Kate Waldert

Kate Waldert is a Doctoral Student and Research Assistant in the Institute of Food Technology within the Department of Biotechnology and Food Sciences at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). She holds an M.Sc. in Food Technology from Berlin University of Technology and a B.Sc. from Berliner Hochschule für Technik. Her research is centered on innovative electrical processing technologies in food engineering.

Research Interests: Her work focuses on ohmic heating, ohmic baking, and pulsed electric field (PEF) applications for microbial inactivation and food quality enhancement. She investigates thermal and non-thermal preservation techniques, food microbiology, and chemical food analysis. Her research aims to improve energy efficiency, product quality, and sustainability in industrial food processing through electrical technologies.

Publication Trends: Her recent publications (2024–2025) emphasize the optimization of ohmic processing for wheat bread and vegetables (carrots, beetroot), exploring process parameters, chamber design, power input, and synergistic effects with PEF. The studies are published in leading journals like Journal of Food Engineering and Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, highlighting advancements in electrical food processing and process characterization.

Scientific Awards:

• Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition 2024
• Anerkennungspreis für außergewöhnliche Leistungen in der Lehre an der Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (2022)

Advising and Community Engagement: She has supervised two master’s theses on PEF applications in yeast metabolism and growth. She is actively involved in the scientific community as a reviewer for Food Hydrocolloids and as a member of professional organizations including the European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG), the Verein Österreichischer Lebensmittel- und Biotechnologen (VÖLB), and the International Society for Electroporation-Based Technologies and Treatments (ISEBTT). She has presented her research at numerous international conferences such as EFFoST, IUFoST, and the World Congress on Electroporation.

Laboratory and Research Context: Her work is conducted in collaboration with leading research institutions, including the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) in Potsdam, where she completed a research stay. Her projects are embedded within BOKU’s strong research environment in food technology and bioeconomy.