2006 Sir Eric Rideal Lecture: Colloid Science of Mixed Ingredients
Prestigious award goes to Prof. Eric Dickinson
11 April 2006, London
 The prestigious Sir Eric Rideal Lecture was this year delivered by Prof. Eric
Dickinson. Formerly known as the Founder's Lecture, the 2006 accolade is the second to be held jointly by the SCI and the RSC groups.
This instructive and enjoyable half-day meeting was organised and chaired by Peter A. Williams and consisted of talks from six food colloid scientists, both industrial and academics, who introduced us to their latest research and opened the way to the much awaited lecture from Prof. Eric Dickinson.
The lecture was an excellent review of the complex but fascinating mechanisms ruling microstructure and stability in mixed ingredients involving proteins |
Eric Dickinson is currently Professor of Food Colloids at the Procter Department of Food Science, Leeds University. He firstly obtained B.Sc and Ph.D. at Sheffield University, and was awarded a D.Sc. from Leeds. From this he went on as research fellow, firstly in Los Angeles, at the University of California, and then came back to Leeds, and next to Oxford. In 1977, Eric Dickinson was appointed lecturer in Food Science at Leeds University, where he continues to develop breakthrough research, setting the standard in food colloids.
The award lecture, entitled Colloid Science of Mixed Ingredients, was an excellent review of the complex but nonetheless fascinating mechanisms ruling microstructure and stability in mixed ingredients involving proteins. Eric emphasized the importance of modelling and computer simulation as invaluable tools to help decipher these mechanisms, therefore hopefully leaving some scope to upcoming scientists in the field.
Milk proteins were then definitely the stars of the day. Kees de Kruif (NIZO Food
Research, The Netherlands) gave us an insight into the build-up of helical nanotubes from self-assembled alpha-lactalbumin proteins. David J. McClements (University of Massachusetts) made us familiar with the production of multilayer emulsions made of protein-coated oil droplets and oppositely charged polysaccharides, and stressed the problematic depletion flocculation.
With Milk, the white stuff, David Horne (formerly Hannah Research Institute) introduced us to Tammar wallaby marsupials, more precisely with the behaviour of their milk, whose composition, unlike bovine milk, evolves with the various stages of lactation. Ian Norton (Unilever R&D, Colworth) recalled how many of Eric’s findings had led to patents in the food industry and improved consumers’ goods. He showed how a balance must be stuck between keeping food tasty and people slim.
Victor J. Morris studied via AFM the displacement of mixed proteins from interfaces; this led to a new model for the displacement process, applicable to foams and emulsions in baking, brewing or dairy industries. The last of these introductory talks was given by Brent S. Murray, former Ph. D. student of Eric and now colleague at Leeds, on the quest for a quantitative link between the composition of complex protein-containing thin films stabilizing colloids and their rheological properties.
It was Andrew Howe’s pleasure to present to Eric the Rideal award certificate. After the lecture, there was an enjoyable dinner held at the SCI during which all participants recalled high points of Eric’s life on his road to success.
Marie Côte
Ph.D student
Cardiff University |
