Hydrocolloid Staff and Associates

Kevin did his PhD on the chemistry of alginate and then worked for seven years on cellulosics R & D focusing mainly on HPMC structure and functionality. This was followed by eight years as the development manager for Quest International working mainly on carrageenan factory development and seaweed processing as well as galactomannan stucture function understanding. Kevin Joined CyberColloids in 2002.

Angie is a doctor in veterinary medicine and obtained a Masters degree in Meat Science at Iowa State University (1994). Simultaneously she worked as Research assistant and managed industry projects involving the study of the Functionality of carrageenans in meat systems. She worked at Quest International as Meat and Meals technologist in the Food Science and Technology centre (1995-1998). She progressed within Quest and took various challenges as Application Manager Savoury (1998-1999), Hydrocolloids Regional Product group manager (1999-2000) and Global Culinary Marketing manager (2001-2002). She joined CyberColloids in 2002.

Following completion of her BSc and MSc in Food Science and Technology from University College Cork, Eileen joined CyberColloids in 2006.

Eileen is the food applications specialist in CyberColloids. She has managed numerous industry projects including meat and dairy applications and functional food projects. Eileen’s area of expertise is new product development with particular emphasis on reducing fat and/or cost of formulation.

Eileen has also participated on many sales teams throughout Europe and has also been involved in process development.

Jennifer joined CyberColloids in October 2007 after completing her PhD with Professor E.R Morris and Professor D. Mulvihill of UCC and Professor A Foegeding of NCSU on biopolymer mixtures.

Her research interests include novel fibres, particularly those produced from plant waste materials. She has managed several projects on fibre process development, characterisation and application. Jennifer has a keen interest in prebiotics and their development, and has been the principle scientist involved in a long term project focused on novel fibres for digestive health. Jennifer provides training to companies in the areas of hydrocolloid chemistry, rheology and applications

Paul is a recognized worldwide authority on polysaccharides and is editor of the peer reviewed journal "Carbohydrate Polymers". Paul has worked in the polysaccharide field for over thirty years. One of Pauls early achievements was the development of the worlds first ever commercial xanthan process.

Mike earned degree in Chemistry at the University of Tennessee and holds 3 application patents utilizing hydrocolloids in textiles and cosmetics. He has over 30 years experience with the full range hydrocolloids including both natural and synthetic with an emphasis in guar/ guar derivatives and arabinogalactan. His application experience includes textiles, cosmetics, explosives, paper and dietary supplements and held positions at such companies as Celanese, Rhone Poulenc and Larex ranging from bench chemist, product manager, application group leader, sales manager, business director to President/CEO before starting his own company, MG Force.

Scientist with extensive technical experience in fermentation, molecular genetics and metabolic engineering, developing polysaccharide and nutraceutical products for a global leader in fermentation. Project manager of interdisciplinary teams in the specialty chemicals industry for: New microbial products, product modifications, strain improvements, process improvement, fermentation scale up, microbial physiology, molecular genetics, bacterial genomics, culture maintenance and biosafety.

Dr. Cottrell began his career as a guar chemist, focusing on the development of hydroxyalkyl guar, cationic guar and guar double – derivatives for Stein, Hall and Co. From there, he went to the Kelco Division of Merck, where for 13 years, he specialized in alginates, xanthan gum, gellan gum and the development of new biopolymers. Following a stint with a venture capital biotechnology company in water soluble biopolymers, he moved to ISP (formerly GAF), where he focused his expertise on the development of polymers based on vinyl pyrrolidone. His corporate career then led him to work in Europe for Meyhall Chemical AG (which was acquired by Rhône–Poulenc, S.A.), with responsibility for both hydrocolloids and related polymers and the growth of the personal care ingredients business. He returned to the US where he was responsible for guar and xanthan technology for Rhône–Poulenc, Inc. From there he went to National Starch where he was the global R & D director for personal care polymer technology. Most recently, Dr Cottrell was responsible for the development of specialty pet products at The Hartz Mountain Corporation. Dr Cottrell received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the inventor on 45 patents and patent applications, and has authored over 25 publications.

With a background in polymer science, Mike has spent 35 years working with food hydrocolloids, researching their contribution to food microstructure, rheology, texture and other important quality attributes. Areas of expertise include polysaccharide analysis and macromolecular sizing, interactions and compatibility, rheology and functionality with respect to the food applications of gels, thickeners and stabilisers. Mike's experience in the area of biopolymer interactions and complex functionality has been utilised in developing polysaccharide-based soft capsules, microencapsulated oils, and edible, anti-microbial barrier-films. Mike has authored 19 papers on functional hydrocolloids and is co-author of patents relating to polysaccharide low-melting gels.