Alina Surmacka Szczesniak

[1] She was the daughter of Wladysław Surmacki, who was to be President of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) in 1942 but did not survive the Second World War.

[2] Szcześniak attended Bryn Mawr College as a foreign student after the Second World War, which she spent in her native Poland.

Szcześniak developed the now-standard Sensory Texture Profile Analysis,[3] which analyzes, quantifies and places in correct sequence all textural properties perceived from the moment a piece of food is placed in the mouth until the last particle is swallowed.

In 1969, Szcześniak was a Founding Editor of the Journal of Texture Studies[3] and served for 10 years in that role.

In 1985, Szcześniak became the first woman to receive the Nicholas Appert Award, the highest honor bestowed upon its members by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).