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Dr. Daniel Onwude
Researcher

Dr. Daniel Onwude

Dr. Daniel Onwude is a highly accomplished researcher and academic with expertise in Agricultural Process Engineering and Food Technology. With a strong background in pre-harvest and postharvest engineering, food nutrition, and food safety, Dr. Onwude has made significant contributions to the field. His research interests include food preservation and process engineering, swarm intelligence, digital twinning of food supply chains, and drying technology.

He is currently affiliated with Empa, Laboratory 401- Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, St. Gallen, Switzerland, and also works as a lecturer at ETH Zürich.

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About Me

More About Me

Research and Academic Achievements

Dr. Onwude has an impressive academic research output, with 65 peer-reviewed journal papers, 5 book chapters, and 5 copyrights to his name. His work has made a significant impact, as evident from his H-index of 19 (Scopus) and 23 (Google Scholar), and i10-index of 32 (Google Scholar). He has served as a guest editor and associate editor for esteemed scientific journals, including Foods (MDPI, Switzerland) and Thermal Science and Engineering Progress (Elsevier). Dr. Onwude is also actively involved in scientific reviewing activities for numerous journals in the field of agricultural and food sciences.

Education and Employment History

Dr. Onwude holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Process Engineering from the University of Putra Malaysia, along with an M.Sc. in Agricultural Process Engineering and a B.Eng. (Honors) in Agricultural Engineering. Throughout his career, he has held various academic and research positions, including Scientist and Project Lead at Empa, Lecturer at ETH Zürich, and Senior Lecturer at the University of Uyo, Nigeria. His expertise and knowledge span a wide range of areas, including computational fluid dynamics, mathematical modeling, convective cooling and drying processes, and computer programming.

Teaching Experience and Supervision

Dr. Onwude is passionate about sharing his knowledge and has extensive teaching experience. He has served as a guest lecturer and co-lecturer at renowned institutions such as Wageningen University and Research and ETH Zürich. His teaching expertise covers subjects like data science for food and consumer behavior, simulations and sensors in agri-food supply chains, and various aspects of agricultural process engineering. Additionally, Dr. Onwude has supervised and mentored several junior researchers, including Ph.D. and M.Sc. students, and has been involved in external Ph.D. supervision.

Funded Projects and Research Conducted

As a principal investigator and co-lead, Dr. Onwude has secured funding for several projects, including the Passive Cooling Blanket project, Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant project, and Fortifying dehydrated fruits by scalable electrohydrodynamics. His research focuses on developing physics-based digital twins, smart packaging solutions, and sustainable technologies for food preservation and storage. Dr. Onwude has also organized conferences, workshops, and training sessions, further contributing to knowledge sharing and collaboration in his field.

Years of Experience

Education

08/2018
University of Studies

Ph.D. in Agricultural Process Engineering

University of Putra Malaysia

04/2016
University of Studies

M.Sc. in Agricultural Process Engineering

University of Putra Malaysia

08/2012
University of Studies

B. Eng. (Honors) in Agricultural Engineering,

University of Uyo, Nigeria

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2023 – present
Netherlands

Guest lecturer

Data Science for Food and Consumer Behavior (MSc, 4 hours), Wageningen University and Research

2021 – present
Switzerland

Co-Lecturer

Simulations and Sensors in Agri-Food Supply Chains (MSc, Ph.D. 8 hours), ETH Zürich,

2015 – 2019
, University of Uyo, Nigeria

Lecturer

Drying of Agricultural Materials (M.Eng, B.Eng, 30 hours), Technical Policy of Agriculture (B.Eng, 20 hours), Modelling of Agricultural Systems (M.Eng, B.Eng, 30 hours), Refrigeration and Thermal Preservation of Agricultural Materials (B.Eng, 30 hours), Introduction to Basic Computer Application and Business Management in Agriculture (B.Eng, 22 hours), Engineering Thermodynamics (M.Eng, B.Eng, 30 hours), Food Process Design (B.Eng, 30 hours), Food Quality and Safety (B.Eng, 20 hours), Introduction to Food Engineering (B.Eng, 22 hours), and Engineering Properties of BioAgricultural Materials (B.Eng, 15 hours),

2015 - 2018
University of Putra Malaysia

Teaching assistant

Agricultural Process Engineering, Computer-Aided Engineering Drawing, and Bioprocess Engineering Operation

2014
, University of Uyo, Nigeria

Teaching assistant

Solar Energy of Engineering Systems, and Computer Simulation of Agricultural Process Systems

Research interests

Pre-harvest and Postharvest Engineering

Food nutrition

Food safety

Food Preservation & Process Engineering

Swarm Intelligence

Digital Twinning of Food Supply Chain

Food Packaging

Drying Technology

Modelling and Simulation

Non-destructive Testing & Computational Multiphysics

Competences

Computational Fluid Dynamics-Finite Element Modelling (COMSOL)

Sensors and automation

Mathematical and physics-based modelling

Convective cooling and drying processes

Multiphase & Multiscale Modelling (COMSOL)

Computer programming (MATLAB)

Statistical analysis (ORIGIN, R STUDIO, & SIGMA PLOT)

English Language (native speaker)

German Language (A2 level)

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Contact

Get in Touch

+41766337579

daniel.onwude@empa.ch

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2690-5823

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