Alumna Nathalie Plundrich, left, is the first live guest for the Wolfing Down Food Science Podcast with FBNS’ Paige Luck and Keith Harris. Read more on p. 12.
Our Students: Past, Present and Future
At FBNS, we’re committed to excellence. Our goal is to continuously enhance the facilities, programs and opportunities for students at all four of our locations: the Plants for Human Health Institute at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City, the Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery in Raleigh, and Schaub Hall on NC State’s main campus. The Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center and the Center for Advanced Processing and Packaging Studies help us stay attuned to industry trends and needs.
This year we started several new initiatives. The FBNS Ambassadors Program engages student leaders to represent the department. The FBNS Leadership Certificate Program provides a tailored platform for leadership and professional development. In collaboration with CALS, our new Mentoring Program offers alumni the opportunity to guide and inspire current students. Generous donors have funded new FBNS scholarships.
We’ve introduced an undergraduate minor in food safety that offers students the opportunity to work with USDA-ARS and FDA scientists who are part of our department. Looking ahead, we’re developing a minor in food entrepreneurship, designed to align with the Entrepreneur Initiative for Food (ei4f) program and our GMP Pilot Plant within FBNS, as well as the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab in Kannapolis. We anticipate this program to be of interest to our food science and nutrition science students, while the existing minor in brewing science and technology remains popular among bioprocessing science students. Our faculty are expanding students’ international experiences by leading study abroad opportunities in South America and Europe.
People are the driving force behind our success. Thanks to all of you, we have strengthened our recruitment strategies, expanded programming for our students, added scholarships and engaged industry leaders through our Industry Partners Advisory Council (IPAC).
I welcome your ideas on how we can further enhance any area or program within FBNS, and invite you to partner with us.
K.P. Sandeep Department Head
FBNS Fall 2023 Graduates
FEATURED ALUMNI
Pablo Coronel
Ph.D., food science, NC State
Pablo Coronel is a senior fellow in food process and food safety with CRB Group in Raleigh.
He has a doctorate in food science and nearly 30 years of experience as a process engineer and food scientist. Coronel makes it his mission to combine both roles in a seamless and structured way. His expertise includes process and product design and development, novel technologies and hygienic manufacturing.
Prior to joining CRB, Coronel worked internationally in Ecuador for Moderna Food Group and in the Netherlands for Unilever. At Aseptia Inc., a North Carolina-based producer of aseptic technologies for food preservation, Coronel was responsible for research and development, design, optimization and food safety. He has also served as production manager of an industrial bakery and engineered a large-scale expansion project that included formulation automation, production, quality control and maintenance.
Although Coronel has participated in most aspects of innovative projects, he has an unwavering interest in scale-up. Coronel has repeatedly proven his ability to take simple, at-home kitchen processes and recipes and enlarge them so that they can be
duplicated and produced on an industrial scale. He is recognized by the Food and Drug Administration as a food safety process authority, indicating expert knowledge of thermal processing requirements for low-acid foods.
Coronel co-edited and co-authored the third edition of Handbook of Aseptic Processing and Packaging. He is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including two Edison Awards, the Institute of Food Technologists’ Industrial Scientist Award, a 2015 Outstanding Alumni Award from NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service’s Technology Transfer Award.
Bringing Industry Experience to the Classroom
Coronel has returned to NC State to share his expertise with the next generation of food scientists and engineers. He has served as an adjunct faculty member in FBNS since 2013, guest lecturing in the following classes.
> Introduction to Food Science
> Food Product Development
> Food Packaging
> Food Engineering
> Thermal Processing of Food
You've stayed connected with FBNS since earning your Ph.D. in food science and chemical engineering at NC State. What keeps you engaged?
I keep connected by a combination of the relationships built during my time there and the academic excellence from the department.
Relations built with faculty, staff and other students/ alumni have helped me in my career, and I like to give back and keep coming back to build mine and other people’s networks.
Initially I found a way to be the representative for the CAPPS consortium and later we built a company based on the research from the department which is still working.
As an adjunct faculty member in FBNS, what life or career advice do you share with your students?
I can only ask the students to stay curious in life. Opportunities appear when you least expect them, and unless your eyes and ears are open they can pass you by.
During their time at FBNS they will be exposed to many interesting things if they just take the time to attend seminars and step a little bit outside the shell. Take time to know professors, alumni and visitors as that networking will serve you well. The food industry is a very small group of people and relationships will help you more than you can ever think of.
