FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Luke Howard, professor of food science for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture was elected a Fellow of the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry of the American Chemical Society at the 2019 Fall American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego.

Only ACS members who have made outstanding scientific contributions to the field of agricultural and food chemistry are nominated for this esteemed award, according to information from the organization.

"It is both an honor and privilege to be recognized by my peers for this prestigious award and I look forward to providing future service to the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry," Howard said.

Howard joined the U of A System Division of Agriculture as an Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station researcher in the department of food science in 1997. He is also a professor of food science in the University of Arkansas' Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

He is known worldwide as a leading researcher on the health properties of small fruits and is regularly invited to present his findings in North America, Europe and Asia.

Howard is recognized internationally for his work on the extraction and biochemistry of biologically active compounds in berries. He has provided long-time service to the ACS Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry through his reviewing, editorial and committee work. 

He has written or coauthored nearly 150 scientific publications in journals and books in the area of fruit and vegetable biochemistry, processing and human health benefits.

Howard has characterized many health-promoting berry compounds and has determined how processing impacts berry nutrition and health. He has engineered techniques to recover these compounds from berry co-products for use as dietary supplements. 

Currently, Howard is developing a novel approach to explore the health-promoting properties of berry volatiles. 

Howard is an alumnus of the University of Arkansas, where he earned both his master's and doctoral degrees in food science. He received his bachelor's degree in horticulture from Purdue University.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch and Instagram at ArkAgResearch.

About the Division of Agriculture: The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation's historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.