Adding Value to Fruit Wastes: Extraction, Properties, and Industrial Applications

Sneh Punia Bangar is an assistant professor in the Department of Packaging Science and Graphic Media at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences at Clemson University, SC, USA. Her research focuses on the design and development of sustainable biopolymer-based films, coatings, and packaging materials derived from starch, cellulose, lignin, and other natural polymers. A key aspect of her research is adding value to agricultural and food industry waste by extracting functional biopolymers with applications in food and packaging. She has authored or coauthored more than 100 research/review articles, 15 authored/edited books, 35 book chapters, and 20 conference proceedings/seminars. She is also the associate editor of the Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization (Springer), an editorial board member of the International Journal of Food Science and Technology (Wiley), academic editor of the Journal of Food Quality (Hindawi), and a section editor of Current Food Science and Technology Reports (Springer). Her significant contributions to academia and research were acknowledged with the “Award of Honour in 2019 for her outstanding achievements. She is the recipient of the GSG Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant (2022) and CAFLS Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award (2023) at Clemson University, USA. Dr. Bangar received the “Professor Gurcharan Bains Award from the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) in 2023 for her incredible contribution to Food Science and Technology. In addition, she has been listed (2023 and 2024) in “World Ranking of Top 2% Scientists, published by Stanford University, USA. Dr. Bangar was awarded Clemson University’s Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Award for 2024. She has an H-index of 72 with ~15000 citations, as per Google Scholar.

Parmjit S. Panesar is currently working as Professor & Dean (Planning & Development), Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology Longowal, Punjab. He has more than 25 years of teaching & research experience and also served in administrative positions as Dean and Head, Department of Food Engineering & Technology, SLIET Longowal. In 2005, he has been awarded BOYSCAST fellowship by Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, to carry out advance research at Chembiotech labs, University of Birmingham Research Park, UK.