TEACHING

Teaching experience

Teaching activities
I am convinced of the critical significance of teaching and supervising students as crucial aspects of professorship. My interest in teaching began from the moment I was allowed to help Assistant Professor M. B. López (University of Murcia) in lab sessions for the first time at the end of 1994, before I graduated with my first Bachelor's degree in June 1995.
Between 1994 and 2002, I taught at the University of Murcia (UMU) in several disciplines corresponding to Food Science and Technology and Food Engineering. Specifically, I taught Food Science (7W1), and Canned Food, Fruit and Vegetables/ Fruit Juices (7W2) in the Food Science curriculum and Food Technology (VETS 195) in the Veterinary Science curriculum. As a Post-doctoral Research Assistant, I also taught an Advanced Food Science lab in the PhD program.
As a post-doctoral scholar (2003-2004) and, more recently, as Assistant Research Professor (2004-2009), I developed my teaching methodology in an English-speaking environment at the University of Kentucky (U.K.). As a result, I participated in three courses at U.K. Departments of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) and Animal and Food Sciences (AFS): Food and Bio-process Engineering (BAE 549), Introduction to Food Processing (FSC 306), Principles of Food Engineering (AEN 340). At this American University, I co-directed three Ph.D. students, and 3 M.S. students; and directed a postdoctoral student. During this period at BAE-U.K., I also served as member of the Departmental Research and Graduate Studies Committee (2005-2009) and Chairman of the Departmental Seminar Committee (BAE 775 Seminar) (2006-2008).
Currently, at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) (2009-present), I am teaching undergraduate students as Associate Professor in three major areas: Food Science and Technology in the Veterinary Science curriculum and Food Processing and Milk and Dairy Products Processing in the Food Science and Technology curriculum.

 

At the graduate level, I am teaching at three different Official MS programs at UAB  and UMU. At UAB, I am also serving as Food Science Coordinator of the Research Master's Degree in Animal and Food Science and as Coordinator of the Course Unit IV of the mentioned Master's Degree "Introduction to Research and Master's Thesis in Food Science and Technology" (2009 to present).
My research program at the Universities of Murcia, Kentucky and Autonoma de Barcelona always involved supervision of students and other research personnel that strongly support my research activity. In particular, during my professional career I  advised/co-advised ten students (3 PhD., 4 M.S., and 3 postdoctorates), 9 international visiting scholars and more than 25 interns and part time employees. Currently, I am directing/co-directing three M.S. students and one PhD student.

Teaching topics
Lectures: thermal processing of food, refrigeration and freezing of food, psicrometry, emulsification and homogenization of food, food texturization (gelification and extrusion), concentration of liquid foods (evaporation, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, reverse osmosis, freeze concentration, osmotic concentration, osmotic evaporation, freeze drying, spray drying, etc.), new technologies for food preservation (high pressure processing, high pressure homogenization, pulsed electric fields, high intensity pulsed light technology, ultrasounds, etc.), food irradiation, hurdle technology for food preservation, process control for the food industry, fiber optic sensors for food processing automation, whey proteins processing.
Labs and pilot plant sessions: cheese manufacture, chocolate milk manufacture, vegetable milk manufacture, jam manufacture, cryogenic freezing of vegetables, determination of enzymatic and clotting activity of a rennet, evaporation of orange and apple juice, etc.

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