Miller wraps up pioneering career in meat science

After almost four decades as a leader in meat science and sensory research, Rhonda Miller, Ph.D., retired from the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science at the end of June.

Rhonda Miller, Ph.D., has retired after 37 years working as a meat scientist in the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science and Department of Food Science. (Davey Griffin/Texas A&M AgriLife )

Miller, a professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow in meat science, also held a joint appointment in the Texas A&M Department of Food Science. Over 37 years, she became a fixture in the meat science and sensory industries, bridging the gap between producers and consumers on issues of taste, tenderness and palatability in beef and pork.

Miller also helped pioneer automated grading technology for red meat quality and collaborated with colleagues worldwide, including Jim Sanders, Ph.D., retired senior professor of animal breeding and genetics, and Russell Cross, Ph.D., senior professor of meat science within her department.

“My goal was always to help the meat industry,” she said. “I grew up on a farm in Colorado, and I fell in love with meat science while on the meat judging team. From there it grew into a passion for the industry and the consumer.”

Her research portfolio garnered more than $25 million in contracts and grants, and includes 165 refereed journal articles, 200 technical abstracts, 87 proceedings and 10 book chapters to her credit.

Leading sensory science

In 1988, Miller became director of the Sensory Science Evaluation Laboratory. She led collaborations across disciplines to develop sensory evaluation panels for products ranging from beef and pork to wine, cantaloupe and coffee.

“When I got to Texas A&M, Russell Cross was my supervisor,” she said. “He asked me to take over the sensory evaluation area. It helped me see that there was a whole world of sensory science we meat scientists had only glimpsed.”

Her research on tenderness drove the development of tenderness expected progeny differences, or EPDs, and set new standards of consistency for consumers’ meat products.

Teaching and mentoring

Miller taught ANSC 647: Technology of Meat Processing and Distribution, a standard course for all graduate students in meat and food science.

“I love that class because it gave me a chance to set the foundation for graduate students on basic principles of meat science that will carry them through their careers,” she said.

Miller taught countless students and served on more than 300 graduate committees. Many students fondly recall her creative teaching tools, especially her famous silver Pringles can.

To illustrate muscle structure, Miller created a model using a Pringles can, straws, rubber bands and colored toothpicks to represent fibers and filaments.

“It was kind of funny,” she said, “but for a lot of students, that was their ‘aha’ moment. Every student I’ve taught always brings up the infamous silver Pringles can.”

Honors and legacy

Miller’s mentorship and service earned national recognition. This year she received the American Meat Science Association, AMSA, Mentorship Award, joining a small group of women honored with this distinction. She also was the first woman to earn AMSA’s R.C. Pollock Award.

“Dr. Miller is a trailblazer in the industry,” said Clay Mathis, Ph.D., head of the Department of Animal Science. “Her years of service and dedication — not only to her research but to her colleagues and students — are remarkable accomplishments.”

Miller expressed gratitude for her career at Texas A&M.

“I truly feel so blessed that I had the opportunity not only to come to Texas A&M, but that the department supported me and my desire to conduct research and teaching programs with an emphasis on mentoring others to success,” she said.

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