bannerKeynote Speaker: Katherine Smart, SABMiller PLC

KSmartweb.jpgBrewing Science—From Enviable Heritage to Impressive Future

Brewing can be considered to be the most interesting combination of art, skill, technology, engineering, and science. Despite this, brewers are seldom given credit for their contributions to novel scientific discovery, despite an enviable heritage in this regard. During this presentation, the impact of brewers on some of the most important historical scientific discoveries will be discussed. Many eminent scientists have been attracted to and intrigued by key brewing challenges and this presentation will explore what future challenges drive these individuals towards our sector. Insights into the future of brewing science and engineering will be discussed.

Katherine Smart, SABMiller PLC, SABMiller House, Church Street West Woking, Surrey GU21 6HS, England

Katherine A. Smart completed a B.S. degree (hons) in biological sciences at Nottingham University and was awarded the Rainbow Research Scholarship to complete a Ph.D. degree in brewing yeast and fermentation at Bass Brewers, Burton-on-Trent. This was where her passion for brewing science began. She has held fellowships and academic positions at the University of Cambridge, Oxford Brookes University, and most recently at the University of Nottingham, where she was the SABMiller professor of brewing science. Katherine cites as her achievements the founding of the National Brewing Library at Oxford Brookes University and the Bioenergy and Brewing Science Centre at the University of Nottingham. During her academic career Katherine has received several awards for her research, including the Institute of Brewing and Distilling Cambridge Prize (1999), the prestigious Royal Society Industrial Fellowship (2001–2003), an Enterprise Fellowship (2002), and the Save British Science Award at the Houses of Parliament in the UK (2003). In 2012, she joined SABMiller as group chief brewer. She also holds a professorial role at the University of Nottingham. Katherine is a Fellow of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce, and the Society of Biology. She has served as Council and Board member for the IBD, was International Director for the ASBC, and is a longstanding member of the MBAA. She has published extensively, with more than 100 publications in brewing.