Generally, research in Food Engineering deals with systems and structures of processing techniques in food manufacturing plants, irrespective of their size. However, emphasis is also placed various physical, chemical or biological processes which are relevant with respect to the entire processing chain. The main activities of the Chair of Food Engineering are focused on selected unit operations in food processing (e.g., cutting) and on physcial properties of foods and related systems. As regards the different food items the research work deals mainly with milk and dairy products, bakery products, and sweets and confectionary.

The aim of the research in Bioprocess Engineering is the quantitative investigation of the activities of microorganisms and cells of higher organisms (plant cells) in a technical environment (bioreactor). Using this information metabolic models, models of population dynamics, and process models (Up-Streaming and Down-Streaming) are developed. In cooperation with the other groups of the Centre for Integrated Natural Resources Technology topics such as hygienic design and quorum sensing in heterogeneous systems of biocatalysis determine the profile of Dresden bioprocess engineering.