Evaporative Coolers for the Postharvest Management of Fruits and Vegetables

Prof. Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji is a full Professor at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences and the Director of Research and Innovation, Edo State University Uzairue (EDSU), Edo State, Nigeria. He formerly served as the Acting Director of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, Head of the Department of Microbiology, and Sub Dean of the Faculty of Science. Currently, he holds the positions of Chairman of the Grant Committee and Dean of the Faculty of Science at EDSU. Prof. Adetunji is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in the UK. Additionally, he serves as a Visiting Professor and the Executive Director of the Center for Biotechnology at Precious Cornerstone University, Nigeria. His research centers on applying biological techniques and microbial bioprocesses to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribute to advancements in agriculture.

Daniel Hefft is a food engineer from Germany. He is the team lead of the Product Research and Ingredients Team within the Consulting Technologies group at Campden BRI.He is also an Honorary Research Fellow of Chemical Engineering in the School of Chemical Engineering of the University of Birmingham.Prior to this appointment, Daniel lectured in Food Sciences, Dairy Technology/ Engineering, and Precision Agriculture at University Centre Reaseheath and served as the Academic Director of the Institute of Sustainability and Food Innovation. He got his undergraduate degree and food engineering qualification from Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe with specialisation in cereal technology. He has a MSc degree from the University of Reading and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University Birmingham. He has been awarded Research Fellowships (2019) and a Research Affiliation in Nanoengineering (2020-2021) with the University of Birmingham. Further he has extensive years of experience in the food industry, having worked for a range of leading companies. His speciality are food process design and engineering. He was the founder and past CTO of Rheality Ltd (2020-2021), which utilises a novel and patented technology based on acoustic sensing and machine learning for live and in situ rheology measurements. He is also co-inventor of a new packaging system that extends shelf-life of fresh produce without the need of active cooling.Daniel is also the founder of the Engineering for Food and Drinks Special Interest group at the Institution of Agricultural Engineers and its current chair. Since 2018 he gained professional recognition as a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Agricultural Engineers. He is further involved in the Association of German Food Technologists (GDL e.V.), a lifetime member of the Society of Dairy Technology, the International Society of Food Engineering, and the Institute of Physics (IOP). He is a Chartered Scientist with the IOP since 2021.His academic contributions include 60+ scientific publications in internationally recognised, high impact factor, peer-reviewed journals, and books. He has been awarded with the Distinguished Scientist award in Chemical Engineering by PCU in 2020.Further, there are two patents to his name relating to the invention of an in-line rheometry device and a novel composite packaging for primary and secondary application.

Duncan Onyango Mbuge holds a Ph.D. Environmental and Bio-systems Engineering, University of Nairobi. He is Chairman of the Department of Environmental and Biosystems Engineering. He is also a Senior Lecturer, Department of Environmental and Biosystems Engineering (March 2012 – Present) - Lecturing and Research in Power and Machinery, Process and Food Engineering, Materials Science, Environmental management and conservation in construction, Renewable Energy, Infrastructure Engineering including greenhouse design, Construction materials and workshop techniques.

Tilahun Seyoum Workneh is an Associate Professor at the Agricultural Engineering Discipline. He has graduated with B.Sc. Degree in Agricultural Engineering, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Alemaya University, Ethiopia and holds a PhD, Food Science, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, The University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He has a diverse range of research interests such as: Heat and Mass Transfer, Hybrid Drying Technology and Food Quality and Food Safety.