Contact
Biography
Seamus began his career in the food industry as an electrical engineer and has worked with several leading international food companies, including Tongaat Hulett, Nestle and Premier Foods. Having completed an MBA programme in project management in the mid-nineties, he has since worked in several lead project and senior management roles, including factory development, food process engineering and new product development. He has also performed and consulted for several leading global food and UK companies, entrepreneur development, and new company start-ups.
He joined the School of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, in 2017 as course director to develop a new MSc programme in food process engineering. As an associate professor for Food Process Engineering at the University of Nottingham, he can combine several years of food industry experience with departmental expertise in Chemical and Environmental sustainability endeavours. He combines his passion for a more sustainable world and novel food manufacturing techniques with a new generation of process engineers, the University of Nottingham and supporting institutions.
Seamus is an associate fellow of IChemE and a fellow of the Higher Education Authority UK. He is also an editorial board member of the International Journal for Food Process Engineering.
Expertise Summary
An accomplished, results-oriented, high-performing Senior Manager with over 30 years of solid and 'hands-on' experience within the food and beverage manufacturing industry. Combining financial expertise and best business practices with analytical problem solving and exemplary planning capabilities to successfully complete multiple, full lifecycle process projects within the industry. Specialising in delivering improvements to performance and efficiency through the implementation of lean manufacturing, HACCP and ISO standards. Working within a CDM 15 and SHEQ environment. A competent strategist, capable of developing innovative processes and cost-effective operational methodologies that facilitate competitive growth and superiority. An inspirational and motivational leader, capable of empowering individuals and enabling them to fulfil their potential whilst ensuring the achievement of demanding business objectives at the same time.
Research Summary
Food & Us; Still Evolving
Food has not only fueled our evolution for millions of years but has also dictated how we live. Different food types or their availability have defined our societies from the Pleistocene to the Holocene period, starting about 12,000 years ago, from hunter-gatherers to the agricultural communities that began just after the same period.
The 19th century saw the dawn of a new food era by the Industrial Revolution. That same revolution changed how food was manufactured, changing a predominantly agricultural and rural population to a new industrialised and urban lifestyle.
However, unlike other industries that developed during the same period, food supply, farming, and the newly created food industry have always been about supplying basic human needs.
Thus began the nascent Food industry's conflict with business management theories rooted in economics, which also evolved during the 20th century. The rise of capitalism and service-linked industries, such as advertising, the big four accountancy firms, asset investment agencies, and management consultancy.
Forces manifested by globalisation, such as market and trade liberalisation, capital flow, and urbanisation, changed the nature of our food systems by increasing the diversity and affordability of food but also by evolving corporate ownership, quality and nutritional value.
By the end of the 20th century, these factors helped create one of the world's largest manufacturing industries, defined by turnover and profit.
The Agri-Food sector is now the world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for nearly 27 per cent of all human-caused emissions.
A third of all edible food produced goes to waste, even though 10 per cent of the global community goes hungry (FAO, 2020).
The more recent growth of the food industry also coincides with a dramatic shift in consumer eating habits; how the globe now eats and drinks has clashed with our biology to create significant changes in body composition.
Where before drivers for growth were focused solely on taste, price, and convenience, how does a future food industry and its consumers adapt to new emerging drivers, such as health and wellness, social impact and experience, with transparency as an overarching driver on all counts?
Research interests include how our current favourite foods have evolved over the past millennia and how that same evolution now clashes with the more recent growth of the food industry, the product it produces, and the significant mismatch it now creates for humans living in our present world.
Future Research
Future research will focus on how we can change the direction of our current food system, utilising science and new engineering technology to create a more sustainable food future from an individual, food production and regulatory framework perspective.
Building on a better understanding of how our bodies have evolved and function and the nutritional essentials our bodies need to maintain good health in a rapidly changing food environment.
Lastly, how do we use that same knowledge to work with nature, "Gaia", instead of working against it, including topics such as Sustainability, Regenerative Agriculture and creating new food sources from air and nature that can safely evolve with Us?