Carmen Moraru is professor and chair of the Department of Food Science, where she has worked since 2003 with a break from 2011-2015 to serve as a visiting professor at University Dunarea de Jos Galati, Romania. Prior to that, she conducted research and was a professor in food engineering at Rutgers University, Before that, she served as an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University.

Moraru holds a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in food processing and engineering. She is a fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and a recipient of the State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Her accolades include an honorary doctorate from the University of Agronomic Science and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, Romania; awards for teaching and research from the International Dairy Foods Association; and teaching excellence awards from the Cornell Institute of Food Science Advisory Council. Moraru has an impressive history of professional service, including serving as past chair elect, chair, and past chair of IFT. She is author or co-author of more than 80 journal articles.

Moraru’s research focus areas are studying and optimizing food processing methods capable of enhancing product safety, quality and shelf life. Current research areas include use of membrane separation and pulsed light treatment, as physical methods capable of reducing the microbial load of food products in general and dairy products in particular; understanding the effect of surface nanoscale topography on microbial attachment and use this understanding to develop microbial repellant surfaces; and understanding the intermolecular interactions and structural transformations that occur during processing and their effect on the quality and functionality of dairy foods.