EDUCATION NEWS
Doores receives academic advising award
Associate Professor of Food Science Stephanie Doores received the 2001 Excellence in Academic Advising Award from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society.
The award commends faculty for outstanding service to students in academic advising, career planning and personal counseling. Candidates are recommended by faculty, students, administrators, and alumni.
Doores, an IFT Professional Member, has chaired the departmental job placement committee since 1991 and became undergraduate program coordinator in January 2001. She holds regular workshops and presentations on resume writing and interviewing skills for undergraduate students. She also originated the department’s first food microbiology course in 1980; total enrollment for the lecture and laboratory components of the course has exceeded 2,000 students.
Cornell student team wins Novation® contest
A Cornell University team won the 2001 Novation Starch Contest with a dual-texture, yogurt-based gelatin snack it developed using Novation 3600 native starch from National Starch and Chemical Co.
Han Tutananthorn, Kwan-Han Jimmy Chen, Nuttawee Niamsiree, Thudnatkorn Jiratanan, Lydia Lim, and Sylvia Ho developed the winning product, Joystix, which combines the textures of a gelled dessert with those of a creamy pudding in a squeezable plastic tube. The gel/pudding is rich in probiotics and protein sources, giving it a nutritive and healthy composition profile. The team developed a number of flavors including strawberry, honeydew melon, citrus orange, and thai-style pandan coconut.
Novation functional native starches provide the benefits of modified food starches, but retain simple labels, such as corn starch, potato starch, or rice starch. Based in Bridgewater, N.J., National Starch manufactures adhesives, specialty polymers, electronic and engineering materials, natural polymers, and advanced ingredients.
IFT judges select high school student winners
IFT’s Career Guidance Committee participated in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in San Jose, Calif., May 6-12.
The fair is the pinnacle event in a year-long process of local, regional, and national science fairs in which more than 1,000 high school students from the United States, its territories, and more than 25 other countries participate. It is sponsored by Intel and has been administered by Science Service since 1950. IFT participates in the event to encourage interest in food science and engineering. Judging the event on behalf of IFT were Bob Noyes and Bev Friend from IFT’s Career Guidance Committee.
Jessica Burtness, Coon Rapids, Minn., won first place for her project, “Searching for BLIS (bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances).” She received a cash award of $1,000 and a subscription to Food Technology. Amy Hart and Elizabeth Shreiner, Marine, Mich., took second place for their project, “The Effects of the Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) as an Inhibitor of Lipid Oxidation in Cooked Ground Beef During Storage.” They each received $500 and subscriptions to Food Technology.
Honorable mentions went to Terresa Dodge, Hinkley, Minn., for “Does the Amount of Gluten Sugar and Yeast Affect the Conditions of Bread” and Nigel Fordham, Moultrie, Ga., for “Biopolymer from Shrimp Shells.” They each received the Journal of Food Science CD-ROM.