Spencer Award Goes to Ron Buttery

Ron G. Buttery, a collaborator with the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Services Western Regional Research Laboratory, in Albany, Calif., is the recipient of the ACS Kansas City Section’s 2008 Kenneth A. Spencer Award for outstanding achievement in food and agricultural chemistry.

Buttery has contributed to the development of analytical methods for the analysis of the compounds responsible for flavor. In addition to identifying the volatile chemical components of flavors, Buttery has used sensory panels to determine the relative importance of the components to the overall flavor. In addition, his work on the identification of plant volatiles has provided valuable basic information that entomologists can use in their investigations of the effect of plant volatiles on insect behavior.

Buttery will be honored with a medal, a $6,000 cash prize, a distinguished symposium, and a dinner on Oct. 27. The symposium is cosponsored by the ACS Division of Agricultural & Food Chemistry. Streaming video of past Spencer Award events can be viewed on the division’s website (cas.umkc.edu/chem/kcacs).