Professor Colin Webb, BSc, PhD, CEng, CSci, FIChemE, FIAFoST is currently Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in the UK. He is also Director of the Satake Centre for Grain Process Engineering, which he founded within the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1994. He joined UMIST in 1979 after graduating with a first class degree in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Aston. During his time in Manchester, Colin has supervised 75 higher degree theses including 25 PhDs. Publications include seven books, more than 160 research papers and three patents. He has been Editor of Elsevier s Biochemical Engineering Journal since its launch and serves on the editorial boards of four other international journals. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a member of the American Association of Cereal Chemists. In 1999, Colin was honoured by being elected founding Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology. His research interests are largely directed towards the application of process engineering concepts to grain processing systems, particularly in the area of bioconversion of cereal products. He is currently working on a range of projects to establish cereals as a viable renewable resource for chemicals production.