Richard L. Earle is Professor Emeritus, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, where he was Head of Department of Process and Environmental Technology and Dean of the Faculty of Technology. Trained in chemical engineering and in operations research, he worked in the Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand. He then became Foundation Professor of Biotechnology at Massey University and was concerned with the processing of This communication (including any attachments) is intended for the use of the addressee only and may contain confidential, privileged or copyright material. It may not be relied upon or disclosed to any other person without the consent of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). If you have received it in error, please contact us immediately. Any advice given by the RSC has been carefully formulated but is necessarily based on the information available, and the RSC cannot be held responsible for accuracy or completeness. In this respect, the RSC owes no duty of care and shall not be liable for any resulting damage or loss. The RSC acknowledges that a disclaimer cannot restrict liability at law for personal injury or death arising through a finding of negligence. VAT registration number GB 342 1764 71 Registered charity number 207890 4 biological materials across a wide range of products and industries including foods and pharmaceuticals. He wrote a pioneering textbook on Unit Operations in Food Processing, used throughout the world. He has taught reaction technology courses at undergraduate and graduate levels, and in industrial seminars in New Zealand, Canada, Thailand and Australia. He has been involved with the manufacturing industry, including the development of a pharmaceutical company using meat by-products in New Zealand, and has also authored or co-authored many papers and a number of books.