Food Science and Technology News: February 2026 Department Highlights

• Congratulations to FST undergraduate students Amanda Adams, Paige Consolo, and Lilli Kirk, who have been named 2026 CFAES Distinguished Seniors. They are the department’s seniors selected to receive the most prestigious undergraduate award at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). The Distinguished Senior Award honors top graduating seniors on the Ohio State Columbus campus who exemplify the CFAES mission in areas such as academics and scholarship, research and innovation, service and involvement, influence and leadership.
• Congratulations to FST graduate students Rinky Ghosh and Veeramani Karuppuchamy who have been awarded an Outstanding Graduate Research Award. This award recognizes and celebrates graduate student success in publishing high quality research in a timely manner. Rinky is advised by Dr. Yael Vodovotz and Veeramani is advised by Dr. Osvaldo Campanella. Recent graduate Dr. Chih-Chun (Ariel) Kuo also received the recognition and was advised by Dr. Campanella.
• Congratulations to Laura Castellanos Suarez who has received the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) 2026 Biotechnology Division Student Excellence Award. The award recognizes graduate students presenting outstanding oral or poster presentations within the Biotechnology technical program at the AOCS Annual Meeting. Laura is a PhD student and is advised by Dr. Osvaldo Campanella.
• Congratulations to Veeramani Karuppuchamy who received a graduate research award from Phi Kappa Phi. This grant provides funding for research in support of career development opportunities, such as conducting or presenting research. Veeramani has also been selected to receive a 2026 Phi Tau Sigma Student Achievement Scholarship. The scholarship award is given to a student member of Phi Tau Sigma who has shown exceptional scholastic achievement and a dedication to the Food Science and Technology honor society. 
• Congratulations to Rinky Ghosh who placed 3rd in the CFAES 3 Minute Thesis competition. This competition challenges participants to effectively communicate the significance of a thesis/dissertation to a non-expert audience in 3 minutes or less using one static slide.
• Research from the lab of Dr. Sheryl Barringer, led by PhD student Manpreet Kaur, was recently featured in Ohio State News, highlighting a breakthrough in reducing unpleasant odors in plant-based proteins.
• Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Flores recently presented his team’s research throughout Southeast Asia, speaking in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. His talks highlighted the role of the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) in human and infant health, with a focus on neurodevelopment. Sponsored by Mead Johnson, the tour reached approximately 2,500 pediatricians, obstetricians, and neonatologists across the region.
• Morning Ag Clips highlighted Ohio State’s work in preparing retailers for the new FDA Food Safety Tracking Rule, noting that Dr. Nicole Arnold, Extension food safety field specialist, is contributing to a national effort that provides free virtual training to help retailers build compliant traceability plans and strengthen their food safety readiness.
• Dr. Lynn Knipe recently led a successful Meat and Poultry HACCP training, drawing participants from across the industry. The two‑day program also included participation and engagement from FST graduate students, Evita Maitland and Hrithik Shetty, who gained valuable hands‑on experience in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles and food safety practices.
• The department recently welcomed Danny Lam as Financial Operations Specialist.
• Nominations are open for the 2026 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 2025 Hall of Distinction celebration.

Upcoming Events
March 3 - 6     Food Industries Center Training Course
Better Process Control School (Hybrid)
https://go.osu.edu/bpcs

March 4          FST Department Seminar
Graduate Student Presentations – Berenice Montano and Gabriella Gephart
4-5 pm Parker Food Science Room 118

March 11        FST Department Seminar
Dr. Ahmed Yousef, Virginia Hutchison Bazler and Frank E. Bazler Endowed Chair in Food Science, Ohio State Food Science and Technology
4-5 pm Parker Food Science Room 118

March 16-20  Spring Break  

March 25        Harris Award Lecture
Dr. Gary List, USDA Agricultural Research Service
4-5 pm Parker Food Science Room 118, reception immediately afterwards

April 1            FST Department Seminar
Graduate Student Presentations - Mostafa Abdelbary and Swetha Sarangarajan
4-5 pm Parker Food Science Room 118

April 7            FoodSURE and OVIFT poster Forum
Register: https://go.osu.edu/2026posterforum

April 8            FST Department Seminar
Graduate Student Presentations - Isha Patil and Xinyue Fan
4-5 pm Parker Food Science Room 118

April 15          FST Department Seminar
Graduate Student Presentations - Alyssa Sutanto and Eric Armstrong
4-5 pm Parker Food Science Room 118

April 22          FST Department Seminar
Graduate Student Presentations - Alberto Tuy and Joey Bogdanovitch
4-5 pm Parker Food Science Room 118

May 8             FST Spring Semester Graduation Party
3-4 pm Parker Food Science Lobby

June 9 – 12     Food Industries Center Training Course
Food Extrusion Workshop
https://go.osu.edu/extrusion