Siliveru conducts research related to grain processing, food safety and storage. He has ample experience with research, having worked as a research assistant in the Department of Biosystems Engineering while working on his master's at the University of Manitoba, and then as a research associate for the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. He earned a B.S. Food Science, Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University in India and his Ph.D. from the Department of Grain Science and Industry at K-State.

Yong-Cheng Shi

Professor

211 Shellenberger Hall
ycshi@ksu.edu
785-532-6771

Dr. Yong-Cheng Shi is a professor in the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University. He received his Ph.D. in Grain Science with an emphasis in Starch Chemistry from KSU in 1993. He worked at National Starch and Chemical Company from 1994 to 2005 prior to becoming a cereal grain carbohydrate faculty at KSU in 2006. His research areas include:

J. Scott Smith

Professor

Scott Smith is a professor of food chemistry in the faculty of the Grain and Food Sciences Department with a 70% research and 30% teaching appointment. He is a native of Owensboro in western Kentucky with degrees from Brescia College (BS, Biology), 1972, Kansas State University (MS, Biochemistry,1975, and the Penn State University (PhD, Food Science), 1981. He has been a faculty member at K-State since 1989. Before he was a faculty member at Penn State in the Food Science Department.

Shawn Thiele

Associate Director; Flour Milling and Grain Processing Specialist

102 IGP Institute
smt9999@ksu.edu
785-532-1189

Shawn Thiele is a faculty member of the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University. He is serving as Associate Director and the Flour Milling and Grain Processing Specialists for the International Grains Program Institute (IGP). In his role, Shawn teaches the core milling and grain processing courses at the IGP Institute, as well as develops and presents workshops, courses, distance education courses, and other technical outreach programs to enhance the market preference and utilization of U.S. cereal grains and oilseeds for the global grain industry. Shawn also conducts research on milling related activities and projects and assists with teaching courses in the undergraduate Milling Science program at Kansas State University.

Jason Watt

Bühler Instructor of Milling

103 Shellenberger Hall
jwatt1@ksu.edu
785-532-4063

Jason Watt joined the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University in 2015 as the Buhler instructor of milling. Watt splits his time between teaching undergraduate classes, teaching short courses at the IGP Institute and assisting with milling related research. Watt graduated from Kansas State University with a B.S. in milling science and operations.