Prafulla Salunke

Education

Ph.D., Biological Sciences - Dairy Manufacturing, 2013: South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD
M.Sc., Dairy Technology, 1996: SMC College of Dairy Science, Gujarat agricultural University, Anand, India
B.Sc., Dairy Technology, 1993: SMC College of Dairy Science, Gujarat agricultural University, Anand, India

Academic Interests/Expertise

Dairy Products Processing and Ingredient Development

Academic Responsibilities

DS 492/792- Topics Multidisciplinary Project
DS 442/542 - Dairy Product and Process Development
DS 731 - Lab Tech in Dairy Science
DS 400-400L/DS 500-500L – Dairy Chemistry and Analysis and Lab
DS 321 – Dairy Processing I – Theory and Lab - Cheese
DS 322 - Dairy Processing II - Theory and Lab – Condensed milk and Dried Products
DS-898D: Dissertation – Ph D
DS-798: Thesis- Masters
DS-498: Undergraduate Research/Scholarship
DS-791: Independent Study

Committee Activities

Advisor and Executive Secretary: North Central Cheese Industry Association (NCCIA)
Associate Director: Midwest Dairy Foods Research Centre (MDFRC)
PI: Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing (IDIP), SDSU, Brookings, SD.

Advising 2 Doctoral students, 6 Master’s students, and one undergraduate student.
In the academic committee of 8 Doctoral/Master’s students.

Professional Memberships

American Dairy Science Association
Institute of Food Technologists
Gamma Sigma Delta
The Society of Dairy Technologists of India
The Dairy Engineers Association of India
Swedish South Asian Studies Network (SASNET)
Agriculture Research Communication Centre (ARCC), India

Work Experience

Corporate R&D and Technical Services Coordinator (2013-2021): Saputo Cheese USA, Inc
Manager (Projects, Powder plant, Butter oil) (1996-2007): Mother Dairy (now called AmulFed Dairy), Gandhinagar (A Unit of G.C.M.M.F. Ltd., Gujarat State), India
Technical Officer (1993-1994): The Panchmahal District Cooperative Milk producers’ Union Ltd, Godhra (Gujarat State), India
In-Plant Trainee (1992-1993): Chittoor District Cooperative Milk producers’ Union Ltd, Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), India

Creative Activities

Papers published: 20
Invited presentations: 06
Conference papers presented: 26
Other presentations: 12
Panel member and judging: 05

Area(s) of Research

Cheese technology and dairy-based ingredient development.
Research focuses on new dairy-based ingredient development, enzymes (crosslinking, hydrolytic and modifying), cheese, other novel ingredients, new processes, and product development.