Glyn O. Phillips Prize Recipients
The Glyn O. Phillips Prize is awarded biennially at the International Hydrocolloids Conferences (IHC), and consists of a cash prize and a medal. The prize was instituted to recognize the legacy of Prof. G. O. Phillips of Wrexham Glyndwr University, Wales, to the field of food hydrocolloids, polysaccharides and dietary fibre.
Candidates should be mid-career scientists, academic or industrial, who are making excellent and sustained contributions to the field of food hydrocolloids (polysaccharides and/or proteins), including techno-functional or biofunctional aspects, and who are regular contributors to IHC conferences. Candidates must be nominated by a peer. Nominations should include a cover letter summarizing the reason for the nomination and a Curriculum Vitae of the candidate, including a list of publications and indication of their citations and a strong indication of mentorship. In the case of industrial candidates where a publication record may not truly reflect their contribution to the field, a second nominator may be sought, and nomination letters should describe fully the candidate’s overall contribution to the field of hydrocolloids, e.g., patents, external presentations, mentorship of colleagues, etc. Selection will be made by a jury of peers. The winner of the Glyn O. Phillips Prize will be invited to present a keynote address at the next IHC.
Nominations for the 19th IHC in 2028 have not yet opened.
2026
Prof. Yapeng Fang
The International Hydrocolloids Society is pleased to announce that Prof. Yapeng Fang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, is the 2026 recipient of the G. O. Phillips Prize. Prof. Fang will receive the medal and present a lecture at the 18th International Hydrocolloids Conference in Tokyo, Japan, March 31 - April 2, 2026.
Dr. Yapeng Fang is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He is also a jointly appointed professor in the School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.
Dr. Fang received his Bachelor and Master degrees in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and a PhD degree in Food Science and Health from Osaka City University. He had a six-year working experience at Unilever Food and Health Research Institute, Netherlands, as a Marie-Curie Postdoc and at North East Wales Institute, UK, as a Reader. In 2011, Dr. Fang moved back to China and worked at Hubei University of Technology till 2018. Dr. Fang’s research interest is focused on the applied basic research of food hydrocolloids, particularly those regarding the relationship between food structure, quality and nutrition. He coauthored over 280 papers in international peer-viewed journals and 60 patents, with more than 12000 citations. He also edited three books. He received the Natural Science Award of Hubei Province (a second-class prize) and the 2012 Young Scientist Excellence Award from IUFoST. He serves as an Associate Editor of the journals Food Hydrocolloids and the Founding Editor of the journal Food Biomacromolecules. Dr. Fang is supported by many different career schemes in China such as” Changjiang Distinguished Professorship”, “Ten Thousand Talent Program”, “NSFC Excellent Young Scholar” and “New Century Excellent Talents in Universities”.
Prof. Qingbin Guo
The International Hydrocolloids Society is pleased to announce that Prof. Qingbin Guo, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, China, is the 2026 recipient of the G. O. Phillips Prize. Prof. Guo will receive the medal and present a lecture at the 18th International Hydrocolloids Conference in Tokyo, Japan, March 31 - April 2, 2026.
Dr. Qingbin Guo received his Ph.D. in Food Chemistry from the University of Guelph in 2013, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Guelph, the Guelph Research and Development Centre (AAFC, Canada), and Kansas State University (USA). He also has been working as Professor in the Department of Food Science and Engineering at Tianjin University of Science and Technology (China).
Dr. Guo’s research focuses on food hydrocolloids, dietary fibers, and bioactive carbohydrates, with particular emphasis on elucidating their structural–functional–bioactive relationships and valorizing agricultural by-products/processing side streams. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and 9 books or book chapters with leading international journals. In 2024 and 2025, Dr. Guo was listed among Stanford/Elsevier’s Top 2% of Scientists worldwide.
Dr. Guo serves as Associate Editor for Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre and as an Editorial Board Member for Food Hydrocolloids for Health. He has chaired and organized multiple international hydrocolloid symposia/conferences and four special journal issues, contributing substantially to the advancement of polysaccharide science and sustainable food innovation.
2024
Prof. Shaoping Nie
The International Hydrocolloids Society is pleased to announce that Prof. Shaoping Nie, Nanchang University, China, is the 2024 recipient of the G. O. Phillips Prize. Prof. Nie will receive the medal and present the lecture “Prospects for the Relationship of the Structure of Bioactive Polysaccharides and Their Multifunctional Effects” at the 18th International Hydrocolloids Conference in Tokyo, Japan, March 31 - April 2, 2026.
Prof. Shaoping Nie is distinguished professor of Nanchang University, and also Vice President of Nanchang University. He received his PhD degree in Food Science at Nanchang University in 2006. After that, he joined Nanchang University and promoted to Full Professor in 2011, he also worked as International Fellow at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore for one year (2006-2007) and NSERC Visiting Fellow at Guelph Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for two years (2009-2011). He has been recognized as a leader in the national high-level talent special support program and his projects have been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Distinguished Young Scholars and Outstanding Young Scholars. Furthermore, Prof. Nie is the Associate Editor for Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2022.11-), Associate Editor of Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre (2016.1-2022.9), Founding Editor in Chief of Food Frontiers (2019.11-2022.12), also the editorial board member for Carbohydrate Polymers, Scientific Report, Food Science and Human Wellness, Current Topics in Nutraceutical Research.
Prof. Nie’s research interests are focused on food chemistry and nutrition, food safety and analysis, especially on the structure, conformation and bioactivities of dietary fibre and bioactive polysaccharides and the relationship of their structure and bioactivities. He also focuses on the research in the field of precise regulation of food components and nutritional health, as well as the creation of new food products, and developing bioactive ingredients for the functional foods and nutraceutical products; developing novel dietary fibre and polysaccharides from natural agricultural products and explores their applications in foods, medicinal and pharmaceutical industries. Prof. Nie has published more than 300 high-quality peer-reviewed scientific papers on journals such as Nature Communications as the first or corresponding authors (including co-authors). Additionally, he has edited 7 books and has been authorized 43 invention patents.
2022
Prof. Stefan Kasapis
The inaugural prize was awarded in 2022 to Prof. Stefan Kasapis of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia.
As an early career researcher, Prof. Kasapis developed his interest in the structural, nutritional and bioactive functionality of materials. These include dietary fibre and protein as model systems in the presence of lipids and other co-solutes (e.g., sugars and their replacers) or bioactive compounds (e.g., vitamins and antioxidants) in order to develop novel formulations for the food and nutraceutical industries. He was fortunate in the early days of his research work to be mentored by leading authorities in his field, e.g. Prof. John Mitchell at the University of Nottingham/UK who was Editor of Carbohydrate Polymers.
Through the years, Prof. Kasapis held several administrative appointments, including Assistant Dean of Research, Head of the Department of Food Sciences, Head of Food Sciences Research Drive, and Coordinator of the Graduate Programme in Food Sciences. At RMIT University, he is responsible for the coordination/delivery of several advanced food technology courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.Prof. Kasapis maintains a strong research focus, on the techno- and bio-functionality of food materials, and utilises the central research facilities of RMIT University for his research in the City and Bundoora campus.