Carrick Devine, commenced his career with the New Zealand Oceanographic Institute measuring ocean currents and salinity patterns in Antarctica followed by an MSc at Canterbury University on the ecology of a shrimp in a sandy beach. At the University of Otago he gained a PhD on the ultrastructure, physiology and pharmacology of smooth muscle and its innervation followed by a Post Doctoral fellowship at the Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center on smooth muscle.After joining Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand (MIRINZ) in 1973, Dr Devine worked on optimising electrical stimulation to make meat tender - a process in all New Zealand lamb, beef and venison processing plants. Subsequent research showed further tenderisation, not only required the best electrical stimulation parameters, but also holding at optimum temperatures throughout critical parts of processing. Animal pre-slaughter stress often toughens meat so stress reduction procedures were developed. Stress amelioration was shown to also occur by conditioning animals to various stressors.Neurophysiological studies showed pre-slaughter head only electrical stunning to be humane and thus enabled the harmonisation of halal and western slaughter procedures. Dr Devine later joined Plant and Food Research and with AgResearch, successfully developed near infrared spectroscopy techniques (NIR) to measure meat tenderness on-line.Dr Devine obtained a DSc based on his research and is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and New Zealand Institute of Chemistry and gained an ONZM for work on meat. He is currently an editor of the Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences.
Werner Klinth Jensen: Born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Studied at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen, where he graduated as Veterinary Surgeon in 1959. After spending some time at the Danish Meat Research Institute in Roskilde, he was sent to Danepak Ltd. at Selby, Yorkshire and later at Thetford Norfolk, United Kingdom. Technical Director at Danepak Ltd. 1964-1976. From 1976 at the Danish Meat Research Institute, first as Manager of the Microbiology Laboratory, then as Manager of the Meat Processing Department, then International Relations Manager and finally Information Manager. Retired in 2000; thereafter working as Consultant for the Institute.
Carrick Devine, born in Blenheim, New Zealand, studied at Canterbury University in New Zealnd where he obtained an MSc in Marine Biology and then a PhD at the University of Otago Medical School in 1969, studying physiology/pharmacology of smooth muscle and its innervation. Following a post doctoral period at Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center working on smooth muscle, he returned to New Zealand and worked with striated muscle – i.e. meat - at the Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand, becoming sector leader. He has been involved in the development of electrical stimulation for meat tenderness, quality assurance procedures to ensure that appropriate levels of tenderness are attained, establishing neurological indices of humaneness of slaughter procedures using microdialysis probes, to harmonise western and halal slaughter methods and developing protocols to reduce preslaughter stress of cattle and sheep. He now works on biosensors at the bioengineering sector of Hortresearch and is presently engaged on a collaborative project with the MIRINZ Centre of Agresearch to measure meat tenderness on-line using near infrared spectroscopy. He obtained a DSc in 1991 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry.
Michael E. Dikeman; Born in the state of Kansas, USA. Received B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Kansas State University and M.S.degree from Michigan State University. Professor at Kansas State University from 1970 to present. He teaches courses ranging from beginning animal/meat science to graduate level. His research interests include effects of genetics and management systems for livestock production on carcass composition and meat quality. He has particular interests in postmortem technology to enhance meat quality, and in effects of meat cookery on tenderness. He received the Meats Research Award from the American Society of Animal Science. He served as President of the American Meat Science Association, and the Federation of American Societies of Food Animal Sciences.