What was the most valuable part of your own Ph.D. experience at NC State?
The whole experience was not only valuable but life changing. It was not only the learning but also the exposure to many different cultural and academic paths that I would have not otherwise explored or even known.
The other part of the doctoral challenge is how humbling the whole experience is, which also helps in communicating with people of all walks of life.
Alumnus Pablo Coronel, at left, remembers his Ph.D. experience at NC State as “life changing.” Now he shares his expertise with FBNS students. Above: As graduate students, Coronel and Prabhat Kumar worked with one of the prototypes of the microwave heating system.
Arnie Sair
Ph.D., food science, NC State
Arnie Sair serves as the head of quality and food safety for Bunge, the world’s leader in oilseed processing and a leading producer and supplier of specialty plant-based oils, fats and proteins. He joined Bunge in 2018 and brings over 20 years of quality, food safety and regulatory compliance expertise to the company.
Bunge’s purpose is to connect farmers to consumers to deliver essential food, feed and fuel to the world. With more than two centuries of experience, Bunge’s products are used in a wide range of applications such as animal feed, cooking oils and flours, as well as bakery and confectionary, dairy fat alternatives, plant-based meat and infant nutrition. Bunge also has an important role to play in using its crop infrastructure to help fuel renewable energy solutions.
Before joining Bunge, Sair spent five years as head of quality and regulatory operations with Signature Brands, the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of decorating and confectionary products. Prior to that, he spent 12 years in quality and regulatory operations leadership positions with General Mills Inc., including experience with milled grains, boxed and frozen meals, and dry cereals.
Q & A Q & A
You’ve funded several annual scholarships. What motivates you to give back?
During my undergraduate and graduate degree programs I was fortunate to receive support through scholarships that recognized both academic and leadership achievements.
I recognize the value that those scholarships can provide, not only monetarily, but also to help those students stand out for their accomplishments as they work toward their own professional goals. I hope that the scholarships that we have provided as the Sair family can help many other students achieve their own career goals as well.
What advice would you offer to current FBNS students?
Take advantage of all of the opportunities afforded to you through the FBNS Department and NC State. Your time at the university is not only to gain knowledge through class studies, but also to grow as a person and to develop critical leadership, influencing and interpersonal communication skills that will be of benefit to you no matter your career path after NC State. It is also important to be open to new experiences and to be willing to live in new locations. The more experiences you are able to expose yourself to in the early parts of your career will undoubtedly help you as you navigate your own journey.
What was the most valuable part of your Ph.D. experience at NC State?
The Department of FBNS at NC State is one of the top programs in the country for those areas of study and offers so many opportunities for students to get involved. It was invaluable to be a part of the Food Science Club, the IFTSA College Bowl Competition, the Dairy Bar and countless other experiences that helped prepare me to begin my own career in the food industry as a well-rounded food science graduate. The friendships I made with my fellow students, advisors and professors have all been great relationships to maintain and have been of great help throughout my career.
Sair received a Bachelor of Science degree in foods and nutrition from the University of Illinois, a master’s degree in food science from Michigan State University, and his Ph.D. in food science from North Carolina State University, studying foodborne viruses and molecular methods for their detection.
Throughout his professional career, Sair has strived to be an influential leader who has worked to build a culture that facilitates the development of high performing teams, foster positive customer and consumer relations, and develop external vendor partnerships that drive business results.
Chemistry and Careers
In the spring of 1999, Kara Sair (née Lochman) toured the NC State campus and the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences (FBNS). The Durham native was considering graduate school and spent the day meeting with professors and students to get a feel for the program. A group of graduate students joined her tour group for lunch and among them was a tall, sandal-wearing student named Arnie.
“My visit was focused on my career and if this was the right program, but after lunch Arnie handed me his Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) student association card. I had never seen a student with a card before,” Kara says. “Maybe there was a little chemistry, but that certainly wasn’t why I chose NC State.”
“Well, Kara’s decision was of course about choosing the best graduate program, but I’m pretty sure that lunch and the IFT card factored into her decision,” Arnie says. “A few months later she started the program and walked by my lab on what happened to be my birthday. I invited her to come out with a group of friends that were helping me celebrate.”
“That group, by the way, were all couples in the department. Arnie and I were the only single people there and naturally sat by each other and talked the whole time,” Kara says. “We went on our first official date about a week later.”
Some 20 years later, Arnie and Kara credit FBNS with not just their personal success in the food science industry, but with the spark that started a long marriage.
