Manick Annamalai

Headshot of Prof. Manick Annamalai
Professor
School of Engineering
Email: 
mannamal@uoguelph.ca
Phone number: 
(519) 824-4120 ext. 53499
Office: 
THRN 2401
Website links: 
Google Scholar
Bioimaging Research Solutions Inc.
Canadian Farming Alliance
Whole Grains Research Foundation
Available positions for grads/undergrads/postdoctoral fellows: 
Yes (M.Eng, MASc, PhD)
Seeking academic or industry partnerships in the area(s) of: 
Plant Protein Foods, Food Safety Assurance, Food Quality Assurance, Food Traceability

Find Related People by Keyword

Blockchain Technology, Computer Vision, Food Engineering, Food Processing, Food Quality, Food Safety, Machine Learning, Plant Protein Foods, Pulses, Quality Assessment, Whole Grains

Education and Employment Background

Dr. Annamalai Manickavasagan received his PhD in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Manitoba in 2007. From 2007-2009, he worked as a Scientist at McCain Foods Limited. From 2009 until 2016, he worked at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, where he held positions as an Assistant and Associate Professor. He has obtained a training in Health Outcome Research from the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University (2010). Manick held several Visiting Professor positions: at the University of Minnesota (2011), McGill University (2014) and the University of California Davis (2015). In 2017, Manick joined the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph where he is now a Professor.

Research Themes

Manick’s research is focused on improving the availability of safe and healthy food. Key areas of focus include:

  1. Bioimaging and IoT techniques for food quality and safety. Manick is exploring several techniques in Artificial Intelligence, including: a non-destructive testing system development for biological application, optimizing a bioimaging system, optimizing machine learning, validating imaging protocols, and comparing bioimaging systems with traditional methods for performance and costing. With his team, Manick is implementing these techniques in a real-world food supply system.
  2. Processing and product development for health and wellness. This research is focused on the effect of ingredients (e.g. whole grains, pulses, healthy sugar substitutes) on processing and sensory quality of food, process optimization to improve food yield and sensory qualities, reformulation of traditional foods, and innovative product development.

Highlights

  • Fellow of the Canadian Society for Bioengineering, 2024 
  • Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Government of Canada ($ 1 million), 2023 
  • Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC ) Alliance Grant, 2023 
  • Research Excellence Award, University of Guelph, 2021 
  • John Clark Food Engineering Award, Canadian Society for BioEngineering, Canada, 2020 
  • Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs grant, 2017, 2018 
  • National Research Award, The Research Council (TRC), Oman, 2014 & 2015 
  • Distinguished Researcher, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, 2014 
  • Best Young Researcher, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, 2012 

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