Rate My Professor Ronald Wills

Emeritus Professor Ronald Wills was a Conjoint Academic in the Discipline of Applied Sciences in the School of Environmental & Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle's College of Engineering, Science and Environment. He held a PhD from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of New South Wales. His research specialized in food technology, with a focus on postharvest physiology and handling of fruits and vegetables. Key areas included minimizing the harmful effects of ethylene, the potential of nitric oxide as a postharvest technology, and the use of essential oils as bio-fungicides to inhibit fungal decay and senescence in produce. Wills supervised 18 PhD and Masters students, served as lead investigator on 37 research grants totaling $1,520,056, and contributed to collaborative projects on storage disorders, volatiles, quality maintenance, and shelf-life extension for horticultural products.

Wills authored influential textbooks such as 'Postharvest: An introduction to the physiology and handling of fruit and vegetables' (2016, with J.B. Golding), 'Advances in Postharvest Fruit and Vegetable Technology' (2016, with J. Golding), and the earlier edition 'Postharvest: an introduction to the physiology and handling of fruit, vegetables and ornamentals' (1998, with B. McGlasson, D. Joyce, G. Graham). He published 283 works, including over 320 journal articles like 'Nitric oxide and postharvest stress of fruits, vegetables and ornamentals' (2015) and secured patents for methods reducing deterioration of horticultural produce using nitric oxide (2004). A Member of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering since 1994, his work garnered over 10,500 citations, significantly impacting postharvest science by developing practical technologies for preserving produce quality in non-optimal conditions.