About
Olivier Rouaud is a Full Professor at Oniris in the Department of Food Processing, Management and Sustainable Development. He leads the OSE research team within the GEPEA laboratory (Génie des Procédés Environnement Agroalimentaire) and has been with Oniris since 2004, progressing from lecturer to his current position. His academic journey began with a doctorate in Thermal Engineering, Energy, and Process Engineering from the University of Nantes in 2002.
Professor Rouaud's research focuses on heat and mass transfer in food engineering, with particular expertise in microwave heating, ohmic heating, electrohydrodynamics (EHD) drying, and food freezing technologies. He combines experimental approaches with numerical modeling to develop solutions that improve energy efficiency in food processing while maintaining or enhancing product quality. His work addresses practical challenges in thermal treatment processes for the food industry.
His recent publications (2023-2025) show continued innovation in thermal processing, with significant contributions to understanding dielectric properties of foods, optimizing ohmic heating applications for baking, and developing phase change materials for cold chain applications. These works reflect his consistent focus on bridging fundamental thermal science with practical food engineering solutions.
Professor Rouaud has received recognition including the Novatlante price in 2004 and has built a substantial research impact with 106 publications totaling over 36,000 reads and 1,876 citations on ResearchGate.
He actively supervises graduate students, having guided approximately twenty Master's interns and ten doctoral students. His teaching responsibilities include applied thermodynamics, energy efficiency, heat transfer, electrothermal processes, and numerical simulation, closely aligning with his research expertise.
As leader of the OSE research team, Professor Rouaud oversees projects investigating innovative thermal processing technologies, with ongoing work in microwave-assisted freezing, ohmic heating applications, and electrohydrodynamic enhancement of heat transfer processes for food systems.