The Sairs were part of a close cohort in the FBNS graduate program who worked in labs and traveled to conferences together. As part of the Food Science Club, they worked together at the NC State Fair, where Kara managed the Dairy Bar (now Howling Cow) one fall.
“Kara and I are not the only couple from that time who have both degrees and marriage certificates,” Arnie says. The cohort stayed close, participating in each other’s weddings, and working together in the industry during the years since they graduated.
The Sairs enjoy successful careers in the food industry and a successful marriage. Their graduate degrees from FBNS earned them both positions at General Mills and then Signature Brands following graduation. Currently, they live in St. Louis where Arnie is the head of global quality and food safety at Bunge and Kara is the director of growth strategy for Panera Bread.
As FBNS graduate students, Kara (Lochman) Sair and Arnie Sair became a couple. They’ve been married for 20 years.
Grace Douglas
M.S., food science, NC State
Ph.D., functional genomics, NC State
FBNS alumna Grace Douglas serves as the lead scientist for NASA’s Advanced Food Technology research effort, which focuses on determining methods, technologies and requirements for developing a safe, nutritious and palatable food system that will promote astronaut health and performance during longduration space missions.
Her responsibilities include assessing the risk of an inadequate food system to crew based on vehicle design and mission concept, and developing the research path that will ensure the food system meets crew health and performance requirements on space exploration vehicles.
Douglas earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in food science from the Pennsylvania State University and North Carolina State University, respectively, and a Ph.D. in functional genomics from NC State.
Q & A
Your job is unusual and one that many people are interested in learning more about. What are the experiences that led to your current career path?
I was always interested in space flight and I have wanted to work for NASA since I was in elementary school. I also grew up in an agricultural area and my high school had a strong agriculture program that included Introduction to Food Science. I went into food science with the specific goal of working for NASA.
NASA offered the opportunity to look at food from a whole system perspective, focused on ensuring health and performance in resource constrained, high stress environments. That challenge was engaging, so I pursued an internship at NASA when I was an undergrad in food science at Penn State.
What was the most valuable part of your graduate work at NC State?
I was extremely fortunate to work with Dr. Todd Klaenhammer for my Ph.D. He was an incredible mentor who challenged me, pushing me to improve my skills in critical thinking, research and technical writing, which helped me become effective in grant writing and find success in research at NASA.
What advice would you offer to current FBNS students?
Embrace constructive criticism from mentors and colleagues through school and throughout your careers. It can improve communication in science and build better ideas.
As the lead scientist for NASA’s Advanced Food Technology research, Grace Douglas (in cap and mask) carries out a food testing session with (from left) Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch (an NC State alumna) and Reid Wiseman. The Artemis II crew took part in a food tasting session at NASA’s food lab at the Johnson Space Center, sampling and rating a selection of meals and snacks ahead of their trip to the Moon. (Credit: NASA)
>
How Does Spaceflight Change Food Appeal?
Imagine eating the same meals every day for weeks, maybe months. Even the most appetizing dishes may start to lose their appeal.
In space, menu fatigue can have serious consequences. Lost appetites could result in astronauts not eating enough food, which may lead to body mass loss, nutritional deficiencies and other health issues.
Because the effects of menu fatigue could likely worsen as mission durations increase, NASA turns to researchers like Dr. Grace Douglas, lead scientist for the Advanced Food Technology project at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Douglas headed a study
that probes how eating the same menu items changes the appeal of those foods during long-duration spaceflight.
“Initial results support that personal preference is important, but variety in general is key,” Douglas said.
Curbing menu fatigue is one of many challenges tied to designing food systems for longer and farther spaceflight missions. To help, NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge calls on innovators to generate viable ideas that can provide safe, nutritious, and delicious food to astronauts headed to the Moon and Mars. Credit: NASA
STUDENT NEWS
Lab to Life: Isatou Kah
When Isatou (pronounced eye-sa-too) Kah was 16, a routine checkup revealed she was severely anemic. Her pediatrician gave her one option: a blood transfusion.
Kah wanted to take control of her health. “I began online research for dietary options to help supplement my iron.”
Understanding how food nutrients affect the body sparked her interest in nutrition science.
For college, the Fayetteville, North Carolina, student chose NC State University’s Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.
“My classes solidified my interest in a career involving nutrition science,” she says. “Through my courses, I’m starting to connect how nutrition science relates to health.”
