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Matthew Moore, associate professor of food science, has been named the first Eric A. Decker Food Science Scholar, a five-year appointment supported by an endowed fund created both to honor UMass Amherst Professor of Food Science Eric Decker and help leading food scientists advance their research.
“It is an incredible honor to get this title, and I am unbelievably lucky to have Eric as a colleague, mentor and friend who has greatly contributed to my success,” says Moore, who is known for his work in food safety microbiology and food-borne viruses.
The UMass Amherst Food Science Advisory Board recommended the establishment of the Eric Decker Food Science Scholar Fund to honor Decker “for his strategic leadership as [a former] department head and his contributions to the body of food technology knowledge through his excellent research,” says board chair Linda Letcher, a food scientist who earned her master’s degree at UMass Amherst and spent more than 36 years in research and development at Kraft Foods/Mondelez International.
“It is wonderful to see the scholar go to Matt Moore. Matt is a global expert on food safety and his outstanding research will help make our food supply safer,” says Decker, who, like department colleagues Hang Xiao and David Julian McClements, is among the world’s Most Highly Cited Scientists in Agriculture. With his research focused on lipid chemistry and foods, Decker has served over the years on committees of the FDA, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Food Technology, USDA and American Oil Chemist Society, and has received the field’s top awards nationally and internationally.
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Fundraising for the endowment has reached $625,000, exceeding the goal of $500,000, from which the ongoing stipends for the Eric Decker Scholar will be made. Moore and future Decker Scholars will be able to use these funds to help them strengthen and expand their innovative research programs.
The fund’s description states, “The Eric Decker Scholar is an outstanding, active scholar of any faculty rank who leads by the example of their teaching, as well as their scholarship and administrative skills.”
The scholar is chosen by the department head and the dean of the College of Natural Sciences.
“Matt is a rising star in food safety as a virologist, and we are proud to see him honored as the Eric Decker Scholar,” says Lili He, professor of food science and department head. “This recognition highlights his outstanding research contributions, and we are confident that he will continue to excel and make an even greater impact in the field.”
The mission of the advisory board is to help the UMass Amherst Food Science Department maintain its status as one of the top programs in the world. Establishing endowments that support strategic research areas and recognize outstanding faculty, like the Decker Scholar, is one strategy.
“One challenge the department faces is attracting and retaining top faculty,” says Noel Anderson, managing partner of Mosaic Food Advisors LLC and a member and past chair of the advisory board who earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in food science and nutrition at UMass Amherst. “This is a very important incentive that will help retain young talent, such as Matt Moore, that are actively being pursued by other universities.”
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