Food safety expert directs UC-Davis Postharvest Technology Center
University of California-Davis extension research specialist Trevor Suslow has been named director of the school's Postharvest Technology Center.
Suslow, a food safety expert in postharvest pathology and microbiology, said he will be able to continue with other projects he is working on now. His new position will involve responsibilities in managing the staff and faculty and in providing direction for the Postharvest Technology Center.
"One of my goals is to really broaden the level of involvement both among our basic and our applied and extension faculty," he said Aug. 9.
Suslow will succeed Beth Mitcham, who was director for eight years. She announced in a newsletter that she is leaving the position.
"Trevor has been a longtime member of the Postharvest Technology Center and will lead the team with new energy and vision," she said in the August newsletter. Mitcham said she will continue to be an active contributor to the programs of the center and assist Suslow in the transition.
The center, housed in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC-Davis, is focused on reducing postharvest losses and improving the quality, safety and marketability of fresh produce and other horticultural products, according to its website. The center depends on income from workshops, publication sales and an endowment fund, according to the website.
Suslow will manage the financial security, services and "technical competency" of the center, he said.
Suslow said the center assists the produce industry with workshops, short courses, educational and resource materials, which are available on-site and also through distance learning programs. He has participated in the center's education events for about 20 years, he said, since joining UC-Davis.
With a demanding travel schedule and the leadership transition period in August, Suslow said he expects to assume all the duties of the director position by early September.
