Las Vegas is a city where the activity seldom stops, which makes it a fitting destination for IFT17: Go With Purpose—an event where the ideas and energy will flow nonstop from Sunday, June 25, through Wednesday, June 28. Not only will IFT17 shine a bright light on the science of food and its myriad innovative applications, but it will also take place in a new venue, the Venetian/Sands Expo Center, a complex that combines meeting and exhibit space, business amenities, dining, shopping, and hotel rooms under one roof. IFT’s annual food science gathering is expected to draw more than 20,000 food industry professionals from 90-plus nations and will host 100 scientific sessions as well as a food expo where hundreds of exhibitors will showcase ingredients, technologies, and equipment.
The annual event venue is not the only thing that’s new this year. IFT17 marks the debut of a new suite of programs called IFTNEXT designed to challenge and inspire professionals in the science of food. “IFTNEXT is a purpose-driven commitment to bringing provocative ideas and discoveries together to inspire thoughtful, important conversations that challenge conventional approaches. It’s about thinking big and being bold with the goal of informing global issues related to the science of food,” says Kelly M. Fox, IFT senior vice-president, meetings, learning, and business development.
“The IFTNEXT highlights in Las Vegas include the Start-Up Alley, where leading-edge entrepreneurs with innovative offerings can showcase their products and services; the IFTNEXT Stage, which will include interactive discussions and presentations that will tackle important and often provocative topics; and the iHub, a place to connect with others to enhance on-site networking and collaboration,” continues Fox. “Andrew Pelling’s featured session is another offering in the IFTNEXT suite; his talk will blow your mind. In that session, an announcement will be made related to the IFTNEXT Innovation Competition. You will want to be present for the kickoff.”
Congratulating IFT Achievers
IFT17 will launch on a festive note with the Awards Celebration from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, June 25, in the Venetian Ballroom.
A select group of IFT members will be recognized with Achievement Awards during the celebration, culminating with the presentation of IFT’s highest honor, the Nicolas Appert Award. Achievement Awards acknowledge individuals or teams for remarkable contributions in research, applications, and service in food science and technology.
Eight new IFT Fellows, who will be recognized for their exemplary food science and technology achievements, will also be in the spotlight at the Awards Celebration. In addition, members of the new class of Fellows will be celebrated at a special ticketed Fellows Recognition Forum, which will take place from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, in Veronese 2404–2406.
(Read about the 2017 IFT Achievement Award winners on page 40. For information on the 2017 class of Fellows, see page 45.)
Others to be recognized at the Awards Celebration include up-and-coming food science professionals who will receive the Emerging Leaders Network Award, the recipient of the Food Science in Action Award, Excellence in Leadership Award recipients, and the Media Award for Excellence in Consumer Journalism recipient. Also in the spotlight that evening will be the winner of the Thesis Video Competition, Feeding Tomorrow scholarship winners, and the 2017 Innovation Award recipients chosen from among food expo exhibitors that are showcasing innovative and recently commercialized products and services.
A Welcome Reception at the convention center immediately following the Awards Celebration will provide the opportunity to celebrate with the evening’s honorees and network with other members of the profession while enjoying refreshments. It will take place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Casanova 501–507 and 601–607.
Get Inspired at Featured Sessions
A series of featured sessions has been planned for IFT17 with the goal of energizing, engaging, and inspiring attendees.
The first one is a panel discussion, “Processed Food: The Good, the Bad, and the Science,” which will take place from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on Monday, June 26, in the Venetian Ballroom. In this session, panelists will explore some of the hot-button issues associated with the production and consumption of processed foods, evaluating their pros and cons.
The discussion will be moderated by Tamar Haspel, an award-winning journalist whose Washington Post column, Unearthed, covers food supply issues. Panelists will include Rachel Laudan, a food historian and blogger best known for her high-profile article “A Plea for Culinary Modernism: Why We Should Love Fast, Modern, Processed Food”; obesity expert Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute and author of the Canadian bestseller The Diet Fix: Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work; and Chris Mallett, who led R&D initiatives at Cargill and who has held leadership roles at Fonterra, CSIRO, and Unilever.
Also on Monday, June 26, scientist, educator, entrepreneur, and TED Senior Fellow Andrew Pelling will share his insights in “A Conversation With Dr. Andrew Pelling.” That session will take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Venetian Ballroom. Pelling is a professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Ottawa, where he founded and directs a curiosity-driven research lab that brings together artists, scientists, social scientists, and engineers. He is the cofounder and chief technology officer of Spiderwort, a company that develops open-source platforms to enable global adoption of biological research. In addition, he recently founded pHacktory, a street-level research lab in Ottawa that develops projects on the basis of proposals from the community.
A featured session from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 27, in the Venetian Ballroom will present a screening of the documentary film Food Evolution followed by a panel discussion moderated by IFT Immediate Past President Colin Dennis and featuring the film’s Academy Award–nominated director, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, and special guests featured in the film. An independent production commissioned as part of IFT’s 75th anniversary celebration, Food Evolution uses the debate over GMOs as an entry point for a wide-ranging exploration of the ways in which emotion, fears, biases, and science affect decisions about food.
What’s Next?
