He was active in quality-related analytical work for more than 47 years, primarily in nutrition and food safety. He worked for the international standardization of analytical methods through Cereals & Grains Association. DeVries has been active in the Cereals & Grains Association vitamins and dietary fiber technical committees and was the annual meeting program chair for 2008. He received the Edith A. Christensen Award of Cereals & Grains Association and the Harvey W. Wiley Award of AOACI in 2009. DeVries has authored or coauthored more than 80 publications.