Serving to Educate
Kah contributed valuable research through NC State’s 2023 BIT SURE (Biotechnology Summer Undergraduate Research Experience) program. She worked with postdoctoral teaching scholar David Bullock on a directed undergraduate research project, successfully testing the RUBY marker for monitoring gene expression in tobacco and tomato plants. RUBY converts an amino acid found in every cell, called tyrosine, into the bright-red pigment betalain, visible to scientists.
Techniques Kah learned during her summer research project were incorporated in the Biotechnology Plant Genetic Engineering course, where students learn how to introduce and track traits in crops.
Serving to Lead
Kah also invests time in community outreach. During NC State’s 2023 Alternative Service Break, she traveled to Orlando, Florida, with other NC State students to volunteer at Give Kids the World, a nonprofit that creates memorable experiences for critically ill children and their families.
The NC State students created a “children’s spa” where kids could use spray colors in their hair and get glitter tattoos. They served ice cream for breakfast and operated accessible rides for the children. They also set up a chemistry station where children chose colored powdered sugars, experimented with them and made edible concoctions.
At Orlando’s Ronald McDonald House, the team baked desserts for the children and cooked dinner for their families.
She returned to Orlando as leader of the 2024 alternative spring break trip, expanding the volunteers’ efforts to two more nonprofits for children and families.
Serving to Belong
Kah also applies her skills at NC State. Serving with the Black Students Board, volunteering at the African American Culture Center, and representing NC State as a university honors ambassador allows Kah to contribute to campus life.
“I make more effort to balance social and academic life,” she says. “It’s been a major lesson for me.”
go.ncsu.edu/fbns-student-kah
Undergraduate student Zach Gabor works in the Robert H. Feldmeier Dairy Processing Lab in Schaub Hall. Gabor works with milk products and Howling Cow ice cream. Photo by Marc Hall.
A Lasting Legacy for Dairy Science
Four graduate students became part of a living, working legacy this fall. Tina Truong, Kai OwWing, Yufeng Lin and Tyler Jarrard are the first recipients of the William E. Younts Jr. Dairy Science Graduate Support Endowment, benefitting graduate students as they pursue their advanced degrees focusing on dairy processing and or dairy food manufacturing with the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. In the process, they are fulfilling the legacy of the award’s namesake and his son, Bud Younts, who made the endowment possible.
“My father dedicated his professional life to the dairy industry, and he fought long and hard for dairy farmers to be able to earn a living wage farming in North Carolina,” Younts says. “This gift is to honor my father and continue the legacy of support from the Younts family toward the dairy industry.”
William E. Younts Jr. was one of the first graduates of NC State’s Dairy Manufacturing program in 1948. Following service in World War II as an officer in the U.S. Army, the Greensboro native began a career in the dairy industry and was an officer in the North Carolina Dairy Products Association. Gov. Robert Scott appointed him to the North Carolina Milk Commission in 1972, where he served for more than 10 years.
“He was honored that Gov. Scott put him on the Milk Commission and he was very proud of his service there,” Bud Younts says.
In addition to his work and service in the industry, William Younts was an avid NC State fan. He gifted dairy equipment he collected through the years to the Randleigh Dairy Heritage Museum on Lake Wheeler Road. Visitors can now see it on display as they learn about the state’s history in the dairy industry, and stroll the working farm housing over 300 cows.
A Gift That Lasts
Four generations of the Younts family have attended NC State including William’s father-in-law Robert T. Cottam, William, Bud and his niece and nephew. Bud Younts graduated from the chemical engineering program in 1979 and is now the owner of a successful high technology textile fiber company, DI 2 Technologies. He is giving back to the university that has propelled so many in his family on their paths to success.
“The dairy industry was important to my dad and this is how I want to honor his memory,” Younts says. “I know my mother’s proud of this and I feel like he would be, too. I’m pleased that we can support the graduate students who are working in dairy manufacturing and contribute to their work as they strengthen the industry.”
go.ncsu.edu/dairy-sciencescholarships
Carly Centanni will pursue a degree as a physician assistant after earning a degree in nutrition science.
A Nutritious Path to Healthcare
Initially majoring in biology seemed like the right path for Carly Centanni, who has always planned to have a career in health care. However, after she took Intro to Nutrition her freshman year, she began seeking another way to reach that goal.
“I thought it was one of the most interesting classes I’d taken,” Centanni recalls. “So, I looked into majoring in nutrition science and realized I could still meet all of my prerequisites (to apply to a physician assistant program) and a lot of the major could be applied in the clinical setting.”
