Kuraray America’s Edgard Chow and Diana Maya Receive 2026 IFT R&D Award

Kuraray America, Inc. (KAI) congratulates Edgard Chow, Director of Technical Opportunities Management, and Diana Maya, Regional Market Development Manager, Americas, on being named 2026 recipients of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Research & Development Award!

Edgard and Diana were recognized alongside Dr. juming tang, Dr. Shyam Sablani and the late *Dr. Louise Wicker as Research and Development Award team members during the IFT Achievement Awards & Fellows Reception and Ceremony at #IFTFIRST in Chicago, IL.

Presented by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the award recognizes the team’s contributions to the long-term collaborative project, “Innovative Barrier Packaging for Emerging Food Processing Technologies,” and its role in advancing food packaging science.

This recognition is not only a celebration of the work completed today. It also points to what is possible as food packaging continues to evolve through stronger collaboration, deeper technical expertise, and new approaches to protecting product quality.

For KAI, it reinforces our commitment to helping shape the future of food packaging through science, innovation, and solutions designed for the needs ahead.

Congratulations to Edgard, Diana, and the full award-winning team!

*As we celebrate this achievement, we also honor and remember Dr. Louise Wicker, not only for her role in this work, but for a lifetime of knowledge, leadership and impact that will continue to be felt across the community.