By Christopher Pimentel, May 12, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona food science professor Yao Olive Li originally followed in her father’s footsteps, trying to become a medical doctor, because she wanted to change the world for the better. However, she ended up dropping the idea because she said could not stand looking at skeletons and bones, and they gave her nightmares.
Even though her father was dissatisfied with her decision, Li tried to change the world in a different way: through food. Li said it wasn’t just the idea of satisfying hunger but the desire to fulfill the needs and functions of the human body. This desire is what inspired Li to become a food engineer.
“The way I think about it is if I can keep people out of the hospitals, then I am saving lives,” Li said. “I can ensure that people are living a healthy life by eating nutritious foods.”
Eventually, her dad warmed up to her decision, even joking with Li about the occupation. And now, her dad isn’t the only one who recognizes her impact in the food technology field. The Institute of Food Technologists also recognized Li’s impact and awarded her the highest honor the organization offers, IFT Fellowship.
IFT is an internationally recognized organization that advocates food science as essential to food safety, nutrition security and sustainable food systems as core values, according to its website. The members range from food science and technologists to researchers, engineers, professors, safety specialists and students.
Some members receive only one award or are recognized for advancing one of the IFT’s core values. However, Li was recognized for her hard work and dedication, hitting all aspects that IFT looks for in a member, earning her an IFT Fellowship for 2026.
The IFT Fellowship isn’t awarded to everyone though, as the requirements follow strict guidelines including 15 years of active membership and making impactful contributions to the IFT and broader science and food community, according to its website. Li also mentioned there can only be a maximum of 10 members awarded each year.
“It is one of, if not the highest, recognitions that the association can assign,” Li said. “It is a humbling recognition, and I am overjoyed to receive this recognition, and this is something I can engrave on my gravestone.”
The journey to achieving this recognition was not easy for Li, who was born in China to a poor family with limited access to food. This limitation is what drove Li into the career, and she has engineered cheap and essential foods to improve people’s health.
The impact of her engineering is most visible when she worked in India to create “double fortified salt” containing both iron and iodine to combat iron-deficiency amenia, one of the worst deficiencies in the world, according to Li.
Gabriel Davidov-Pardo, associate chair of the food science department, said Li’s journey and hard work to achieve her dream is inspiring. He added the award is a personal honor based on her individual achievements throughout her career and she deserves full credit for it.
“It is encouraging for new faculty that is coming into our program to see that with hard work, commitment and integrity that Li has always shown, you can reach these great distinctions,” Davidov-Pardo said.
Li said she achieved this goal by embodying CPP’s “Become by Doing” philosophy. As a food engineer, Li added she loves to be hands on with everything she works with. She strives to instill this mentality into her students through her classes and leadership in the Student Innovation Idea Labs.
“She brings broad ideas to a more concise, feasible, hands-on project that could transform into a solution for the industry,” Davidov-Pardo said. “What she really brings to the department is the engineering mindset along with her vast, in-depth knowledge of food science into solving problems that the food industry faces.”
According to David Edens, the food science department chair, he hopes food science students enrolled at CPP look up to Li and recognize this award as the pinnacle of any food scientist’s or technologist’s career. Edens added Li is hard working and pushes herself to new levels of achievement, which is what he expects from his students as well.
“She challenges her students quite a bit, but the realization for students comes later in their careers,” Edens said. “I know stories where students come back and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I needed that, but I needed that.’”
Li has not yet been awarded the recognition in person, but Davidov-Pardo and Edens said faculty will attend the IFT Food Improved by Research, Science and Technology event in Chicago in July to support her. Li and the other nine fellows will receive a plaque and pin on stage at the IFT FIRST for their achievements.
