Chandrashekhar Sonar, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Product Development
Chandrashekhar Sonar received his Bachelor of Technology degree in Food Engineering and Technology from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India followed by a diploma in Business Administration with specialization in Operations Management from Symbiosis Centre of Distance Learning, India while working at Gadre Marine Export Pvt. Ltd., a surimi seafood company. After gaining experience at the company, he moved to Washington State University, Pullman and received his PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering with focus in Food Engineering. With vast industrial and research experience, he has gained a multidisciplinary exposure in food processing, product development, scale-up and commercialization, food packaging, various thermal and non-thermal processing technologies, quality assurance, and food safety.
Most recently, Chandrashekhar was a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State University, Corvallis, where he worked on radiofrequency heating of hazelnuts to develop energy-efficient processing and cellulose nanocrystals/nanofibers-based edible coatings for thermal processing of anthocyanin-rich fruits like blueberries.
During his graduate studies at the Washington State University, Chandrashekhar’s research was mainly focused on the development of synthetic as well as sustainable packaging for thermally processed food products like ready-to-eat meals, understanding the sensitivity of various food components (natural color pigments, vitamins, lipids) to different gas barrier packaging materials, storage stability studies, and process-package interactions in terms of changes in package properties. At the same time, he worked on novel thermal processing technologies like microwave-assisted thermal pasteurization (MAPS)/sterilization (MATS) and pressure-assisted thermal sterilization (PATS) in addition to conventional thermal processing like retort and hot-water bath pasteurization. Apart from studies, Chandrashekhar was actively involved with Food Engineering Club, a registered student organization at WSU as the President and Institute of Food Technology as a student rep for Food Packaging division.
Chandrashekhar has more than eight years of work experience in the surimi seafood company, Gadre Marine Export Pvt. Ltd., India at various positions like Production Manager and Manager of Product Development and Quality Assurance, where he had a cross-functional involvement with the purchase, sales, marketing, production, and maintenance teams. He successfully developed and commercialized diverse types of surimi-based value-added products such as imitation crab, fish sausages, fried surimi products etc. for various markets across the globe and applications like hot-pot, retorting, and freeze drying. At the same time, as a QA head, he spearheaded the efficient implementation of many food safety and quality management systems like BRC, MSC, HACCP, FDA, and HALAL.
In his free time, Chandrashekhar enjoys hiking, bicycling, exploring new places with family and close friends, and trying local breweries.