David Barbano's extensive milk separation experience, through both cheesemaking and filtration, contributed to the development of a system that directs components to uses that maximize milk’s value: “milk refining.” During the early years of cross-flow filtration, the dairy industry used reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration (UF) to reduce transportation costs and improve plant throughput. Additionally, capturing proteins from whey was increasing in popularity. Microfiltration (MF) was key to the milk-refining concept because serum proteins no longer went through the cheesemaking process to be separated from casein. To realize the conceivable benefits of filtration, the dairy industry needed to understand changes to product characteristics, how to efficiently operate equipment, economic benefits, changes to analytical measurements, and other dimensions of this burgeoning unit operation. Barbano and his team delivered. They quantified milk component recoveries and cheese yield and determined aging characteristics of cheeses made from retentates. One example of the practical nuggets found throughout Barbano’s research is the change from a pressure-regulating valve with a high pressure drop to a small-diameter pipe that gradually reduces pressure. This pragmatic solution alleviated the destruction of fat globules causing high levels of free fatty acids in cheese made from whole milk retentate. Additionally, his group found that the coagulant used for cheese making, whey bleaching agents, and adsorbed proteins change UF flux. In the past 20 years, Barbano’s contribution to the body of knowledge of MF cannot be overstated. His research group has determined approaches to increase the efficiency of serum protein removal, determined critical and limiting protein levels and fluxes, compared ceramic and polymeric membrane materials, elucidated foulants, compared channel geometries and diameters, altered analytical methods for accurate measurements of filtration products, and pushed the boundaries of operating conditions. Along the way he used filtration to improve calibration samples for milk testing and showed how to produce products with extended shelf life and diverse attributes. A revolution indeed!