Principle Investigator 

Dr. Minliang Yang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, an Associate Faculty in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at NC State University, and an affiliate of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Yang’s research focuses on applying technoeconomic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) in food, bioprocessing, and agricultural systems to explore strategies to mitigate life-cycle environmental impacts and improve the sustainability of the food system from both costs and environmental perspectives. Yang has published peer-reviewed papers in journals including PNAS, ES&T, JCLP, and ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. Before joining NC State, Yang received her postdoc training in sustainability analysis of biofuel and value-added bioproducts at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Joint BioEnergy Institute. She earned both her Ph.D. and M.S. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University.

Graduate Student

Robert Wine (M.S., Food Science)

B.S. Food Science, magna cum laude, N.C. State University, 2022.
Robert’s undergraduate senior project focused on reducing waste within the food system by improving the physical properties of upcycled food products.

 

Ajinkya Atkare (M.S., Food Science)

B.Tech (Food Engineering & Technology), Institute of Chemical Technology, India, 2016.
M.B.A. (Food & Agribusiness Management), Indian Institute of Management, India, 2019.
Ajinkya has 5 years of industry experience in food product development, Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) business, and consulting.

 

Graduate researcher 

Khushi Modi, master in FBNS (2024 Summer)

Maria Kangala, master in FBNS (2023 Spring, 2023 Summer, 2023 Fall)

Saniya Gapchup, master in FBNS (2023 Summer)

Yashasya Shah, master in Computer Science (2023 Summer)

Undergraduate researcher

Tyler Hill, Food Engineering (2023 Summer, 2023 Fall, 2024 Spring)

Matt Sexton, Nutrition Science (2023 Summer)