EDUCATION NEWS
Litchfield receives Ohio State’s Meritorious Service Award
John H. Litchfield, Emeritus Member and 1991–92 IFT President, was recognized on November 12 with The Ohio State University Meritorious Service Alumni Award, given annually to alumni or non-alumni by the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Alumni Society.
Litchfield was honored for his continued support of the university’s food science program. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, all in food technology. He has held various research management positions at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, since 1960. In 1981 he was appointed Research Leader at Battelle, a position in which he was responsible for the management of research programs in food science and technology, applied and industrial microbiology, and related areas of biotechnology. He holds a number of patents for his work.
In addition to serving as President of IFT, he has been President of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, Chair of the Fermentation and Biotechnology Division of The American Society of Microbiology, and a Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists, and the Institute of Biology. He was named an IFT Fellow in 1980 and received IFT’s Carl R. Fellers Achievement Award in 1994.
CAPPS expands focus; adds new site and members
CAPPS, formerly known as the Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies, has recently expanded its focus beyond the traditional aseptic area to include extended shelf-life products and novel, alternate preservation methods, including pulsed electric field processing, ohmic heating, ultra-high pressure processing, and ozone treatment.
The new Center, renamed the Center for Advanced Processing and Packaging Studies (CAPPS), now includes three universities—The Ohio State University, North Carolina State University, and the University of California at Davis. The center remains a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.
The center currently has 14 member organizations, including California National Products, Campbell Soup Company, Cirio, Eagle Family Foods, FDA, International Paper, Kraft Foods, Minute Maid Division of Coca Cola, National Center for Food Safety and Technology, Nestlé, Ross Division of Abbott Laboratories, SIG Combibloc, Tetra Pak, and Unilever.
Steven Schwartz and Sudhir Sastry will serve as co-directors of the Ohio State site. Kenneth Swartzel continues to direct the North Carolina site, while Sharon Shoemaker is the director of the UC–Davis site. Meetings were held in April 1999 at UC–Davis and October 1999 in Columbus, Ohio. Contact Dr. Schwartz (614-292-2934) or Dr. Sastry (614-292-3508) for details.
Chinachoti receives Outstanding Professor Award at IFT’s Eastern Food Science Conference XI
Pavinee Chinachoti, Professor of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in October was named recipient of the Outstanding Professor Award presented at IFT’s 11th Biannual Meeting of the Eastern Food Science Conference held in Hershey, Pa.
The award, open to any academic professor at an accredited university food science department, carries a $1,000 honorarium. It recognizes contributions made by professors to the education and training of their students, the future food science and food technologist professionals. The selection criteria include teaching effectiveness in and outside the classroom, support for the students, and effectiveness in preparation of the students for their future careers.
Chinachoti is a devoted and committed teacher who effectively takes her scientific expertise into the classroom. She supervises, or has supervised, twelve Ph.D. and eleven M.S. students, six postdoctoral fellows, three technicians, and a half-dozen undergraduate research projects. She has received a number of teaching grants, been named a University Lilly Teaching Fellow, awarded a Certificate of Excellence for Advising (1997) and this year was given the Outstanding Advisor Award by the College of Food and Natural Resources (CFNR) at the University of Massachusetts. Her students see her as an excellent role model.
She shows her commitment to excellence in food science and teaching in other ways as well. She has chaired IFT’s Education Committee, the University of Massachusett’s Departmental Curriculum Committee, and the CFNR Curriculum Committee. She is very active on other IFT committees and in several other associations as well. The Prime Minister of Thailand recently named her Chair of the Thai Committee to review and recommend changes for excellence in the Thai University system.
Ameny leaves for Potsdam on research sabbatical
Michael A. Ameny, Professional Member of IFT and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Science and Technology, Makerere University, Uganda, is currently on sabbatical leave to Potsdam University in Potsdam, Germany. Over the next 17 months, he will be doing research on the bioavailability and immunoenhancement by carotenoid compounds at Potsdam, returning to Makerere in February 2001.
The sabbatical leave was made possible by a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
University of Massachusetts celebrates food science Alumni Weekend
The Department of Food Science at the University of Massa-chusetts, Amherst, held its fifth biannual Alumni Weekend in September. More than 130 alumni attended.
At the Friday night dinner, Professor Emeritus Jack Francis was again recognized for his generous donation in establishing the F.J. Francis Endowed Chair in Food Science. A number of university dignitaries spoke of the many successful endeavors initiated by the department and the excellence of its program, while officials from the Massachusetts state legislature described how important the value-added work of food science has been to the state and how it is often used in the State House as an example of what the University is doing for economic development within Massachusetts.
The weekend continued on Saturday with tours of new equipment in Chenoweth Laboratory and the Food Science Building, poster presentations, and student discussions. At lunch, alumni Chris and Betty Pappas received plaques conferring Honorary Alumni status in the Department of Food Science in recognition of their continuing support over many years.
Mettler-Toledo establishes grant in honor of Turi
Mettler-Toledo, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, has established the Mettler-Toledo Thermal Analysis Education Grant in honor of Professor Edith A. Turi of the Polymer Research Institute, Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, N.Y.
The grant was established to recognize Turi’s lifelong contribution to thermal analysis education. Prof. Turi is the director and principal lecturer of intensive courses in thermal analysis and the editor of the acclaimed reference book, Thermal Characterization of Polymeric Materials, 2nd ed. As chair of the ICTAC Education Committee, she is a well-known leader in promoting the education and application of thermal analysis in the U.S. and abroad.
Eligibility for this grant, awarded for the first time in 2000, is limited to not-for-profit organizations in North America that confer degrees up to the Ph.D. level and provide or intend to provide education in thermal analysis. Preference will be given to institutions where thermal analysis education was earlier established, or research related to thermal analysis is carried out.
For more information or to request an application, contact Jon Foreman, Product Manager, Thermal Analysis, Mettler-Toledo, Inc., 1900 Polaris Parkway, Columbus, OH 43240 (or call 1-800-638-8537; fax 614-438-4871; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.na.mt.com).