And by pursuing a concentration in applied nutrition, Centanni has been able to learn about the practical aspects of nutrition and how nutritional needs vary depending on the different stages of life. She’s taken classes on child and adolescent nutrition as well as nutrition for older adults. A class focusing on nutrition and chronic diseases highlighted the importance of diet for patients with illnesses such as diabetes or hypertension.
That information became even more meaningful after Centanni earned her license as a certified nursing assistant in 2022 and began working as a home health aide to get hands-on experience with patients to apply to a physician assistant program. She graduated from NC State in fall 2023.
“It’s been such a great experience to get a background in nutrition,” says the Charlotte native. “Nutrition directly relates to people and it really looks at things from a clinical aspect.”
Live Podcast Series Launched
Wolfing Down Food Science, an FBNS podcast hosted by Paige Luck and Keith Harris, kicked off live sessions about alternative proteins and ultra-processed foods this fall.
Students, faculty, staff and members of the public packed the Fishbowl Forum of D.H. Hill Library on Friday, Sept. 13, to listen and ask questions about alternative proteins. The first live series event featured Nathalie Plundrich, technology development manager for SinnovaTek. Plundrich, who earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in food science at NC State, was recruited to lead and expand research in protein-polyphenol complexation technology at SinnovaTek.
Adept at making connections with companies throughout the U.S. and around the world, Plundrich has spearheaded multiple R & D projects. She also was one of the leaders in two U.S. Department of Agriculture Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects, interacting with NC State labs to bring new technologies to market. Plundrich is a leader in the Institute of Food Technologists’ Dogwood Division, staying current on the latest innovations.
A second Live series event with industry and academic perspectives on ultra-processed foods was held Oct. 30. Invited experts were Adam Yee, dumpling scientist and CTO of Sobo Foods, and Sarah Ash, FBNS professor emerita.
Now in its seventh season, the Wolfing Down Food Science podcast is all about the chemistry, microbiology and engineering of food. Listen to episodes on your favorite podcast platform. LISTEN
Buzzsprout link: https://wolfingdownfoodscience. buzzsprout.com/
Share your comments, ideas or questions via wolfingdownfoodscience@gmail.com.
Students From NC State, N.C. A&T Team Up for Food Science Olympics
By Dustin Chandler N.C. A&T College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
Fifteen minutes. That’s how much time students from N.C. A&T State University and NC State University had to come up with a winning granola recipe at the Food Science Olympics, held Sept. 17 in Greensboro.
Students from both universities were randomly assigned to fivemember teams for the competition, which is part of the annual Dogwood Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Expo.
“We gave them some challenges for which they needed to come up with a solution, such as a low-sodium granola bar, low sugar granola bar, and the different textures,” said Roberta Claro da Silva, Ph.D., associate professor of food and nutritional science in N.C. A&T State’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
The Energy Bar Engineers team won the competition, sponsored by Dogwood IFT and PepsiCo. Photo credit: Shahriyar Valizadeh
https://youtu.be/3e9TDbGoaJ8
Silva became president of Dogwood IFT, which includes North Carolina, at the conclusion of the Expo. She is the first professor from a Historically Black College and University to serve as president.
There were other challenges as well: Tight cooking facilities in the University Farm Pavilion’s kitchen — 25 people are a lot of cooks in one kitchen; one oven shared by all; and a limited selection of ingredients. Competitors often had to make last-minute substitutions.
Nine teams pitched their recipes to two representatives from PepsiCo, which sponsored the recipe challenge. They chose five teams for the competition and gave them 1-1/2 hours to create their granola bars.
Shahriyar Valizadeh, a graduate student at NC A&T, studying food and nutritional sciences, called the exercise amazing.
“It was about learning how to live as a group, especially from other universities, and getting an opportunity to know each other and networking,” Valizadeh said. “We acquire knowledge from each other.”
The top team won a $500 prize, while second and third place teams got $250 each. Forty-five students participated in the event, which was open to all food and nutrition sciences students.
The Expo continued in the afternoon at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons, with free seminars about alternative proteins. About 70 industry representatives registered to attend the Expo, which was free and open to the public.
A&T’s food and nutritional sciences program is in its third year of accreditation by the IFT and will be fully accredited after five years, Silva said. She has served on the Dogwood IFT board since 2022.
The presidency will help her raise A&T’s profile within the national organization and the industry as a whole, and will also help her increase student involvement, Silva said.
