Viticulture and Enology

Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Development of novel optimization methods for bioprocessing, including use of artificial neural networks; optimization based on historical data and efficient methods of bioprocess development; process monitoring methods for wine processing; fermentation of biological control agents active against grape plant pathogens.

Flavor chemistry and analysis; interaction of flavors with other (non-volatile) food/beverage components. correlation of instrumental and sensory methods of flavor analysis; health effects of wine; development of analytical methodologies for analysis of wine components.

Sensory evaluation of wines and other food products. The study of descriptive analysis and time-intensity methodology and the use multivariate data analyses to integrate sensory and consumer ratings. The use of sensory science to study food and wine.

Psychophysics, sensory and consumer research integrated with cutting-edge approaches, including genetics, molecular biology, and data science, to improve product quality, food and nutrition security, and human health.

Dr. Runnebaum's research program aims to combine his interests in sustainable winemaking with his research background in nanomaterials, adsorption, heterogeneous catalysis, and reaction engineering. Winemaking-related projects include 1) Developing materials to capture CO2 and volatile organic compounds, especially from fermentation; 2) Developing fundamental understanding for the production of chemicals from winery waste streams; and 3) Designing solid-state materials for the replacement of solution-based treatments, particularly those that could improve sustainability. In addition, Dr. Runnebaum continues to investigate fundamental structure-activity relationships in chemical adsorption and reaction by nanomaterials, including zeolites and supported organometallic clusters.