After finishing his professional education as a Biological Technical Assistant, Dr. rer. nat. Christof Björn Steingass studied Food Science and Technology at the University of Hohenheim and had a 4-months research stay at the University of Costa Rica to complete his Diploma thesis.
He conducted his PhD thesis under the supervision of Professor Dr. Dr. Reinhold Carle at the chair Plant Foodstuff Technology and Analysis (University of Hohenheim). His thesis on the influence of harvest maturity and fruit logistics on chemical composition and sensory characteristics of pineapple fruit was graded summa cum laude and funded by a state graduate scholarship.
From 2016 to 2019, he led a research group as a postdoctoral researcher at the chair Plant Foodstuff Technology and Analysis (University of Hohenheim). His research interests inter alia focusedon the development and characterisation of sustainable palm fat substitutes and innovative fruit processing technologies.
Since April 2019 he works as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the chair Analysis and Technology of Plant-based Foods of Prof. Dr. Ralf Schweiggert (Geisenheim University), continuing his research with current focus on processing and analysis of berries, oranges, and tropical fruit. Since October 2023 he is deputy head of the Institute of Beverage Technology (Geisenheim University). During the past years, he put emphasis on the analysis of primary and secondary metabolites such as carotenoids, phenolic compounds and volatiles in plants and derived foodstuff. He has published 50 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, two book chapters, and more than 35 conference contributions. His current h-index is 23. He received various scholarships, travel grants, and awards such as the ‘BGS-Forschungsförderpreis 2015’ and the ‘Science Award 2017’ provided by the Baumann-Gonser-Stiftung, and the Universitätsbund Hohenheim e.V., respectively.