Outstanding Alumni Awards
Marjorie Munneke
B.S., food science, 2010
Outstanding alumna
Marjorie Munneke
received her B.S. in food science from NC State University in 2010. She was deeply involved in the Caldwell Fellows Program and the University Scholars Program. She engaged in undergraduate research through FBNS and gained experience through corporate internships with Unilever, Kraft and Malt-O-Meal, where she was introduced to ingredient, process and product development.
Following graduation, Munneke pursued a Ph.D. in chemistry at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her doctoral research focused on the innovative use of dualtrap optical tweezers to measure forces between emulsion droplets. This work positioned her at the intersection of advanced materials and food technology, setting the stage for her future contributions to developing new technologies to aid in scaling novel plant-based meat products.
In 2014 Munneke joined Impossible Foods, a company on a mission to positively impact people and the planet by making delicious, nutritious meat from plants with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat from animals. As part of the research and development team, Munneke was instrumental in developing and scaling the Impossible Burger, one of the first plant-based products designed to replicate the taste, texture and culinary experience of ground beef.
Today, Munneke is a director of R & D and is responsible for developing novel technologies to accelerate the adoption of plant-based meats through innovative ingredient, process and product solutions. Her team specializes in advanced processing techniques to produce novel protein and fat textures and flavor technologies.
Nathalie Plundrich
M.S., food science, 2014
Ph.D., food science, 2017
Outstanding young alumna Nathalie Plundrich is the technology development manager at SinnovaTek, where she leads research, development and commercialization of innovative extraction and food ingredient technologies. Her work extends to SinnovaTek’s subsidiary, SinnoVita, where she is currently advancing the commercialization of VITERO™ protein-polyphenol functional ingredient technology, a project she was deeply involved with during her graduate studies at NC State University.
In addition to her work with SinnoVita, Plundrich plays a key role in SinnovaTek’s R & D team, collaborating closely with clients to develop and commercialize new food and beverage products through the company’s co-packing arm, FirstWave Innovations.
Plundrich has an associate’s degree in biology/biotechnology and a bachelor’s degree in bio- and process technologies with a minor in biotechnology, both obtained in Germany. She later pursued her master’s degree and Ph.D. in food science at NC State University, where she contributed significantly to research in food science and technology.
Over the years, Plundrich has been an active member of the NC section of the Institute of Food Technologists (Dogwood IFT), serving as both a member-at-large and chair on the board of directors. She was also a member of Phi Tau Sigma, the honor society of food science and technology.
She has been recognized through several awards, including the Phi Tau Sigma Dr. Daryl B. Lund Student International Travel Scholarship, the Phi Tau Sigma – Dr. Gideon “Guy” Livingston Scholarship, and the Feeding Tomorrow IFT – Nutraceutical and Functional Foods Division Scholarship. Plundrich has successfully published 15 peer-reviewed journal articles, with seven as the first author.
The CRISPR Revolution
What sounded like science fiction just 10 years ago has become reality, thanks to CRISPR. Professor Rodolphe Barrangou joined Chancellor Randy Woodson to discuss this game-changing technology.
CRISPR has the power to correct genetic diseases like sickle cell, or change the fiber content in trees to make them more amenable to processing. Rodolphe Barrangou, a pioneer in the discovery of CRISPR, joined Chancellor Woodson at the Plant Sciences Building to discuss this revolutionary technology in this episode of Red Chair Chats.
Barrangou, the Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at NC State University, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2023. He was recognized for his inventions, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Video Link: Red Chair Chats with Chancellor Woodson and Professor Rodolphe Barrangou (pictured above)
Episode 10 https://youtu.be/ slTvpr9s2jA
Audio Links:
Spotify: https:// open.spotify.com/ show/6iWFWxfgh2UxVEb8T8MftE Apple Podcasts: https:// podcasts.apple.com/us/ podcast/red-chair-chatswith-chancellor-randy-woodson/ id1680092639
Pinnacle’s Crisp Sour Lachancea Yeast Strain Originally
Came From a Wasp
Bee beer is not new, but it is still very cool. About 10 years ago, yeasts were first extracted from paper wasps and bumblebees by researchers John Sheppard, Rob Dunn and Anne Madden at North Carolina State University. These researchers uncovered a species of yeast that had never been used in commercial beer brewing.
Soon Lachancea LLC was formed, commercializing the first lactic acid yeasts for beer brewing in 2016. In 2021, these original yeast strains were patented.
