The 2026 Friedrich Meuser Research Prize Goes to TU Berlin Researcher Dr. Kerstin Risse
Her dissertation shows that surfactants and proteins can work together to stabilize emulsions at oil-water interfaces
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New findings on the interaction between surfactants and proteins can help stabilize emulsions in food products more effectively and optimize manufacturing processes. In her dissertation, Dr. Kerstin Risse investigated the processes occurring at oil-water interfaces and demonstrated that, under certain conditions, surfactants and proteins do not merely compete but can work together to stabilize emulsions. For her scientifically outstanding and industrially relevant work, she was awarded the FEI’s 2026 Friedrich Meuser Research Prize.
New insights into the interaction between surfactants and proteins open up possibilities for stabilizing emulsions in food products in a more targeted manner and optimizing manufacturing processes. In her dissertation “Rethinking the interfacial behavior of surfactants and their interactions with proteins. A structure, temperature, and time-dependent approach,” Dr. Kerstin Risse investigated how the molecular structure of surfactants, the composition of the oil phase, as well as temperature and time influence the processes at oil-water interfaces. In doing so, she was able to systematically demonstrate that, under certain conditions, surfactants and proteins not only compete with one another but can also support each other in stabilizing emulsions.
For her outstanding dissertation, which combines scientific originality, fundamental insights, and high industrial relevance, the food technologist was awarded the 2026 Friedrich Meuser Research Prize. The award was presented to her by FEI Chairman Dr. Götz Kröner during the FEI Annual Conference on September 10, 2026, in Stuttgart-Hohenheim.
Established in 2019, the prize is endowed with 2,500 euros and is named after Prof. Dr. Dr. Friedrich Meuser, the long-time chair of the FEI’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Dr. Kerstin Risse’s dissertation was supervised by Prof. Dr. Stephan Drusch and was completed at the Technical University of Berlin (Food Technology and Materials Science Research Group) as part of the FEI-funded Industrial Collaborative Research (IGF) “Influence of the molecular structure of emulsifiers, fat globule size, and temperature control during the cooling step on the fat crystallinity and texture stability of products made from emulsified triglycerides” (21099 N).
The Friedrich Meuser Research Prize will be offered again in 2027. Eligible applicants are PhD graduates whose dissertation was completed as part of a finalized doctoral program and whose dissertation was published no more than two years ago. A prerequisite is that a substantial portion of the research was conducted as part of an IGF project funded by the FEI. There are no restrictions on the research topic.
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