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Heather A. Thomas
Heather A. Thomas is Chief, Data & Analytics, as a partner in Dragonfly SCI, Inc. Thomas received her B.S. in Food Science from U.C. Davis. She is co-author, with Stone and Sidel, ...view moreHeather A. Thomas is Chief, Data & Analytics, as a partner in Dragonfly SCI, Inc. Thomas received her B.S. in Food Science from U.C. Davis. She is co-author, with Stone and Sidel, of Hitting the Target: Sensory and Product Optimization.Thomas was a key member of Tragon Corporation from 1989 to 2017. As their Vice President of Research and Analysis, she played an integral part in the development of product optimization methods, segmentation analyses, and advanced multivariate analysis and modeling techniques. Her extensive experience with experimental design and choice-based modeling has helped guide multinational companies to create products that appeal to consumers. As the developer of the Key Drivers MaximizerTM, she has created an operational predictive tool that integrates sensory, consumer, and instrumental measurements to guide product development and marketing groups.
Thomas has over 25 years of experience training QDA panels, analyzing their performance, and interpreting the results. Her training and support had been under the guidance of the founders of the original QDA method, Herbert Stone and Joel L. Sidel. As part of empowering the sensory industry, she regularly travels around the world, teaching sensory scientists the power of trained panel data and panel performance measures.
Thomas received her B.S. in Food Science from U.C. Davis where she focused her education in Sensory Science under Rosemary Pangborn. She is co-author, with Stone and Sidel, of Hitting the Target: Sensory and Product Optimization, a seminal article on sensory and consumer-based product optimization techniques.view less