Donald J. McMahon, professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science and director of the Western Dairy Center at Utah State University, recently won the 1999 Gist-brocades Award. McMahon was recognized for his outstanding contributions to understanding cheese structure and functionality. The award was presented June 20, during the awards ceremony of the 94th annual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association in Memphis. Royal Gist-brocades is an international group of companies whose core business is biotechnology.

McMahon says his research interests focus on the effects processing methods have on the structure and function of milk proteins, including the role of proteins in the melting properties of Mozzarella cheese, the stability of ultra-high processed milk and the application of adjunct cultures in cheese fermentation. These studies have resulted in new knowledge about low fat and nonfat cheeses that have better moisture retention and better melting properties, providing the dairy industry with new approaches to mozzarella cheese manufacturing technology.

A native of Australia, McMahon received a bachelor of applied science degree from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1978 and a doctorate from Utah State University, Logan, in 1983. After serving four years as group leader at Kraft Foods Australia, he joined the faculty at USU in 1987. McMahon became Director of the Western Dairy Center in 1993.

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