V.M. Balasubramaniam

Dr. V.M. (Bala) Balasubramaniam is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at The Ohio State University. He holds editorial roles in food engineering journals and is a Fellow of IFT and IUFoST. His research focuses on clean food manufacturing technologies, particularly high-pressure and nonthermal methods, emphasizing microbial inactivation and nutrient preservation. He teaches unit operations in food engineering and contributes to industry via short courses and pilot plant demonstrations.

Education: B.S. (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University), M.S. (Asian Institute of Technology), Ph.D. (Ohio State University).

Research Interests: Thermal/nonthermal processing, food safety/quality modeling, and innovative applications of high-pressure technologies. Recent work includes ultra-shear technology development and superheated steam sanitation. Over 100 scientific papers, 20 book chapters, and co-edited books on high-pressure processing. Awards include the 2021 IFT Research & Development Award and 2017 Calvert L. Willey Award.

Advising: Supervises graduate students like Liz Astorga Oquendo and Shruthy Seshadrinathan. Industrial outreach includes a USDA consortium for ultra-shear commercialization. Labs/teams focus on pilot-scale equipment testing and microbial efficacy studies.