Christopher Raines, a well-known and highly regarded assistant professor at Penn State, died in a car accident Sunday, the university reported.
He was 29.
Raines worked in meat science and technology in the Department of Dairy and Animal Science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Having joined Penn State in 2008, he was known locally — and elsewhere — for his programming in meat quality, safety and compliance issues.
‘Chris was a remarkably talented and hard-working individual with so much career promise,’ Terry Etherton, head of dairy and animal science, said in a written statement. ‘His untimely loss is so tragic for his colleagues, friends and family. We will miss him greatly.’
The university noted his academic interests, which centered in part in meat-color chemistry; meat-product display and packaging systems; consumer demand and trends for red-meat products; and sustainability and meat production.
Raines, an Ohio native, developed a substantial following via social media, where he used Twitter as @ITweetMeat and maintained a blog at meatblogger.org.
StateCollege.com columnist Michele Marchetti spoke with Raines for a column that she wrote in March.
An item about him from the College of Agricultural Sciences is available here.
