Location: University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel
1197 S Lumpkin St, Athens, GA 30602
This year’s 2026 Pecan Post-Harvest Processing Workshop will be hosted at the Georgia Center Hotel in Athens, GA, on Aug. 19 – 20, 2026. A map of the Georgia Center, a campus map, and other information are available below the agenda.
Our workshop will commence with an honorable guest who will illuminate the importance of the American Pecan Industry. The welcome reception and dinner will review project goals to improve post-harvest processing, reduce food waste, increase food safety, and extend shelf life.
The second day of the workshop will review research and findings from the past year and include a tour of the research facilities and demos of the technologies being utilized to enhance post-harvest production of pecans. We ask that you provide your input during our feedback session to help shape the future direction of research and to better understand how this research can best support the pecan industry.
We will conclude with a reception at Creature Comforts Brewery in downtown Athens, featuring a catered dinner by Mama’s Boy. Transportation between the Georgia Center Hotel and Creature Comforts will be provided by our event charter bus.
August 19
| Time | Topic | Presenter(s) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:30 PM – 7:45 PM | Reception / Dinner | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center | |
| 5:45 PM – 5:55 PM | The Importance of the American Pecan Industry | Welcome with Special Guest | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
| 6:00 PM – 6:10 PM | Supporting our American Pecan Industry | Bailey Segars, American Pecan Promotion Board / American Pecan Council | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
| 6:45 PM – 7:00 PM | Marketing 101: Bridging the Gap Between Farmers and Buyers | Vicki Lynn Pecans | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
| 7:00 PM – 7:20 PM | Welcome to Workshop, History and Overview of the Research | Dr. Beshoy Morkos, Dr. Xiuxiu Sun, Dr. Cameron Bardsley, Dr. Ajit Mahapatra | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
| 7:25 PM – 7:45 PM | Networking, Social, and Conclude Evening Reception | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
August 20
| Time | Topic | Presenter(s) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:15 AM – 8:45 AM | Breakfast | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center | |
| 8:45 AM – 9:00 AM | Welcome and Review of the Project | Research Project Leaders and USDA Program Leaders | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 9:00 AM – 9:20 AM | Moisture Sub-Team | William Wallace McConnell | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 9:20 AM – 9:40 AM | Cracking Sub-Team | Claire Floyd and Beni Abel Rodriguez | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 9:40 AM – 10:00 AM | Shelling Sub-Team | Kegeng Tian and Md Shafikul Islam | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 10:00 AM – 10:20 AM | Vision Sub-Team | Dr. Seyed Alireza Vaezi | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 10:20 AM – 10:45 AM | Multi-Stage Experiments | Ayoub Heydarzade and Bruna Karoline Valiate Dos Santos | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 10:45 AM – 10:55 AM | Break | ||
| 10:55 AM – 11:05 AM | Takeaways and Recommendations | Claire Floyd | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 11:05 AM – 11:25 AM | Evaluation of Lactic Acid and Blue Light for Inactivating Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes on Pecan Halves | Dr. Rabin Gyawali | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 11:25 AM – 11:40 AM | Active Packaging to Improve Pecan Quality | Dr. Xiuxiu Sun | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 11:40 AM – 11:55 AM | Chlorine Dioxide Treatment to Improve Pecan Safety | Kacie Chasteen | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 11:55 AM – 12:10 PM | Quality Characteristics of Georgia and Texas Grown Pecan varieties | Samantha Sherman | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 12:10 PM – 12:30 PM | Electron Beam Irradiation Treatment to Reduce Salmonella Contamination on Pecan Kernels | Dr. Cameron Bardsley | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center |
| 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM | Lunch and Presentations | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center | |
| 1:15 PM – 1:20 PM | Overview of the National Pecan Shellers Association | Blair Krebs | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
| 1:20 PM – 1:35 PM | Research-based technology upgrades applied to industry | Eric Lyddy | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
| 1:35 PM – 2:05 PM | The Future of Shelling in Dothan, Alabama | Adam Harrell | Magnolia Ballroom, Georgia Center |
| 2:20 PM – 2:30 PM | Meet at Charter Bus Location for Transportation to I-STEM Research Building | Live tracker link: https://chrtr.us/fe6JA2 | Charter Bus, Carlton Road |
| 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM | Transportation to I-STEM | Charter Bus | |
| 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM | I-STEM Research Tours and Demos (3 groups, rotating between locations every 20 minutes) | I-STEM 1 | |
| Negative Pressure Conditioning | Mozhdeh Rahmanpour and Aiyana Mozaffar | I-STEM 1, Room 1023 | |
| Computer Vision | Dr. Seyed Alireza Vaezi | I-STEM 1, Room 1023 | |
| Cracking & Shelling Machinery | Hunter Halloran and Dr. Beshoy Morkos | I-STEM 1, Room 2036 | |
| Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) Treatments | Dr. Ajit Mahapatra, Dr. Rabin Gyawalai, and Dr. Cameron Bardsley | I-STEM 1, First Floor Lobby | |
| Chlorine Dioxide Treatments and Novel Coatings | Dr. Xiuxiu Sun, Samantha Sherman, and Kaicie Chasteen | I-STEM 1, First Floor Lobby | |
| 4:45 PM – 5:00 PM | Bus back to Georgia Center Hotel | Live tracker link: https://chrtr.us/fe6JA2 | Charter Bus |
| 5:15 PM – 6:00 PM | RAFFLE (gift donated by the American Pecan Promotion Board) + Feedback Session / Appetizers Provided | Dogwood Hall, Georgia Center | |
| 6:20 PM – 6:30 PM | Meet at Charter Bus Location for Transportation to Reception | Live tracker link: https://chrtr.us/fe6JA2 | Charter Bus |
| 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM | Closing Reception and Dinner | Creature Comforts Brewing Company and Tap Room, Downtown Athens | |
| 8:10 PM – 8:30 PM | Bus back to Georgia Center Hotel | Live tracker link: https://chrtr.us/fe6JA2 | Charter Bus |
Poster Presentations
| Title | Presenter | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Development of a Computer Vision Model for the Pecan Crack Identification, Classification, and Control | Bruna Karoline Valiate | University of Georgia |
| From Soil to Shell: A Structural Equation Modeling Framework to Understand Microbial Contamination of In-Shell Pecans During Harvest | Cameron Bardsley | USDA-ARS |
| Some Engineering and Physical Properties of Pecans for Pulsed Light Sterilization | Jessica Chinenyenwa Awaogu | Fort Valley State University |
| Survival of Salmonella spp. In Soils Amended with Pecan Shells and Poultry Manure | Kacie Chasteen | USDA-ARS |
Directions
Athens, Georgia, is located about 75 miles northeast of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), and is about 90 minutes to 2 hours by car or shuttle. For those wanting to take a shuttle from the airport, a direct van service is provided by Groome Transportation and will stop directly at our venue, the Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel. The address of the hotel is: 1197 S Lumpkin St, Athens, GA 30602.
Parking
Parking is included with your lodging at the Georgia Center Hotel in the South Deck at the University of Georgia campus. We will provide parking validation in the South Deck for those not staying at the hotel.
Maps
Attached are a few maps to help you during your time at the workshop.
The campus map provided notes the Georgia Center for Continuing Education (1), the South Parking Deck (2), and the I-STEM Research Building (3).
The Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel map indicates the Magnolia Ballroom, Dogwood Hall, and Hotel Front Desk. A yellow star also notes the location to meet for charter bus transportation.
Please contact Amanda if you have any other needs or questions.