Prof. Dr. Alexander Mathys
Prof. Dr. Alexander Mathys
Associate Professor at the Department of Health Sciences and Technology
Deputy head of Institute of Food, Nutrition, and Health
Additional information
Research area
The Sustainable Food Processing group adopts a systems-oriented approach to food production, focusing on the entire value chain while addressing emerging societal needs and their environmental, economic, and social impacts. Grounded in the principles of the global bioeconomy, the group’s work is guided by a multi-indicator sustainability assessment, which shapes the development of innovative food processes. Exploring new raw material sources, such as microalgae and insects, within urban farming and processing concepts opens up novel pathways for sustainable food supply. Various mechanical, biotechnological, thermal, and non-thermal techniques are evaluated to achieve key goals, including optimizing biomass and energy efficiency, significantly reducing waste across the food value chain, and ensuring the production of healthy, high-quality food.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Mathys, a food technologist, received a doctoral degree in food processing in 2008. Since 2016, he has been Professor (Tenured in 2022) in Sustainable Food Processing at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where he is focusing on more efficiency and sustainability of value chains in food and feed. His current research focuses on material and energetic utilization of plant based side streams, micro process engineering and extrusion for tailored structure formation and synthesis, innovative multi hurdle technologies for gentle preservation of healthy and high quality food, novel protein sources from microalgae and insects to improve food security as well as multi indicator sustainability assessment as basic analysis in food processing. Dr. Mathys was Head of the Bioeconomy Department at German Institute of Food Technologies DIL with 10 direct reports in 2012-2015. He was expert in non-thermal preservation and sterilization technologies at the Nestlé Research Centre Lausanne in 2009-2012.
Dr . Mathys is the author of more than 100 publications (80 peer review articles, 13 patent applications, 9 book chapters, 1 book, >30 conference papers) and he has attended more than 100 international conferences. He is President of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) National Committee of the International Union of Food Science and Technology IUFoST (2021-2024), Representative for Germany and Switzerland at the International Association for Engineering and Food (IAEF), and serves as Governing Council Member (2020-2023) at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Mathys has won several prestigious research awards from ETH Zurich, the International Union of Food Science and Technology ((IUFoST); International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF); Institute of Food Technologists (IFT); and European High Pressure Research Group (EHPRG). Furthermore Dr. Mathys is selected International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST) Fellow since 2024, ETH Zurich Dandelion Entrepreneurship Special Award Winner 2022, IFT International Food Security Award Winner 2020; Young Researcher of the 60th Meeting of Nobel Laureates 2010; Einstein Young Scholar 2010; and A.T. Kearney Scholar 2011/2012 at the Falling Walls conferences.
Honours
| Year | Distinction |
|---|---|
| http://www.sfp.ethz.ch/awards.html |
Additional information
www.sfp.ethz.ch
Course Catalogue
Autumn Semester 2024
| Number | Unit |
|---|---|
| 752-3201-00L | Emerging Thermal and Non Thermal Food Processing |