INCREASED HUMAN CONSUMPTION OF HEALTHY FOOD SUCH AS PLANT-BASED PROTEINS IS PREDICATED UPON ITS ECONOMIC PRODUCTION, NUTRITIVE VALUE, AND IMPROVED FUNCTIONALITY AND QUALITY. PHYSICAL DISRUPTIVE METHODS LIKE HIGH-POWER SONICATION CAN ENHANCE CURRENT PROTEIN EXTRACTION LEVELS; HOWEVER, ITS APPLICABILITY IN FOOD SYSTEMS AND EXTRACTION MECHANISMS WITHOUT DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS TO PROTEINS' NUTRITIONAL AND QUALITY ASPECTS IS NOT FULLY KNOWN. THIS STUDY AIMS TO FILL THAT KNOWLEDGE GAP USING SOY PROTEIN AS A MODEL PROTEIN IN THIS ULTRASONIC APPLICATION.WE WILL USE BATCH AND CONTINUOUS HIGH-POWER SONICATION SYSTEMS TO DISRUPT THE PLANT CELLULAR MATRIX AND IMPROVE THE EXTRACTION PERFORMANCE AND MODIFY PROTEIN MOLECULAR STRUCTURES AFFECTING THEIR PROPERTY AND FUNCTIONALITY. WE WILL IDENTIFY AN OPTIMAL POWER SONICATION-ASSISTED SOYBEAN PROTEIN EXTRACTION PROCESS, INVESTIGATE THE CHANGES IN MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF EXTRACTED SOY PROTEIN AS AFFECTED BY POWER SONICATION, AND EVALUATE THE FOOD FUNCTIONAL, NUTRITIONAL, AND QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF PROTEIN INGREDIENTS AS AFFECTED BY POWER-SONICATION.SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT WILL YIELD INFORMATION ON OPTIMAL ULTRASONICATION-ASSISTED EXTRACTION PROCESS, FUNCTIONALITY, AND NUTRITION QUALITY OF PLANT-BASED PROTEIN INGREDIENTS ENHANCING THEIR USES IN FOOD AND FEED SYSTEMS. THIS STUDY WILL IMPROVE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF PROPERTIES AND INGREDIENT QUALITY OF PLANT-BASED PROTEINS, ENHANCE FOOD QUALITY, SHELF-LIFE AND NUTRITION, AND RECOMMEND A BETTER PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR PLANT-BASED PROTEIN EXTRACTION.