IFT EDUCATION NEWS
Cornell to sponsor 5th Summer Scholars Program
Cornell University’s 5th Food Science Summer Scholars Program will be held on Cornell’s campus on June 7–August 13, 2004. The 10-week summer research program gives undergraduate students from throughout the United States and other countries a chance to spend a summer performing research with faculty affiliated with Cornell’s Institute of Food Science.
The 4th Food Science Summer Scholar program, which began on June 2, 2003, was attended by 17 students from a variety of different universities including Alabama A&M, Alberta, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Cornell, Oregon State, Arkansas, California at Davis, Kenyon College, Oklahoma State, and Mississippi State.
Throughout the 10-week program, the students not only performed independent research projects but also explored the world of food science through visits to Hershey Foods Co., Pepsi Cola Co., and Kraft Foods Co. They also had a chance to discuss ethics in food science and the scientific method, to learn about applying for graduate school, and to hear about career opportunities in food science.
The program concluded on August 8 with scholars giving a 15-min presentation on their research projects, which ranged from effects of diet composition on the bioavailability of fortification iron to the role of retronasal olfaction in recognition of food-related odorants.
The 2003 program was supported by the Cornell Associates Program, Gorton’s, Pepsi Cola Co., Hershey Foods, and a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant.
Information on all past scholars and their research projects, as well as instructions and application forms for next summer’s program is available at www.foodscience.cornell.edu/fsscholars.htm. The application deadline is February 13, 2004.
Buchanan and Sun Pan named distinguished alumni
Rutgers University named Robert Buchanan and Bonnie Sun Pan as its 2003 Outstanding Alumni.
Buchanan received his Ph.D. from Rutgers’ Food Science Dept. and served as Associate Professor in the department before moving to Drexel University. He then became Research Leader at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Eastern Regional Research Center and Deputy Administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Information Service. He served as lead scientist for the Presidential Initiative in Food Safety and Senior Scientific Advisor for Microbial Food Safety at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition.
The alumni award recognizes Buchanan’s extensive research on Aspergillus parasiticus, Aeromonas hyrophila, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 and his groundbreaking contribution to predictive microbial modeling.
Bonnie Sun Pan received her Ph.D. from Rutgers’ Food Science Dept., then taught at the National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU), eventually serving as Head of the Dept. of Food Science and subsequently as Dean of the Fisheries Science College. While at NTOU, Sun was appointed by the Taiwanese Ministry of Education to oversee the establishment of the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology.
While NTOU department head, she expanded the graduate program to offer a doctoral degree in food science and established a pilot plant equipped with automated fish processing lines. While Dean, she initiated three graduate institutes in marine biology, biotechnology, and fisheries economics and developed active extension services. She also served as the first woman President of the Taiwan (formerly Chinese) Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Hamaker to direct Whistler Center
Purdue University has named Bruce Hamaker the new Director of its Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research. He succeeds James BeMiller, who established the Center in 1986 and served as its only Director.
Hamaker, Professor of Food Science at Purdue, most recently headed the Center’s cereals laboratory. He is known for his research on the use of maize, sorghum, and rice in cereal and on the digestibility of cereal products. His research on sorghum garnered him the 1998 School of Agriculture Team Award, among other awards.
Hamaker and BeMiller are former IFT Carbohydrate Division Chairs.
Iowa State addresses GMO safety and quality
Iowa State University has created the Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products to address social, economic, and environmental issues of such products. The institute “will provide independent, science-based and third-party evaluations of the risks and benefits of genetically modified agricultural products to consumers and the environment,” according to Manjit Misra, the institute’s Director. Core funding for the center is provided by a university initiative to fund innovative projects.
Sayer receives UGa’s first non-thesis master’s degree
The University of Georgia presented its first Master’s degree in Food Technology to microbiology graduate Traci Sayer. The non-thesis master’s program is geared to food science and technology professionals who work in the Atlanta area. The program is adapted to the needs of working professionals, who take advanced-level courses in food science and technology, take a comprehensive written and oral exam, and complete a special topics research paper.
In lieu of a graduate thesis, Sayer researched methods for rapid detection of Campylobacter. She was the first student registered for the new program offered off-campus in suburban Atlanta.
More information on the degree program is available from Louise Wicker, Interim Director at 706-542-1055 or [email protected].
FDA honors NCSU team
The Food and Drug Administration in June presented its Group Recognition Award to a North Carolina State University team led by John Rushing, Professor and Food Science Extension Specialist. FDA recognized the National Conference of Interstate Milk Shipments Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Committee Pilot Plant Evaluation team for “exceptional teamwork across FDA organizations and our stakeholders in evaluation of an NCIMS HACCP pilot as a voluntary alternative to assure the safety of Grade A milk products.”
Nash receives three NCSU service awards
North Carolina State University has honored Barry Nash, Seafood Technology and Marketing Specialist at the NCSU Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, with three awards for service to the state’s seafood industry: the Outstanding Extension Service Award, with induction into the Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension; the Human Resources Award for Excellence from the Vice Chancellor’s Office for Research and Graduate Studies; and the Alumni Outstanding Extension and Outreach Award from the NCSU Alumni Association.
SECTION & DIVISION NEWS
SCIFT announces scholarship winners
The Scholarship Committee of IFT’s Southern California Section has awarded its Phil Bates Scholarships to the following recipients: Katie Hale (Chapman University), Elyse Petersen (Cal Poly Pomona), Diana Frost (Cal Poly Pomona), Gerrie Adams (Chapman), Nancy Daghighian (Cal State Northridge), Kristen Rumsey (Cal State Northridge), Amy Long (Cal State Northridge), Marie Dufour (Cal State Long Beach), Laura Woiemberghe (Cal State Long Beach). Janice Lo (Cal Poly SLO), Jessica Morton (Cal Poly SLO), and Chi-Chi Lien (Cal State Los Angeles).
Tsue-Shien Judy Lee (Cal State Los Angeles) received the Section’s Marian E. Sewndseid Award.
The World of Food Science A online magazine for the international community of food scientists and technologists.
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