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Department of Food Science and Technology

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Food Science and Technology News: March 2021 Highlights

  • Congratulations to Professor Dr. Bala Balasubramaniam who has been named the 2021 recipient of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Research and Development Award. This achievement award celebrates his innovative research in food engineering, including his multidisciplinary research and industrial outreach, covering various advanced nonthermal and thermal food manufacturing technologies, which significantly contribute to the understanding of food science and technology. Dr. Bala will be recognized during the 2021 IFT Annual Meeting which will be held virtually this summer.
  • Congratulations to Dr. Ken Lee and PhD student Brittany Miles who have been selected to receive 2021 North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Awards. Ken was awarded the NACTA Educator Award and Brittany was awarded the NACTA Graduate Student Teaching Award. One of the central purposes of NACTA is to recognize those individuals whose efforts represent the very best in agricultural higher education. A virtual conference will be held this June where award winners will be recognized.
  • Congratulations to Dr. Luis Rodriguez-Saona on receiving the 2021 Lumley Interdisciplinary Research Award. His collaborative research team also included Christopher Ball from the ElectroScience Laboratory and Vimal Buck from the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence. This award recognizes their dedication to advancing collaborative research at the Ohio State University.
  • Dr. Dennis Heldman is stepping down as the managing director of the Center for Advanced Processing and Packaging Studies (CAPPS) and Dr. Sheryl Barringer will step into the managing director role beginning April 1. In her new role, Barringer will join co-site directors Drs. KP Sandeep (NCSU), Selina Wang and Nitin Nitin (UC Davis), focusing on expanding the membership and increasing the impact of the center on the food industry. Click here to learn more about CAPPS.
  • Congratulations to our newly selected FST Peer Mentors for the 2021-2022 academic year: Rachel Barrett, Betsy Cunningham, Jenny Cong and Cameron Rich. They will be joining existing members Gabriella Gephart, Meegan Gould, Kirsten Lower, Melanie Petitti, Lydia Tantalo and Emily Thimmes. The FST Peer Mentor Program pairs upper-class students with new first-year and transfer students to ease their transition into their major and to the Columbus campus.
  • Congratulations to PhD student Gonzalo Miyagusuku Cruzado who has received a Graduate Student Research Award from the department. The award is open to all graduate students in the department and was created to motivate and encourage graduate students to publish high-quality research in a timely manner.
  • PhD student Aishwarya Badiger talks about digitizing smell in a recent Science Meets Food blog post “Teaching machines how to smell.”
  • The Annual International Scholar Research Exposition showcases some of the world-class research undertaken by the more than 800 international visiting scholars at The Ohio State University. This year’s exposition took place online through short videos. Ronald Meléndrez-Alvarez who is a visiting scholar in the Department of Food Science and Technology, was one of 10 finalists selected to create a research impact video. He is here as a visiting scholar from Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School in Central America. He is mentored by Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Flores and the title of his research is "Bacterial Isolation and Identification from Appenzeller® Swiss Cheese Surface with Potential Impact on Spoilage and Food Safety." You can view his video research presentation here.
  • Dr. Valente B. Alvarez led the Food Industries Center’s virtual Better Process Control School on March 8-11, with lectures from Dr. Sheryl Barringer, Dr. Osvaldo Campanella, Steven Simmons, Matt Papic, and expert industry collaborators. Daily lectures were offered in microbiology, acidified and low-acid foods, container closures and handling, thermal processing, and recordkeeping. This course satisfies the training requirements specified in both the FDA and USDA regulations designed to prevent public health hazards in low-acid and acidified low-acid canned foods.
  • On March 15 – 19, the Food Industries Center trained FDA, U.S. Army, and state regulators through the FD152 Food Processing & Technology virtual course. Dr. Valente B. Alvarez led a team of collaborators from FST, FABE, and the food industry, including numerous staff and graduate students, and the following faculty: Dr. Sheryl Barringer, Dr. V.M. 'Bala' Balasubramaniam, Dr. Osvaldo Campanella, Dr. Dennis Heldman, Dr. Rafael Jimenez-Flores, Dr. Melvin Pascall, Dr. Mary Kay Pohlschneider, and Dr. Sudhir Sastry. The 5 day course provided an overview of the basic principles in food processing, technology, and awareness of associated equipment used to ensure the safety of manufactured foods.
  • Nominations are open for the 2021 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.

*The department’s Spring 2021 seminar schedule is published on the FST website under ‘About Us’ and takes place on Wednesday’s from 4:00 pm -5:00 pm via Zoom. Please email elisar.1@osu.edu or simons.103@osu.edu if you would like the link to any of the seminars. All are welcome to attend.

Upcoming Events
March 31 – April 1               Ohio State Instructional Break

April 6                                    Food Waste Expert Panel Discussion hosted by Know Food Waste and Citation Needed
5:00 – 7:00 pm            More information and registration available here.

April 7                                    FST Seminar Series
Student Presentations: Katie Williamson, Aaron Beczkiewicz, and Shivani Badiger.

April 14                                  FST Seminar Series
Student presentations: Paulina Ongkowijoyo, Maria Cotter, Mitchel Hoysock, and Ashley Soldavini.

April 15                                  CFAES Celebration of Students
Register for the event here

April 20-21                            Food Industries Center Training Course
Introductory HACCP (virtual)
https://foodindustries.osu.edu/events/introductory-haccp-online

April 21                                  FST Seminar Series
Student presentations: Brianne Linne, Timothy Vazquez, Jenna McClure, and Yutong Li.

April 27-29                            Food Industries Center Training Course
FSPCA - Preventive Controls for Human Food Training (virtual)
https://foodindustries.osu.edu/events/fspca-preventive-controls-human-food-training-online

May 7                                     FST Graduation Party
2:30 via Zoom