The Industrial Oil Products Division Early Career Travel Grant assists junior-level researchers in presenting their work at the AOCS Annual Meeting, as well as encourages them to become active in the Industrial Oil Products Division and the Society. The maximum number of individual grants given per year is limited to two.
What does the recipient receive?
- Certificate
- Individual grants limited to no more than US $750
- Complimentary Industrial Oil Products Division meal ticket
- Opportunity to present in the Industrial Oil Products technical program during the AOCS Annual Meeting
- Early career professionals (less than seven years of employment) at any institution of higher learning or research laboratory who have not previously received the Industrial Oil Products Division Early Career Travel Grant
- Preference given to early career who demonstrate an interest in becoming active in the Industrial Oil Products Division
- Full professors are not eligible
Who is eligible?
- Early career professionals (less than seven years of employment) at any institution of higher learning or research laboratory who have not previously received the Industrial Oil Products Division Early Career Travel Grant
- Preference given to early career who demonstrate an interest in becoming active in the Industrial Oil Products Division
- Full professors are not eligible
How do I nominate someone?
Login to the Awards Portal to submit the following application materials by December 16.
- Application statement (300–1,000-words) describing the significance of the applicant’s accomplishments in research and demonstrates how research interests are consistent with activities of the Industrial Oil Products Division
- Two-page Curriculum Vitae which includes grant procurement, students supervised and published papers
- Copy of the abstract submitted for the current year’s AOCS Annual Meeting
Most Recent Recipient
Nazanin Vafaei, PhD
Food Scientist | Sustainable Processing Innovator | Research Leader
Nazanin Vafaei is an award-winning Food Scientist with a Ph.D. in Food and Nutritional Sciences and over a decade of research and applied innovation experience across Canada, Malaysia, and Iran. Specializing in sustainable food processing, supercritical fluid technologies, enzymatic biocatalysis, and lipid engineering, she is recognized for developing eco-friendly, high-performance ingredients that align with global trends in health and sustainability.
Currently serving as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Manitoba, Nazanin has led multi-institutional research collaborations with prestigious partners including the University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Canola Council of Canada. She has successfully secured major national grants (NSERC, Mitacs, Canola Research Cluster) and received national recognition through the 2024 Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation and the 2025 AOCS Industrial Oil Products Award.
Her research portfolio includes pioneering work in sustainable oil extraction, the development of clean-label, food-grade plant protein and lipid systems, and the commercialization of structured lipids with enhanced nutritional profiles. She has extensive technical expertise in supercritical CO₂ extraction, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC/SFE), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, HPLC, GC, FTIR, DSC, and NIR.
Prior to her postdoctoral work, Nazanin contributed significantly as a Research Assistant at the University of Manitoba, where she developed functional fats and innovative nutraceutical products, and as a Product Development Scientist in Malaysia, where she advanced tropical seed fat extraction methods and food formulation strategies.
Nazanin is passionate about bridging scientific research with practical applications, creating innovative food solutions that contribute to a more sustainable and healthier world. She is an active mentor, technical writer, and advocate for collaborative research across academia, government, and industry.