The IFT17 agenda includes a series of interactive sessions that will take place on the IFTNEXT stage adjacent to the IFT booth near the entrance to the food expo. Here’s a preview of some of the highlights.
In addition to scheduled presentations, those who are interested in microgreens will be able to explore the topic in depth during a continuously running multimedia presentation available at iPad kiosks in the IFTNEXT space. Titled “Micro Greens, Macro Trends: Nutrition, Production, Quality, and Food Safety of an Emerging Fresh Produce Commodity,” the presentation will explore the potential for novel food product development using microgreens and microgreen ingredients, touching upon the lack of standard definitions and U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation in this area.
IFTNEXT programming will also include two roundtable discussions on topics identified by IFT divisions. One of these discussions will be on the use of virtual reality or augmented reality in the food science curriculum and the other will be on the environmental impact of widespread adoption of a plant-based diet.
Those who want to keep the conversation going and exchange ideas after IFTNEXT presentations conclude—or at any time during the annual event—will have a place to do so in the iHUB located adjacent to the IFTNEXT stage.
An Abundance of Educational Options
Ready for a deep dive into educational programming on issues ranging from current hot topics to new cold plasma technologies? It will be waiting at the annual event in Las Vegas. With 100 sessions and hundreds of expert presenters from around the globe slated to share their insights in symposia, panel discussions, and workshops scheduled throughout the day on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, June 26–28, the IFT scientific session content is sure to impress.
The process of planning the scientific program schedule takes months and relies on the expertise of hundreds of peer reviewers and a dedicated team of expert volunteers who serve on the IFT Annual Meeting Scientific Program Advisory Panel. As its organizers point out, it is educational programming developed by scientific experts for scientific experts.
“I have been involved in the organization of quite a few conferences,” says Gunnar Sigge, Dept. of Food Science head at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and chair of this year’s panel. “This is truly the best system I have seen to ensure that the best-quality session proposals are chosen for final inclusion in the program.
“Due to the comprehensive planning process, the quality of the selected proposals not only ensures that there is a diverse range of topics covered, but also that only the best session proposals are selected in each track,” Sigge continues. “I’m excited about the program, knowing that the selection process was rigorous, robust, and fair. But [I’m] also excited by the scientific and commercial appeal of the program, which really has something for everyone—an excellent mix of topics, technologies, and speakers.”
Sessions are organized within a framework of 12 tracks, but with so many options available, deciding which sessions to attend can be a challenge. Fortunately, IFT’s online planner can help simplify the planning process, allowing users to create their own customized educational experiences, searching forsessions by key words, speakers’ names, track information, and other options.
In addition to the scientific sessions, the IFT17 educational options will include nearly 700 printed poster technical research presentations and 139 ePoster presentations. The ePoster approach, introduced at last year’s annual event, was well-received and for that reason, it is making a return appearance at IFT17.
Julie Schell, an expert in higher education learning innovation, is the 2017 Fennema Lecturer. She will present her lecture, “How to Help Students Learn: Incorporating Cognitive Science Research in Food Science & Technology Education,” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 27, in Titian 2301B. She will also lead a hands-on Fennema Workshop in the same room from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. that day; it is titled “Deep Dive Into Interactive Learning Strategies for Improving Food Science & Technology Education.”
Schell has 20 years of experience in higher education, has written and presented widely on flipped learning and peer instruction, and has held positions at leading universities, including Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Harvard, and most recently, the University of Texas at Austin.
The Expo Experience
There’s always something new to see, taste, and learn about at IFT’s food expo, and this year the show floor will open earlier than usual on the first day of the annual event—at 10 a.m. instead of the customary noon opening time. Food expo hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, June 26, and Tuesday, June 27, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28.
With more than 800 exhibitors occupying 230,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Venetian/Sands Expo, attendees will have lots of ground to cover. A New Exhibitors Pavilion located adjacent to the entrance to the show floor will make it easy to identify the newest companies on hand for IFT17. To date, 46 new exhibitors have signed up for the food expo. Other specialty pavilions will house organic products and products and services related to food safety.
Smart Options for Students
Competitions, educational programs, and networking as well as time for relaxing and socializing will be on the agenda for students at IFT17. The IFT Student Assoc. (IFTSA) Lounge in Lido 3001AB–3002 will be the go-to destination for students seeking a place to relax and recharge in between sessions, competitions, and walking the show floor. The lounge will be open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 25; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, June 26; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28.
More IFT17 Happenings
This year marks the debut of the Emerging Leaders Network Award, which will be presented to five professionals who demonstrate high potential for success in leadership roles and a strong commitment to the profession. The 2017 Emerging Leadership Network Award recipients are Akshay Kumar Anugu, Ingredion; Bicheng Wu, Ingredion; Diane M. Schmitt, Wegmans Food Markets; Jean Pankuku, Universal Industries; and Rosalee Hellberg, Chapman University.
On the Horizon in 2018
So come with purpose to Las Vegas for an event that is sure to deliver beyond expectations. And when it’s all said and done, it will be time to start anticipating IFT18, which will return to Chicago’s McCormick Place July 15–18, 2018, once again creating a food science experience that simply should not be missed.
Mary Ellen Kuhn is executive editor of Food Technology
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