Professor Renfu Lu

  Dr. Lu’s personal research is focused on sensing and automation for property characterization and quality evaluation of fruits, vegetables and other food products. He leads a team of researchers in applying state-of-the-art technologies in imaging, spectroscopy, sensors and controls as well as advanced mathematical/statistical methods for assessing quality and condition of fruits and vegetables before, at and after harvest. Dr. Lu has been principal or co-principal investigator of 22 external grants funded by the federal and state governments and commodity industries.

As Research Leader, Dr. Lu provides leadership and supervision over research scientists and support personnel, and is responsible for managing human, fiscal, and physical resources, for the USDA/ARS research unit at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. Since 2004, Dr. Lu has been directing and supervising three U.S. federal government appropriated in-house research programs in engineering, genetics, breeding, and pathology of food crops including sugar beet, dry beans, fruits and vegetables. Dr. Lu has supervised and mentored or advised 36 graduate students, postdoctoral research associates, and visiting scholars from U.S. and 12 other countries. He has served on the guidance committee for numerous Ph.D. graduate students at Michigan State University and Purdue University, and was invited to serve as an external examiner for the dissertation examination of Ph.D. students in Canada, Chile, Ireland and New Zealand.

Dr. Lu has authored or coauthored over 240 research publications, including 100+ peer-reviewed journal articles, and 16 book chapters, in sensing and automation technologies for quality and property assessment and characterization of horticultural and food products. He is editor of two books entitled “Light Scattering Technology for Food Property, Quality and Safety Assessment” (CRC Press, 2016) and “Hyperspectral Imaging Technology in Food and Agriculture” (Springer,2015).