Dr. U.C. Lohani

Biography

Dr. Umesh Chandra Lohani is a Junior Research Officer in the Department of Post Harvest Process and Food Engineering, College of Technology, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUA&T), Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India. He obtained his B.Tech. in Agricultural Engineering and M.Tech. in Process and Food Engineering from GBPUA&T and earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural, Biosystems and Mechanical Engineering from South Dakota State University, USA. He also served as a Research Associate at the Advanced Post Harvest Technology Centre, Lethbridge College, Canada.

Dr. Lohani has more than 20 years of teaching, research, and extension experience in food processing and post-harvest engineering. His research focuses on novel food processing technologies, extrusion processing, non-thermal processing, hyperspectral imaging and machine vision, grain and potato storage, smart food systems, millet processing, value addition of agricultural by-products, and development of plant-based functional foods and mock meat.

He has successfully led and collaborated on numerous externally funded research projects supported by agencies including the Department of Science and Technology (DST), ICAR, Ministry of Rural Development, and industry partners. His research output includes 120+ research publications, books, book chapters, patents, and technologies, with publications in leading international journals. He has guided several M.Tech. and Ph.D. scholars, serves on editorial boards of international journals, and regularly reviews manuscripts for reputed journals in food engineering and food science.

Dr. Lohani is actively involved in professional societies, academic administration, curriculum development, and outreach activities, and is committed to advancing sustainable, technology-driven solutions for post-harvest management and food processing.

Selected Research Publications

1. Lohani, U. C. and Muthukumarappan, K. 2017. Modeling of Continuous Ultrasonication to Improve Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity in Sorghum Flour: A Comparison between Response Surface Methodology and Artificial Neural Network. International Journal of Food Engineering, doi: 10.1515/ijfe-2016-0086.
2. Lohani, U. C., Muthukumarappan, K. and Meletharayil, H. 2016. Application of hydrodynamic cavitation on phenolic content and antioxidant properties of sorghum flour and apple pomace. Food and Bioproducts Processing, 100: 335-343.
3. Lohani, U. C. and Muthukumarappan, K. 2016. Effect of extrusion processing parameters on antioxidant, textural and functional properties of hydrodynamic cavitated corn flour, sorghum flour and apple pomace based extrudates. Journal of Food Process Engineering, doi:10.1111/jfpe.12424.
4. Lohani, U. C. and Muthukumarappan, K. 2016. Effect of sequential treatments of fermentation and ultrasonication followed by extrusion on bioactive content of Apple Pomace and textural, functional properties of its extrudates. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 51: 1811-1819.
5. Lohani, U. C. and Muthukumarappan, K. 2016. Application of the pulsed electric field to release bound phenolics in sorghum flour and apple pomace. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 35: 29-35.