Dean's office

Martin Scanlon is the Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Professor in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Scanlon’s research explores the mechanisms of change in the physical and chemical properties of food materials during processing and culinary operations. He is keenly interested in how food processing changes the mechanical properties of food materials, and seeks to design better tasting foods with improved nutrient profiles. For example, his innovative work examining bubbles in bread and noodle dough using ultrasound and the Canadian Light Source synchrotron has opened up new avenues of research that connect to food quality and Canadian wheat production.

He has disseminated his work in more than 120 articles and 125 refereed journal papers. He holds two patents and with his collaborators has brought in over $16.2 million in research funding. He is also active in professional activities, sitting on the editorial boards of two scientific journals and participating in governance roles for scientific societies. He was the first Canadian recipient of the AACC International George W. Scott Blair Lecture Award for exceptional ability in research areas involving rheology and texture as related to cereal-based products. Dr. Scanlon serves on the Board of Directors for the AACC International and has participated on several national and provincial advisory panels, including the Food Development Centre advisory panel and NSERC’s Discovery and Strategic grants panels.

In addition to his research and service, Dr. Scanlon is an inspirational teacher, and has advised or co-advised 81 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduate student researchers. His commitment to teaching excellence has inspired students to think creatively and critically, and he has been recognized with University of Manitoba student-nominated awards at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Dr. Scanlon earned his doctorate in Food Science from the University of Leeds, and joined the University of Manitoba faculty in 1991. Prior to his appointment as Dean, he served as acting head of the Department of Food Science, as the Faculty’s associate dean (research), and as the chair of U of M’s National Centre for Livestock and the Environment. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Canadian Grain Commission Grain Research Laboratory in Winnipeg and the Flour Milling & Baking Research Association in Chorleywood, England.

I am honoured and excited to have been appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

Our Faculty has a long and vibrant history of inspiring students through relevant educational programs and through the passion and commitment of our academic and support staff.  These alumni have gone on to become influential leaders in various communities in Manitoba and beyond.  Our Faculty has also excelled in conducting research that has transformed food systems in Manitoba and across Canada, and indeed, in some cases globally.

However, the Faculty cannot rest on these past successes.  Agriculture today is a highly diverse and dynamic domain with new opportunities and challenges that demand a new generation of critical thinkers equipped with cutting-edge skills and competencies in deploying advanced tools.  Our province is now a major player in the transformation of agricultural produce into food products, and opportunities in this area will provide exciting career paths for our graduates.  The connections between food, nutrition, and health and wellbeing - the most emphatic focus of our current food system - will challenge our staff and students to define new knowledge and practices so that our food systems benefit all Canadians.

In conducting these undertakings, we will support our staff and students by providing a respectful work and learning environment that acknowledges the value of their contributions.  An inclusive environment is essential if our Faculty is to continue to attract the most creative of individuals from diverse communities within Canada and from around the world.

I look forward to serving our students and our staff and our many partners and communities as the Faculty embarks on another exciting five years in the world’s most important profession.