The amazement is in the interdisciplinarity and unpredictability

She was originally planning to settle down in her country of birth, New Zealand, with a good job and a newly built house, after having completed a six-year research stay at Aarhus University. Her plan was to create the life she had always dreamed of.

But that was not how things worked out. Not in New Zealand at least. In 2008, her New Zealand plans were put on hold, and she returned to Aarhus, where she ended up being offered the position as the head of department for the newly established Department of Food Science. When Michelle Williams took up the head of department position in 2011, her primary task from the then Dean Brian Bech Nielsen was to head the merger of two departments as part of a large-scale merger process taking place at that time.

“The past ten years have left a clear mark on food science at AU. Together we’ve succeeded in carrying out a number of tasks, and in addition to merging two departments into one solid organisation, we also merged physically in 2019, when we opened our new buildings at Agro Food Park in Skejby. I’m extremely proud of the department's work, and it’s a privilege to head the Department of Food Science. I’m delighted with my decision to return to Denmark 15 years ago. It’s with great pleasure that I continue in the position, and I’d like to thank the management at AU for their faith in me," says Michelle Williams.

Her new appointment will formally take effect from 1 June 2022, and Dean Eskild Holm Nielsen is looking forward to continuing their collaboration:

"I'm pleased that Michelle will continue as the head of the Department of Food Science. Michelle has piloted change and progress for the department, and her visionary leadership style has helped make the Department of Food Science a leading department internationally. For this reason, I’m very much looking forward to continuing our collaboration to develop the department in the future," says Eskild Holm Nielsen.

From farm to fork – and way beyond!

Research and its implications have changed a lot compared with ten years ago. Today, the world is facing the impact of climate change on food production, and this gives research a new and international perspective. Consumers can see how supermarket prices are increasing, and security of supply and consumer behaviour are becoming increasingly important. The focus of modern research therefore goes way beyond the familiar ‘from farm to fork' slogan,” explains the head of department:

"Focus of the department is now on the green transition and sustainable food production in the broadest sense. Food defines us in many ways, and has cognitive meanings for us as individuals – think of the connection people can have to a specific dish, for example. Food is many things to many people, and the diversity in eating habits, cultural context and production conditions, for example, means that there’s more at stake in the modern food system than just production and nutrition," says Michelle, and she continues:

"This is also why it’s so inspiring to be part of this department. Food research is a multidisciplinary discipline, with a dynamic and international research environment in which there is a joint professional enthusiasm and a deep understanding of how important it is to find new ways to future-proof our food systems. I look forward to embarking on many new and important tasks

together with colleagues, partners and businesses in the coming years," Michelle Williams concludes.