The 2013 winner of the Teagasc Gold Medal is Professor Tim Guinee, Principal Research Officer in the Department of Food Chemistry and Technology at the Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark. The Teagasc Gold Medal is awarded on an annual basis to a serving staff member who has made an outstanding contribution to the organisation and to the agri-food sector.
The award was presented to Professor Guinee in recognition of his achievements during his career in Teagasc since joining the organisation in 1990.
Tim Guinee, Principal Research Officer in the Department of Food Chemistry and Technology at the Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, receiving the 2013 Gold Medal Award from Teagasc chairman Dr Noel Cawley.
Professor Guinee is author/co-author of 84 peer-reviewed scientific papers, two patents, 21 book chapters, three text books, two monographs, and numerous other technical articles in various media. He is currently an editorial Board member for International Dairy Journal (since 2005) and Egyptian Journal of Dairy Science (since 1995), and was formerly a co-editor of the International Dairy Journal (2001-2005). He served as a member of the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology from 2006-2010. In January 2011, he was appointed Adjunct Professor to the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science, University College Cork. He is a member of the International Dairy Federation action team on salt reduction in cheese.
Professor Guinee is an international expert in the study of the rheology and functional properties of composite high protein food matrices, and the exploitation of these properties in food manufacture and assembly/formulation, with particular emphasis on gels and cheese-based systems. He has extensively studied the influences of various factors on the properties of cheeses, including milk composition/treatments, gelation conditions, processing treatments, added ingredients, environmental conditions and ageing.
He was directly responsible for the conceptualisation and development of a new cheese technology platform based on the use of milk powder ingredients for manufacture of selected cheese types for foreign markets. The technology involves design of ingredient and process technology to make customised cheeses. It is an innovative new way of manufacturing cheese, which can also be extended to better enable the inclusion of functional ingredients and also simulate sensory properties of traditional cheeses in foreign countries.
Professor Guinee liaises extensively with the food Industry by way of consultancy, advice, undertaking commissioned projects, technology transfer, and provision of both generic and customised training courses, workshops, lectures and expert reports.
The Teagasc Gold Medal is formal recognition and reward for advancing the work of Teagasc and is aimed at promoting excellence amongst staff and ensures that high quality performance is encouraged. Previous winners of the Teagasc Gold Medal are: Dr Paul Cusack, Professor Liam Donnelly, Nuala King, Professor Paul Ross and Dr Lance O’Brien.
