Purdue's Maier earns award for postharvest research

Highlights of Maier's work include using chilling and ozonation as non-chemical alternatives to protect stored products, developing a new controller for grain drying and using carbon dioxide detectors to monitor biological activity of fungi and insects in stored grains.

"From the time you harvest a grain crop for food, feed or fuel to the time it gets processed and consumed, that's the period that I work in," Maier said.

"Dirk's work on developing non-chemical methods to control pest insects in stored products is significant. It serves as a replacement for insecticides or fumigants that are either unavailable or banned from use," said Sonny Ramaswamy, associate dean for research in Purdue's College of Agriculture. "In addition, these techniques may be used in organic production systems."

Maier will receive his award at 3 p.m. May 11 in Whistler Hall, Room 116, on Purdue's West Lafayette campus.

This summer, Maier and his research team are working on scaling up the grain ozonation technology which they first developed in their lab and then refined in their pilot bin facility. This system uses ozonated air to sterilize grain surfaces killing insects and fungi and removing off-odors.

"We began developing this technology 10 years ago and are currently collaborating with a company to refine the equipment design. We will utilize it this summer and next to protect popcorn in Indiana, organic food corn in Illinois, wheat in Kansas, rice in California, and malting barley in Idaho," Maier said.

Much of Maier's work focuses on non-chemical alternatives to problems in postharvest grain preservation. He prides himself on creating equipment and procedures that are environmentally friendly.

"It's of personal importance to me," he said. "We're always looking at how we can do things that are more efficient, less fuel intensive and more environmentally friendly," he said.

The research award includes a plaque, a $1,500 honorarium and $10,000 for continuation of Maier's work.

Writer: Kay Hagen, (765) 494-6682, kjh@purdue.edu

Sources: Dirk Maier, (765) 494-1175, maier@purdue.edu

Sonny Ramaswamy, (765) 494-8362, sonny@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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