Rate My Professor Alberto Baldelli

Dr. Alberto Baldelli is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability and a Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at the University of Queensland, having joined in 2024. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering and a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering from the University of Alberta, with his doctoral work centered on particle engineering, and a Masters (Research) of Engineering - Production from Università degli Studi di Brescia. Before arriving at UQ, Baldelli held a Postdoctoral Fellowship followed by a Research Fellowship at the Faculty of Food and Land Systems, University of British Columbia. His career emphasizes powder and particle technology applications in food sciences, chemical engineering, food engineering, packaging, preservation, processing, and drug delivery systems.

Baldelli's research specializations include particle engineering, food technology, spray drying, encapsulation of bioactive compounds, spray coatings, food fortification, nasal delivery, and dry powders. These investigations advance sustainable food production, functional foods, post-harvest preservation, and pharmaceutical formulations by exploiting dry powders' benefits: extended shelf life, bacterial resistance, minimal storage needs, low transport costs, and precise control over bioactive release, homogeneity, preservation, and antimicrobial properties. With over 70 publications since 2015, standout contributions encompass 'Locking in flavor: Aroma chemistry and spray drying encapsulation strategies for stable food applications' (Food Chemistry, 2026), 'Transparent and water-resistant edible coatings for sustainable post-harvest preservation of banana' (Sustainable Food Technology, 2026), 'Spray drying vitamin B12: Innovations in encapsulation for functional foods' (Trends in Food Science and Technology, 2025), 'Size reduction and particle size influence the quantification of phenolic-type compounds and antioxidant activity in plant food matrices' (Trends in Food Science and Technology, 2025), 'Optimizing microalgae bioprocessing and digestibility: spraying techniques for drying and encapsulation' (Food Bioscience, 2025), 'A system for in vitro inhaled/exhaled aerosol testing of personal protective equipment' (Scientific Reports, 2026), and the book chapter 'Alternative proteins, extrusion, and bioprocessing' (2024). Baldelli supervises nine PhD and Masters students on encapsulation, bioactive extraction from microalgae and seaweeds, functional powders, and crop coatings. He lectures in courses including Advanced Food Materials Science, Food Processing Technology, Food Process Engineering I, and Food Science and Technology.