IFT WORLD
Labuza presents Tanner Lecture
Theodore P. Labuza presented the Chicago Section’s 2007 Tanner Lecture on May 14. The topic was "Soft Condensed Matter: A Perspective on the Physics of Food States & Stability."
Labuza received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in food science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught food engineering until 1971. At that time he left to join the Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition faculty at the University of Minnesota. There he has served as Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Chair of the Academic Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics, Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Distinguished Faculty Mentors Program, and a member of the Student Services Committee.
His research interests cover a broad range of topics such as water activity, glass transition, food stability, food safety, shelf life testing, food law, bioterrorism, contaminants in food, and time–temperature indicator tags.
President of IFT in 1988–89, Labuza also was an IFT Regional Communicator, IFT Scientific Lecturer, Chair of the IFT Expert Panel on Food Safety & Nutrition, member of the Finance Subcommittee, member of the Office of Scientific Public Affairs Committee, Chair of the IFT Foundation, Chair of the Information Systems Committee, and Chair of the Food Law Div. He was elected an IFT Fellow in 1979 and received several IFT Achievement Awards, including the Nicholas Appert Award, Samuel Cate Prescott Award, William V. Cruess Award, and Babcock-Hart Award.
The Fred W. Tanner Lectureship was established to advance the profession and practice of food technology by bringing to Chicago outstanding persons in this field or its related sciences to speak on advances in their fields of specialization. It is named in honor of the late Fred W. Tanner, a professor of bacteriology at the University of Illinois, world-renowned authority on food microbiology, founding member of IFT, and IFT President in 1945–46.
IFT hosts Webcast
IFT’s Knowledge & Learning Center will host an educational Webcast, "Healthy Aging and Foods," on July 30, 2007, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Central Time.
The Webcast will discuss the Baby Boomer demographic and its knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding health and wellness and how this translates into food purchases and consumption; the ways in which ingredients can be enhanced by supplements and antioxidants; and the nutritional needs of the aging population.
For more information about this session and to register, visit www.ift.org/knowledge. The Webcast will be broadcast live from the IFT Annual Meeting & Food ExpoSM, Chicago, Ill., as part of the Scientific Program (Session 108). For information, visit www.am-fe.ift.org.
IFT Status Summaries to be published in Spanish
In his editorial in 2007 issue No. 267 of La Alimentación Latinoamericana (Latin American Food), M.V. Nestor Galibert described IFT’s mission to advance the science and technology of food through the exchange of knowledge and announced that the magazine will publish Spanish translations of IFT’s Scientific Status Summaries, beginning with "Functional Materials in Food Nanotechnology" by Jochen Weiss, Paul Takhistov, and D. Julian McClements, which appears in the same issue.
The valuable material included in the IFT Scientific Status Summaries, he said, will now be presented in Spanish in La Alimentación Latinoamericana, with the goal of increasing their distribution in Latin America and thus fulfilling the mission of the Institute.
"This initiative of IFT’s Dept. of Science and Communications," he continued, "fills us with satisfaction because it coincides with one of the objectives that our magazine has met for more than 40 years: that the best and most recent information on food science and technology be available to the readers, from students to researchers, technologists, industry personnel, and regulators who have to make decisions in this area."
La Alimentación Latinoamericana, published by Publitec in Argentina, is an independent publication that was selected as the official voice of La Asociación Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos (ALACCTA), the Latin American & Caribbean Association of Food Science and Technology.
Lawson wins SCIFT section award
Margaret Lawson, Vice President of Science and Innovation, D.D. Williamson, received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Southern California Institute of Food Technologists Section.
She served as President of IFT in 2005–06 and is a Professional Member and IFT Fellow. In addition, she dedicates her time and expertise as a member of the University Industrial Advisory Board for the University of California–Davis, board of advisors for Xengaru Fun Foods, and the Research Chefs Association.
Lawson was also recognized for her technical and global managerial career with specialty food ingredient suppliers.
Hasler joins Reliv board
Reliv International Inc., Chesterfield, Mo., a developer and manufacturer of nutritional supplements, has named Clare Hasler to its Scientific Advisory Board.
Hasler, an internationally recognized expert in the areas of functional foods and nutraceuticals, is the founding Executive Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California–Davis and was the founding director of the Functional Foods for Health Program, a joint effort of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
She is a Professional Member of IFT.
AACC elects Camire, Olewnik
Two IFT Professional Members will serve in leadership positions for AACC International during 2007–08.
Mary Ellen Camire was elected President-Elect and Maureen Olewnik Director of the organization. Both will begin their terms in October.
Camire, Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine, has been a member of AACC for 19 years. She has chaired the Nutrition Div. and Membership and Book Committees and is a member of the Board of Directors and several committees. As a member of the Dietary Fiber and Starch Technical Committee, she has participated in several collaborative studies.
Olewnik, Vice President of Audit and Technical Services, AIB International, has held leadership positions on many committees, including serving as secretary, chair, and board member of the Milling and Baking Div.; chair of the Check Sample Committee; and secretary and treasurer, program chair, and section chair of the Manhattan Section. She was also associate editor for Cereal Chemistry.
Article on food science programs updated
Since the article "Challenges to Food Science in the U.S." by Naveen Chikthimmah and John Floros was published in the March 2007 issue of Food Technology (pp. 38–40, 42–44), additional information on the number of graduates from IFT-approved undergraduate food science programs has been obtained. The article has accordingly been updated, and the revised article can be found online in the March 2007 issue posted on IFT’s Web site, www.ift.org.
Correction
The sponsor of the IFT Student Association Mixer was inadvertently omitted from the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo Advance Program brochure that accompanied the May issue of Food Technology. PepsiCo is sponsoring the IFTSA mixer, which will be held Monday, July 30, at 6–7 p.m. at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, Northwest Hall 1-2. Students from the Chicago High School of Agriculture will be invited guests, and attendees will be able to sample PepsiCo products that highlight the 2007 Annual Meeting theme of Health, Wellness, and Foods.
Section & Division meetings
Visit www.ift.org to view the Events Calendar, including listings for Section and Division meetings, and for information on how to list your event.