Barbara P. Klein

Dr. Barbara P. Klein received her B.S. (1957) and M.S. (1959) degrees from Cornell University. She completed her Ph.D. in 1974 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and then joined the faculty in the Division of Foods and Nutrition. She is Professor Emerita of Foods and Nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and a member of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is presently the co-director of the Illinois Soy Foods Center.

Dr. Klein's research interests are alterations in food quality that occur during storage, processing, and preparing foods for human consumption. The changes can be monitored by sensory evaluation and nutritional and microbiological assessment of home and commercially processed foods. Her recent research focused on development and evaluation of high soy protein foods such as snacks, cereals, and dairy analogs; and factors affecting phytochemical and nutrient retention in vegetables. Research funding totaling more than $1,000,000 has been granted from federal (United States Department of Agriculture) and industry sources (ADM, Campbell Soup Company, Kraft Foods, General Mills and Pillsbury/Green Giant, Midwest Advanced Food Manufacturing Alliance, Illinois and Ohio Soybean Operating Boards, and C-FAR, an Illinois consortium). She has directed more than 40 Masters and Ph.D. students in their research. Dr. Klein is no longer accepting graduate students.

Dr. Klein is editor of two books, author of seven book chapters, and over 100 journal articles and presentations. She received the Borden Award for Research in Foods and Nutrition in 1988, was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists in 1994, and received the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences' Paul A. Funk Award for Excellence in 1997. In 2003, she received The Julius Bauermann Lectureship Award from the IFT Philadelphia Section. The Chicago IFT Section selected her for the Chicago Section Chairman’s Achievement award in 2006. Dr. Klein was a member of the INTSOY team that received the IFT Bor S. Luh International award in 2005.

On a personal note, Dr. Klein is married to Dr. Miles Klein, Professor of Physics at UIUC. The Kleins live in Champaign. They have two daughters, Cindy and Gail, one son-in-law, Effie Banai, married to Cindy, and three granddaughters, Alona, Rona, and Sara Banai. Gail’s family includes her partner, William Maisel, and 1 dog and 3 cats.