Dr. Mohammad Zarei is an Assistant Professor of Food Science and Bioprocessing in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona), and Affiliate Faculty with the NSF Center for Research Advancement in Smart Manufacturing (CREST-RASM). He holds a Ph.D. in Food Science and Biotechnology and has more than 12 years of research, teaching, and industry experience, most recently as a Senior Research Scientist at Virginia Tech. His research applies bioprocessing and smart manufacturing to convert food and agricultural by-products into bioactive compounds, bioactive peptides, and functional food ingredients within a biocircular economy framework. Through CREST-RASM, he develops digital twins and AI-assisted models to monitor and optimize enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and extrusion. His work also spans alternative proteins, sustainable packaging, and cultivated meat. Dr. Zarei has authored 59 peer-reviewed publications, cited more than 3,500 times (h-index 35; Google Scholar, November 2026), and has secured more than $1.5M in funding as PI and Co-PI. He serves as Section Board Member and Academic Editor, Food Biotechnology Section, Foods (MDPI), and has received Gold Medals at IIDEX 2019, IID 2017, and NFIPD 2019. He welcomes collaboration in bioprocessing, bioactive peptides, functional foods, and digital twin process optimization.