Charanjit Singh Riar, PhD, is currently a Professor in the Department of Food Technology at the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Longowal, Sangrur, Punjab, India, where he was formerly a lecturer. He has 25 years of teaching and research experience. Dr. Riar has published over 100 research papers in reputed national and international journals, having well over 2,500 citations. His h index is 31. He has authored/edited four books, presented more than 65 papers at conferences/seminars, and written 20 book chapters. Dr. Riar is a reviewer for national and international publishing houses such as Elsevier, Springer, SAGE, Taylor & Francis, etc. Dr. Riar is on the panel of experts of a number of reputed national universities/institutions of India. He has guided many BTech, MTech, and PhD scholars. His areas of research are starch modification, biodegradable film, bioactive compounds (nutraceuticals) extraction and analysis, and seed germination and characteristics such as pasting, rheological, thermal, morphological, and molecular and functional characteristics of food and their products. Dr. Riar did his graduate and post-graduation programs in Food Technology at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India, and his PhD in Food Technology at Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, India. Parmjit S. Panesar, PhD, is currently working as Professor and Dean (Planning and Development) at the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Longowal, Punjab, India. Prof. Panesar has more than 24 years of teaching and research experience and served in administrative positions such as Dean (Research & Consultancy) and Head, Department of Food Engineering & Technology, SLIET Longowal, India. In 2005, he was awarded a BOYSCAST (Better Opportunities for Young Scientists in Chosen Areas of Science & Technology) fellowship by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, to carry out advanced research at Chembiotech Labs at the University of Birmingham Research Park, UK. He was also involved in USA- and Australian-sponsored projects during his stay in the UK. Prof. Panesar has successfully completed funded research projects and has several in progress. He has written and published more than 160 international/national scientific papers, 50 book reviews in peer-reviewed journals, 40 chapters, and authored/edited nine books. He has supervised many PhD and MTech students. He is a member of the editorial advisory boards of various national and international journals and is now serving as a member of the national level scientific panel on "Alcoholic Beverages and Water & Non-alcoholic Beverages." He is also involved with the international collective of experts of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal. In recognition of his work, Prof. Panesar was elected as a Fellow by The Biotech Research Society of India and by the International Society for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. He has received many other awards as well. Prof. Panesar was also listed in the most coveted list (2020, 2021) of "World Ranking of Top 2% Scientists," published by Stanford University, USA. He has served as the national Vice President of the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists India, during 2019. Prof. Panesar also served as a member of the boards of studies of various universities.
