Robert D. Ralyea, a U.S. Army chief warrant officer and a Cornell graduate student in food science, was given the Meritorious Service Medal one of the Army's most prestigious peacetime awards on Feb. 25.

Currently assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Department Student Detachment at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Ralyea now is living in Ithaca to attend Cornell as part of a student detachment and earn a master's degree.

The medal was awarded during a brief ceremony at Stocking Hall on the Cornell campus. It was presented by Ralyea's advisers, Kathryn J. Boor, Cornell assistant professor of food science, and Dennis Miller, Cornell professor of food science and chair of the department.

Ralyea was cited for his efforts to instruct the Army's food inspectors and veterinarians at Fort Sam Houston about sanitation, hygiene and proper food safety. He is an expert in red meat inspection, shellfish plant sanitation and milk plant pasteurization controls.

Originally from Angelica, N.Y., he received his associate's degree from Alfred State College, Alfred, N.Y., in 1984. He earned a bachelor's degree in animal science and industry from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., in 1996. He is a member of the International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians (IAMFES), as well as the U.S. Warrant Officer Association.