EDUCATION NEWS

Sensory Science Scholarship announced for 2000–2001; Savant 1999–2000 winner
To support Ph.D. students who intend to teach and conduct research in the area of sensory science at the university level, one $12,000 Sensory Science Scholarship will be awarded for the 2000–2001 academic year. This scholarship is given in honor of the memory of Rose Marie Pangborn, who initiated the scholarship fund in 1993 to encourage the education of Sensory Scientists who intend to go into academic careers.

Applicants for the scholarship must be enrolled in a Ph.D program such as Food Science, Nutrition, Psychology, or Physiology. The planned or ongoing dissertation research must be on a sensory topic under the guidance of a recognized sensory scientist. Candidates will be evaluated on the basis of their academic record, intended research in human sensory science, commitment to a career in teaching in the field of sensory science, and support in letters of recommendation. The selection of recipients and policy governing the awards will be determined by the Board of Directors of the Sensory Science Scholarship Fund.

Applications, including all required documentation, must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2000. For additional information and application forms, contact Dr. A.C. Noble, Dept. of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (phone 530-752-0387; fax 530-752-0382; E-mail: [email protected]).

Recipient of the 1999–2000 scholarship is Lotika Bhatia Savant. Savant received her undergraduate degree from St. Xavier’s College (India) and her M.S. from the University of Bombay. She is presently working on her Ph.D. in food science at Oregon State University in the laboratory of Mina McDaniel, studying mechanisms underlying the suppression of sourness of acids by sweeteners and salts.

George Washington University to expand course offerings in new food studies program
The George Washington University Center for Career Education, Washington, D.C., has announced Fall 1999 course offerings for its Food Studies Program. The newly created program teaches skills and information for persons involved in food careers and food-related businesses. Courses offered as part of this program provide practical knowledge in specific areas of food studies, as well as information on the social, political, economic, historical and cultural contexts for food.

The Food Studies Program offers courses suited particularly to government food safety workers, trade association and food business professionals, legislative staff and policymakers, paralegals, nutritionists, educators, restauranteurs, chefs and caterers, and undergraduate and graduate students seeking food-related careers in business and government. Courses will be offered in the following areas: Food Safety, Food Regulation and Policy, Food Writing, Food Advocacy, and Food Trends.

Typically, courses meet on weekday evenings for eight weeks. Future plans include offering a certificate program in food studies, which will accept credit from courses taken in the upcoming term. Instructors are food lawyers, government officials, microbiologists, food safety specialists, food activists, journalists and authors, and other professionals involved in food-related activities.

For more information on the Food Studies Program at George Washington University, please contact Amy Renshaw at 202-496-2271; E-mail [email protected].

Tetra Pak and Edmark Software donate $2 million in educational software to schools through eCarton program
The liquid foods packaging company Tetra Pak Inc., Vernon Hills, Ill., has joined forces with educational software developer Edmark to sponsor eCarton, a new milk carton side panel program that will provide elementary schools with needed educational software.

Since last summer, students across the country have found word puzzles, science questions, and math problems printed on the side panels of their milk cartons, all of which are intended to promote and develop their thinking and math-solving skills. A related benefit of the program is that schools that use the milk cartons will receive credits towards the purchase of Edmark software. Tetra Pak and Edmark estimate that this program will result in donations of approximately $2 million in educational software to schools across the United States during the upcoming school year. 

“Moo Juice” from Cal Poly wins National Starch and Chemical product development contest
The food development contest sponsored last spring by National Starch and Chemical Company (see Food Technology, April 1999, p. 15) was won by a California Polytechnic State University student and an alumna, Beth Fryksdale and Kelly Munsell, who created “Moo Juice.” The calcium-rich Moo Juice, intended for children aged 5–11, is a line of dairy-based mixes that, when combined with cold water and shaken, create a thick, foamy shake. The nutritious beverage comes in a variety of flavors that appeal to children.

The winners received an all-expenses-paid trip to IFT’s Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago last July. It was the second national first-place award for the Moo Juice creators, who last spring won first place in the “Discoveries in Dairy Ingredients” national competition sponsored by Dairy Management, Inc. Fryksdale is a second-year graduate student specializing in dairy products technology. Munsell earned an M.S. in agriculture at Cal Poly in 1998. Both are IFT members.