Prof Marena Manley, from the Department of Food Science, recently received an Honorary Award from Grian SA at their annual Congress held at NAMPO Park from 11-12 March 2026. Prof Manley was recognised for her outstanding contributions as a leading researcher. She is a celebrated researcher, mentor, and academic leader in the field of Food Science, whose career spans more than 29 years of pioneering contributions at Stellenbosch University (SU) and internationally.  

After completing her BSc in Food Science at SU, Prof Manley gained valuable research experience at the Small Grain Centre in Bethlehem and later at the Wheat Board in Pretoria. While working full-time, she completed her MSc (Agric) Food Science at the University of Pretoria, investigating the prediction of breadmaking quality of South African wheat cultivars by SDS-PAGE analysis of HMW glutenin subunits. She was subsequently awarded a grant to pursue a PhD at the University of Plymouth, United Kingdom, where she began her groundbreaking work on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with the prediction of wheat hardness — a field that has defined much of her later research. Following industry experience in the UK as a Chemometrics Development Engineer, Prof Manley joined SU in 1997, quickly rising through the academic ranks and was promoted from senior lecturer to full professor in 2010. 

Prof Manley’s contributions extend beyond academia into industry and policy. Her work on wheat grading standards directly influenced regulatory changes in South Africa, ensuring fairer compensation for farmers. She has made significant advancements of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging (HSI), particularly within cereal grain research. Her work has substantially influenced the understanding and practical application of these technologies in the food and agricultural sciences.  

A significant part of her research has focused on supporting South Africa’s grain industry, ensuring that producers and processors have access to reliable tools for quality assessment. She has also expanded this expertise to a broader range of cereal-based applications. Prof Manley is widely recognised for her contributions to cereal quality evaluation, having supervised and co-supervised more than 90 postgraduate students and published extensively in the fields of grain spectroscopy and chemometrics. Her international reputation is cemented by highly cited publications, including a review in Chemical Society Reviews (impact factor >50), which has been cited nearly 1088 times (H-index: 51). She has authored 140 peer-reviewed publications, one book, and 13 invited book chapters. 

In 2025, she became the first South African to receive the prestigious Tomas Hirschfeld Award from the International Council for NIR spectroscopy (ICNIRS), recognising her pioneering contributions to NIR research, particularly in cereal grain science. In addition, she has received several national accolades, including Stellenbosch University’s Chancellor’s award (2022) for her excellence as both teaching and researcher, as well as a Research and Innovation Excellence Award in the Category Established researcher (2025). 

 Prof Marena Manley 

Prof Marena Manley receives the Honorary Award from Mr Richard Krige (Chairperson, Grain SA)