WEBINAR RECORDING: Green agro-materials and cheminformatics for food supply security

Webinar RECORDING

Originally aired: 16 September 2026

Presenter: Dr. Michael Appell, 2026 Kenneth A. Spencer Award winner.  Collaborator, US Department of Agriculture (Retired)

Moderator: Solito Sumulong, Principal, Concerted Innovations LLC

Description:

Chemistry serves as the central science driving solutions to complex, interconnected vulnerabilities across agricultural systems and the global food supply. Recent breakthroughs in in silico design, artificial intelligence, and functional materials are fundamentally reshaping sustainable crop protection and food safety. Predictive cheminformatics models accelerated the discovery of bio-based antimicrobials and guided the development of tailored nanoporous materials, biomimetics, and chemosensors. These functionalized porous sorbents and green materials enabled the rapid detection of grain contaminants and the selective, permanent removal of toxins from complex food and beverage matrices. Designed agro-materials provided an active, targeted defense against contamination across the agricultural supply chain, preserving commodity values and strengthening resilience from pre-harvest through processing.

Recap:

During the talk, Dr. Appell traced his own path to the Spencer Award back to a chance conversation at an ACS poster session with the late Dr. Eckhart Helmuth, one of the people who helped bring the award into AGRO and AGFD, and dedicated the honor to his memory. On the science, he highlighted a finding from his lab’s biochar research: pine biochar bound mycotoxins in gastric-fluid testing at levels comparable to food-grade activated coconut charcoal, pointing to a cheaper, more regionally sourced alternative to coconut-shell-based material. When asked how AI is changing QSAR modeling, he noted his lab has used predictive statistical modeling for over two decades and stressed that any AI-based model needs a real chemical mechanism behind it, not just statistical fit. Attendees also asked about nanotechnology’s next frontiers, and he pointed to plasmon-resonance-based sensing and the sharply lower material costs nanoscale approaches allow as reasons food-safety sampling coverage can keep improving.

Presenter Bios:

Dr. Michael Appell is an internationally recognized chemist formerly with the USDA. Combining biochemistry, agricultural nanotechnology, and cheminformatics, this research strengthens food security, detects toxins through biomimetic chemosensors, and identifies food-grade antimicrobials. Dr. Appell’s work in quantum chemistry also advances sustainable agro-based bioproducts and cosmeceuticals derived from carbohydrates and lipids.

This webinar series is part of the AGRO Division’s ongoing commitment to providing technical excellence and regulatory insight to the agrochemical community. For past webinar recordings, please visit the Lunch and Learn Webinar Archive.

A special thank you to our tech host, Kyle Sawyer, and our 2026 sponsor, JRF Global.

We hope to see you at our next webinar!