In January, Michael Rogers joined the Department of Food Science as an associate professor.

Rogers is an alumnus of the University of Guelph, attaining both his MSc and PhD in the department. Prior to returning to the University of Guelph, he held faculty positions at Rutgers University and the University of Saskatchewan and as the Center Director for the Gastrointestinal Physiology Center at New Jersey’s Institute of Food, Nutrition & Health.  

Rogers is thrilled to be back on the University of Guelph campus.

“The University of Guelph is among the very the best food science programs and has an excellent international reputation,” shares Rogers. “I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to come back as food science faculty positions are few and far between in Canada. I wouldn’t have left Rutgers for any other opportunity.”

Rogers’s research program focuses on fundamental crystal physics (self assembly of molecules), practical molecular gastronomy, and food form and digestibility.

He sees his research as cross-disciplinary in food science and nutrition, as it aims to avoid new food blunders like trans fats, which were introduced by food scientists but a decade later were blacklisted by nutritionists.

“We look at how these new foods behave in the consumer, in the gut, and how they influence consumer health,” explains Rogers.

By understanding how detrimental or beneficial mechanisms are formed and why they exist, he’s aiming to create healthier food options through technical improvements at the industrial level.

For more information on Prof. Rogers’s research visit his website http://www.moleculargels.com/