Dr Mary Ann Augustin

Dr Mary Ann Augustin: taking food science to new levels

Dr Mary Ann Augustin is building on her extensive experience as a food chemist to create the next generation of healthy and sustainably processed foods.

• 7 March 2011 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

Current activities

Dr Mary Ann Augustin became an internationally renowned dairy scientist early in her career. She has since developed her expertise to better understand, at the molecular level, the interactions between different milk components.

This knowledge contributes to the improvement of dairy ingredients and food processes with a view to the health and wellbeing of consumers.

She is also the scientific force behind CSIRO's patented microencapsulation system, a high-tech ingredient delivery technology.

This technology is creating healthy processed foods that deliver targeted omega-3 oils, vitamins, antioxidants, probiotics or other beneficial components to the gastrointestinal tract for maximum health benefits.

She has a long history of engaging with industry partners, particularly from the dairy and oil sectors.

Dr Augustin also leads CSIRO Food and Nutritional Science’s activities in

transforming agricultural outputs into food products in sustainable ways.

Dr Augustin's teams conduct research in the following areas:

• optimising traditional food processing technologies such as drying, extrusion and thermal processing
• developing emerging food processing technologies such as high pressure processing, ultrasonics, advanced separations and pulsed electric field processing
• validating sustainable processes through systems modelling 
• establishing processes for dairy and other food factory systems of the future.

Background

Dr Augustin joined CSIRO in 1988 and is currently Leader of the Food Science Research Program at CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences.

She is also Acting Leader of the Sustainable Agri-food Processing stream.

She has held numerous positions during her career in CSIRO, including Senior Principal Dairy Scientist, Science Manager and Research Program Leader.

From October 2005 to June 2007, she was seconded to Monash University, Australia, as a Professorial Fellow in the School of Chemistry.

Prior to joining CSIRO, Dr Augustin held university appointments in Malaysia and England.

Academic qualifications

Dr Augustin has been awarded a:

• Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours from Monash University
• Doctor of Philosophy also from Monash University.

Achievements

Dr Augustin has been the recipient of many national and international scientific awards, including:

• Newton Turner Award (a CSIRO award), 2008
• American Oil Chemists Society Corporate Achievement Award (team award), 2003
• Recognised by Women In Business (Commonwealth of Australia), 2001
• JR Vickery Address (Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology), 2001
• Sir Ian McLennan Achievement For Industry Award, 1998
• Loftus-Hills Silver Medal (Dairy Industry Association Of Australia), 1997.

Dr Augustin receives many invitations to speak at national and international conferences and contribute to books and reviews. 

She was a Member of Scientific Programme Advisory Committee for the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysia, from 2005 to 2010.

Find out more about CSIRO Food & Nutritional Sciences.