EDUCATION NEWS

Wehner named Cal Poly Dean
Cal Poly named Professor David Wehner Dean of the university’s College of Agriculture, the fourth-largest undergraduate agricultural college in the nation.

Wehner, who has a background in agronomy and horticulture, succeeds Joe Jen, who accepted an appointment in July 2001 as U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics in Washington, D.C. The school conducted a national search for Jen’s replacement before appointing Wehner.

He joined the faculty at Cal Poly in 1994 as the Head of what was then called the Environmental Horticultural Science Dept. He became Interim Assistant Dean of the College of Agriculture in 1996, Associate Dean in 1997, and Interim Dean in July 2001. Since Jen’s departure, he has overseen the merger of the Environmental Horticultural Science and Crop Science departments into the unified Horticulture and Crop Science Dept., the formalization of a graduate education partnership with UC Davis, and ongoing planning for a new wine and viticulture major tentatively set to launch within the next three years.

Cornell students win dairy ingredients contest
A yogurt-based beverage created by a team of food science students from Cornell University won the $5,000 Best Overall Entry grand prize in Dairy Management Inc.’s Discoveries in Dairy Ingredients Contest.

The winning product, called Frescada, is a light-bodied lemon-line or strawberry-carrot flavored juice and yogurt formulation, fortified with whey protein and active probiotic cultures, developed especially for women. Team members, led by Jimmy Chen, include Sameer Marfatia, Rohit Jalali, Kristen Schmitz, Satya Kalambur, and Liang Hongquan.

The contest, sponsored by DMI through the Do it with dairy® program, is designed to demonstrate the versatility and functionality of dairy ingredients and provide future food technologists with practical experience.

Other winning teams included North Carolina State and Washington State universities, which tied for the Most Marketable award. Each team received a $3,000 cash prize. NCSU’s product, Mocha Royale—which also won IFT’s Student Association Product Development Competition at this year’s IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo®—is a rich chocolate confection and coffee creamer on a stick that is submerged in hot coffee to create a mocha flavor. WSU’s product, YoVé, is an all-natural, lowfat yogurt blended with vegetable purees, whey protein concentrate, nonfat dry milk, and probiotic cultures. It comes in carrot, harvest squash, and sweet potato flavors.

Penn State’s team won the Most Creative award for its Yogurt Crisp product, a blend of natural strawberry, nonfat dry milk, and a lowfat yogurt base lightly coated with batter. When fried, the outer coating turns crisp and develops an appealing coating flavor made with whey powder.

DMI, based in Rosemont, Ill., is a domestic and international planning and management organization dedicated to building demand for U.S.-produced dairy products on behalf of America’s dairy farmers.

Almond Board launches contest for food science students
The Almond Board of California has launched a new formulation contest for food science students called “Almond Innovations.”

Currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students with food science and associated majors are eligible to showcase their originality, talent, and skills by developing products in either of two categories: confectionery or snacks.

The Grand Prize Winner for Best Formulation will receive a $5,000 cash prize plus travel to and accommodations at the 2003 IFT Food Expo in Chicago, Ill., where the product will be served at the Almond Board booth. Best Confectionery and Best Snack formulations will receive $2,500 cash prizes.

For contest rules and more information, visit www.almondsarein.com/studentcontest or call 209-343-8262. The Almond Board of California, based in Modesto, administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. It seeks to expand domestic and international markets for almonds.

Penn State’s Food Science Building receives $50,000
Penn State received $50,000 from Turner Dairy Farms Inc. to name a laboratory in memory of the late James G. Turner in the new Food Science Building to be built on the University Park, Pa., campus.

The James G. Turner Dairy Products Microbiology and Characterization Laboratory will be part of the $22-million, 98,000-sq-ft Food Science Building, which is scheduled to be completed by spring 2005. Research to be conducted at the laboratory will examine the effects of processing variables on ice cream structure and the effects of preprocessing treatments on the survival of beneficial bacteria in dairy foods, among other studies. It will also support activities such as short courses, workshops, and technical assistance for Pennsylvania food processing companies.

The Turner family owns and operates Turner Dairy Farms, based in suburban Pittsburgh, Pa. The company produces specialty creams and dairy products.

Correction
In Linda Milo Ohr’s Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods article, “A Growing Arsenal Against Cancer” (July 2002, p. 67) the section on soy isoflavones on p. 70 included information presented at the IFT Annual Meeting but omitted the names of the researchers at Ohio State University who looked at the isoflavone content and anti-cancer activity of soy bread and its components. They are Y.C. Zhang, D. Albrecht, J.A. Bomser, S.J. Schwartz, and Y. Vodovotz.