In 2024, AB Biotek announced the expansion of its dry yeast portfolio for industrial and craft brewers, under the premium Pinnacle brand, with a new yeast originally isolated from a wasp, in partnership with Lachancea. Now, Pinnacle Crisp Sour yeast is available through its exclusive North America distributor Country Malt Group. - Craft Brewing Business.
go.ncsu.edu/beebeer
Minor in Brewing
NC State offers a minor in brewing science and technology for undergraduate students. As preparation for a career in the fermentation beverage industry, it prioritizes chemistry, microbiology and the technologies used in the modern beer industry. Courses emphasize a strong science component and include hands-on experience with both production-scale fermentation equipment and a quality control lab.
Wolfpack Brewing Lab
Housed in Schaub Hall since 2006, the brewery operates as a research and teaching facility. Sebastian Wolfrum manages the brewing laboratory and teaches related courses on brewing science, practices and equipment. FBNS faculty aim to develop an educated workforce and advance the science of brewing in support of the local, state, and national brewing industries. Brewing beer is an art and science, and we employ methods from chemistry, microbiology, engineering and sensory analysis to produce high-quality products.
“All Hopped Up: Get ready for a truly homegrown brew as breeders work to create hops plants that can thrive in North Carolina.”
NC State Magazine
John Sheppard
Flavor Testing And More From The Food Technology Side Of Peanut Breedingd
Q&A with Lisa L. Dean, food technologist with the USDA ARS Food Science and Market Quality and Handling Research Unit based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
What ways are you using peanut skins?
Our group has isolated the active compounds from the peanut skins, leaving behind a debittered fiber material that makes a better animal feed ingredient. The tannin compound extract can also be spray-dried to make a functional food ingredient to fortify milk chocolate and to make flavored coatings for peanuts.
USDA ARS scientists have developed a way to use peanut skins to fortify milk chocolate to increase the antioxidant levels. Peanut skins contain phenolic compounds, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and act as natural antimicrobials. In taste tests, most consumers could not tell that peanut skins were added to the milk chocolate until the level was well above that where the antioxidant level was equal to dark chocolate.
go.ncsu.edu/healthier-chocolate
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Power of Small for Plant Genome Editing
Delivering genome editing machinery into plant cells remains a challenge despite the dire need for high yield crops with enhanced nutritional value that are resistant to disease and resilient in the face of climate change. “Our biggest problem is climate change. And the biggest solution is CRISPR,” said Rodolphe Barrangou, PhD, professor at the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University.
go.ncsu.edu/genomeediting
Food Safety Magazine
Harnessing Cold Plasma Technology for Decontamination of Food and Food Contact Surfaces
Cold plasma is a novel, promising technology that has shown abundant possibilities for disinfection in food processing environments, writes Deepti Salvi, associate professor of food engineering at NC State University.
go.ncsu.edu/cold-plasma
New Food Magazine
Researchers use plants to enhance baby formula nutrition
California researchers Patrick Shih and Collin Barnum collaborated with Minliang Yang at NC State University to estimate the cost of producing human milk oligosaccharides from plants on an industrial scale. They found that it would likely be more cost-effective than using microbial platforms.
go.ncsu.edu/baby-formula-nutrition
Our State Magazine
Want S’more? A Guide to Camp-Inspired Delights Around the state, nostalgic treats with modern flair kindle memories of camp.
Howling Cow
For decades, North Carolina State University’s dairy education center and creamery — known as Howling Cow since 2008 — has built a loyal following with more than a dozen homemade ice cream flavors. One famous flavor, the graham cracker-based 4-H Campfire Delight, is made with chocolate chunks and a marshmallow swirl. In the mood for something decadent? Order the “Wolf Pack Split,” which includes three signature flavors: 4-H Campfire Delight, Chocolate Peanut Butter Spin, and Chancellor’s Wolf Tracks. The split is topped with warm marshmallow fluff, graham crackers, hot peanut butter sauce, and whipped cream.
go.ncsu.edu/campfire-delight
CALS Alumna Is Carving Her Own Path
A dedicated scientist and mentor, Ondulla Toomer has focused on opening doors and making a difference in the lab and beyond.
The three-time alumna of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University used her innate curiosity and formidable determination to push forward, building a career as a research chemist and nutrition scientist over 30 years.
“It was not easy,” Toomer says. “There were definite challenges as a person of color and as a female through my education as well as my career.”
