James BeMiller is Professor Emeritus of Food Science at Purdue University, as well as being the Director of the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research. He has had a long and distinguished academic career having published over 150 academic papers, with a strong focus on starch and carbohydrate chemistry research. At various times he has sat on the board of the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Institute of Food Technologists, American Institute of Chemists, and the International Union of Biochemistry.