Current Award Winners

Jervee M.Punzalan recently completed her PhD at the University of Otago under the supervision of Professor Keith Gordon. Jervee has been awarded the 2026 JEOL Brian Halton Award for her paper entitled “Extraction-dependent responses to pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatment: A multi-analytical characterization approach for semi-refined flaxseed extracts” published in Applied Food Research in February this year.

Jervee’s paper presents a comprehensive multi-analytical investigation into how pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatment affects semi-refined flaxseed extracts obtained via water and alkaline extraction. Jervee led the experimental investigation and developed the comprehensive analytical framework that revealed extraction-dependent responses to PEF pretreatment. This work advances the chemical understanding of complex plant-based systems and provides new mechanistic insight into PEF-assisted extraction, which supports the development of more sustainable extraction processes. This approach is readily extendable to future investigations of various plant-based materials and emerging food-processing systems.

Jervee is also the recipient of a number of other accolades including the NZNIRSS Student Award, Best Oral Presentation at the 20th Asian Chemical Congress, Best Talk at the Dodd-Walls Centre Symposium, and Best Poster Award at the International Conference on Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopy.