Karin Schroën appointed chair of Food Process Engineering

Linking processes at the smallest scale to industrial applications at large scale has been a recurring theme throughout the new chair’s career. “What happens at large scale starts with interactions at a very small scale,” she says. “If you understand and exploit those interactions properly, you can make significant gains in efficiency and sustainability.”

Schroën mentions oil droplets as an example. Products such as mayonnaise and yoghurt contain millions of tiny oil droplets dispersed in water. “In fact, that applies to almost every food product,” says Schroën. These droplets determine whether a product tastes firm or creamy and contribute to its stability.

“At Food Process Engineering, we can create and study extremely small, individual oil droplets,” Schroën explains. “For instance, we investigate how stable such a droplet is, or whether it tends to merge with other droplets.” This knowledge is highly relevant for industrial applications. If oil droplets readily coalesce in the laboratory, the same may happen at larger scale in food products. The result? A product such as mayonnaise that develops an oil layer over time. By understanding how substances behave at small scale, scientists can fine-tune production processes more precisely and use raw materials more efficiently.

As chair, Schroën aims to foster this focus on the microscale across the entire group. In addition, she wants to encourage researchers to adopt a chain-wide approach to sustainability. According to her, too often major claims are based on a single step in the process. “You cannot say: this separation method is sustainable because it requires less energy,” she argues. “If it generates more waste or requires more water at the same time (directly, or later in the process), the overall picture does not add up.” This is why Schroën collaborates closely with the social sciences within WUR. “They have extensive experience in this area, and we can learn a great deal from them,” she says.

In education, Schroën aims above all to actively engage students. She enjoys working with short knowledge clips and other methods that encourage students to find theoretical concepts themselves. Where possible, she wants to replace large lectures with small-group work. “Three students is ideal,” she says. “That way, discussion emerges naturally and no one can sit back and let others do the work.” Her goal is to stimulate curiosity, independent learning and collaborative problem-solving.

Alongside her research, Schroën served for six years as Scientific Director of the VLAG graduate school. In that role, she was committed to high-quality training for early-career researchers. “I believe it is essential that young talents get a strong start, both academically and in terms of skills,” she says. Together with colleagues, Schroën helped build a broad portfolio of courses designed to support this ambition.

Schroën’s interest in food production and technology began at an early age. She grew up in a village where mixed farming was the norm, with a large garden near her home and a lock where her father worked. This environment sparked her fascination with food, nature and technology, ultimately leading her to study Food Technology in Wageningen.

After completing her studies, Schroën obtained her PhD within the Food Process Engineering chair group. There, she developed a strong interest in processes at very small scales, such as colloidal structures. One important outcome of this period was the insight into how separation filters can be made ‘non-stick’, a breakthrough that enabled new process technologies.

Schroën has held various scientific and administrative roles within WUR and represents Wageningen in the Engineering Sciences Council and contributed to the national Technology Sector Plan. In addition, she is a professor at the University of Twente and at the University of Tsukuba in Japan.