- Congratulations to Dr. Christoper Simons whose promotion to the rank of Professor was granted during the April 16th Ohio State Board of Trustees meeting.
- FST distinguished seniors Megan Chludzinski, Isabelle Kocz, and Mira Smith, along with the rest of the 2025 CFAES Distinguished Seniors, were celebrated this month with a recognition reception that highlighted their accomplishments and activities.
- Dr. VM ‘Bala’ Balasubramaniam has been selected to give the 2025 Tanner Lecture. His presentation is titled “The Adoption of Alternative Food Processing Technologies by the Food Industry.” The Chicago Section IFT established the Fred W. Tanner Lectureship in 1960 to advance the profession and practice of food science by bringing to the Section outstanding scientific people, to speak on advances in formulation, processing, preservation, packaging, distribution, preparation, and nutritional quality of food.
- Dr. Jessica Cooperstone was selected to participate in the next cohort of Provost’s Midcareer Scholars: Scarlet and Gray Associate Professors. The program supports tenure-track faculty who have recently been appointed to the rank of associate professor with tenure and who have demonstrated exceptional excellence in scholarship, teaching and service.
- Congratulations to Maria Sholola who received the 2025 William E. Krauss Director’s Award for Outstanding Publication by a Graduate Student. Maria is pursuing her PhD in Food Science and is advised by Dr. Jessica Cooperstone.
- The department had several students and research staff participate in the 2025 CFAES Research Forum and Poster Competition. Congratulations to the FST students who placed in the Food Science and Technology undergraduate category: Malachi List – 1st, Hazel Calis 2nd, and Kritika Gaur – 3rd. Amanda Adams, Isabelle Kocz, and Kavya Nuthulapaty also participated. Graduate student Xinyue Fan placed 2nd in the PhD category and additional graduate students who participated included Joseph Bogdanovitch, Sochina Ranjit, Veeramani Karuppuchamy, Kate Marris, Manpreet Kaur, Ali Kalhori, Rinky Ghosh, Yukta Gharat, Gabriella Gephart, Dakota Dustin, Laura Castellanos Suarez, Avonti Basak Tukun, Liz Astorga-Oquendo, and Mostafa Ali. Rachel Cole and Siddharth Vishwakarma presented posters in the research staff category.
- Congratulations to Sophia Thompson who received the 2025 CFAES Internship Award. This award recognizes students who have excelled at internships within their respective fields.
- Food business management student Nikolas Harris and his brother Ian were one of six student-led ventures that were awarded $50,000 in startup funding at the President’s Buckeye Accelerator Finale. The finale featured 11 student teams pitching innovative ideas aimed at tackling challenges across industries, from health care and sustainability to space technology and community food access.
- FST graduate student Veeramani Karuppuchamy has been selected as a recipient of the Outstanding Green Buckeye Award. This award is sponsored by Ohio State Student Life Sustainability and is presented to an individual student who has shown leadership in furthering sustainability efforts on campus.
- Dr. Monica Giusti talks about natural alternatives to synthetic colors in this Associated Press article.
- Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Flores was a featured symposium speaker at the Pediatric Nutrition Conference earlier this month in Hawaii. The symposium was titled “The Early Nutrition Journey and MFGM: Evidence for Improving Cognitive Outcomes.”
- Wiley publishing presented a Top Viewed Article recognition for the journal article titled “Metagenomic analysis and antibacterial activity of kefir microorganisms.” Authors included former FST student Dr. Brianda Gonzalez-Orozco, former FST visiting scholar Dr. Israel García-Cano, Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Flores, and Dr. Valente Alvarez.
- Welcome to Jaimie Mollison who joins our department as the Financial Operations Advisor.
- Congratulations to the newly selected FST Peer Mentors for the 2025-2026 academic year: Katelyn Lazendorfer, Samara Whitmore, and Hutson French. They will join returning mentors Abby Nukuto, Lilli Kirk, Reaghan Norton, Tate Wenning, Sadie Rosenfeld, and KC McEntire. The FST Peer Mentors are instrumental in assisting our incoming freshman as they transition to OSU and serve as ambassadors for our department.
- Nominations are open for the 2025 FST Hall of Distinction. Established in 2013, the Hall of Distinction seeks to recognize graduates and friends of the Department of Food Science and Technology at The Ohio State University who have made significant contributions to the food science and technology profession. Click here for more information and the nomination form. Click here to see the 2024 Hall of Distinction celebration.
Upcoming Events
May 2 FST Spring Semester Graduation Party
3:00 – 4:00 pm Parker Food Science and Technology Lobby
May 13-16 Food Industries Center Training Course
Food Extrusion Workshop
https://go.osu.edu/extrusion
May 15 Phi Tau Sigma Annual Fun Run/Walk
3 pm Starts at the front of Howlett Hall
May 21 Free In-Person Workshop on Next-Generation Portable FT-NIR Technology
10 am – 3 pm Parker Food Science and Technology
Free to attend – registration required: FT-NIR Workshop
June 10-12 Food Industries Center Training Course
FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food Participant Course Version 2.0
https://go.osu.edu/fspca