Finding Her Way
Growing up in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Selma, North Carolina, about 40 minutes from Raleigh, Toomer didn’t know many people with science careers. As a little girl, she dreamed of being an archeologist and spent hours digging in the backyard after seeing a TV show about an archeologist searching for treasure.
In high school, a science teacher noticed her knack for chemistry and encouraged her to explore Advanced Placement courses and other opportunities. The guidance counselor, impressed by Toomer’s strong grades and skills in science, suggested she go to NC State.
In 1990 she enrolled as a double major in chemistry and biochemistry. Toomer continued caring for her elderly grandmother in Selma. She excelled academically, but it was hard majoring in fields without many people from similar backgrounds. “Thirty years ago, there was not a great deal of support for minority students in the sciences.”
Undeterred, she completed her undergraduate degrees and landed a job as a quality assurance technician with Abbott Laboratories in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. After a few years, she found that working in industry wasn’t for her.
“I didn’t like that I had no questions to answer or something to keep me engaged intellectually,” Toomer says.
She returned to NC State, earning a master’s degree in physiology, focusing on gastroenterology, with a particular interest in digestive health and nutrition. The unanswered questions around health and nutrition led her to pursue a doctorate in nutrition science.
For the Love of Science
In 2005 Toomer landed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Mucosal Immunology Laboratory of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, studying the immunological health benefits of probiotics in neonatal development. She completed a second postdoctoral training program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) in Maryland, researching differential gene expression in the reproductive tissues of turkey hens.
She then spent seven years with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition as a senior staff fellow-research biologist, investigating pediatric food allergies.
By 2016, Toomer, a married mother of two, was ready to come home. She landed a USDA ARS position with the Food Science and Market Quality and Handling Research Unit, based at NC State.
Paying It Forward
For eight years now, Toomer’s days have been consumed by peanuts: studying peanuts as an alternative feed ingredient for poultry and fish; investigating how to use peanut skins, an agricultural waste byproduct with nutrient value, to benefit human health; and researching the benefits of improving the nutritional quality of eggs or poultry meat by using hi-oleic peanuts as a feed, among many other research projects.
She has the opportunity to serve and inspire the next generation of Wolfpack scientists as a research adviser through the USDA.
Kari Harding, who’s pursuing a Ph.D. in poultry science, has benefited from Toomer’s guidance and expertise. Toomer served as an adviser on Harding’s master’s project on how alternative feed ingredients affected laying hen performance and production.
“Dr. Toomer also taught me what it means to be a successful woman in the industry and what true leadership looks like, and for that I am deeply grateful.”
go.ncsu.edu/alumna-toomer
Fishing for a New Sausage Recipe
One of Louisiana’s signature foods, boudin sausage, is getting a fresh twist in North Carolina, thanks to a partnership between NC State University and North America’s largest producer of smoked salmon.
Boudin, pronounced BOO’ dan, is traditionally made with pork trimmings, along with cooked rice, vegetables, such as celery and onions, and plenty of spices.
Boudin makers sometimes opt for seafood instead of pork. In Louisiana, that’s typically crawfish. But NC State food scientists are experimenting with smoked salmon. Researchers in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences are working with Acme Smoked Fish, which has processing facilities in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
After salmon is cold-smoked, filets are cut to customer specifications. Up to 60,000 pounds of smoked salmon trimmings and salmon skins remain each year, and some of these byproducts end up in a landfill.
NC State Seafood Lab Director Alex Chouljenko and Seafood Research Specialist Greg Bolton, based at the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) in Morehead City, North Carolina, decided to try using smoked salmon trimmings in boudin.
“Smoked salmon has a lot of good nutrients, but it’s hard to make a food product with it because it’s so oily,” Chouljenko says. “The unique thing about this type of sausage is that it uses rice as one of the other main ingredients. When we’re substituting the pork with the smoked salmon trimmings, the rice really helps to soak up the oil. And I also feel like it balances out the taste of it. It’s not as fishy, it’s not as salty and it has more of a mild taste.”
Members of the North Carolina Meat Processors Association learned about value-added seafood products such as salmon boudin during a tour of the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) in Morehead City. Photo by Max Hagaman.
A Recipe for Success
This fall, graduate student Zoë Carmac, who’s pursuing a master’s degree in food science, is doing research on boudin recipes, following up on initial work done by undergraduate Bruno Pittella last spring.
Carmac, who earned a bachelor’s in nutrition at NC State, is looking for new ingredients to hold the boudin together. “Right now for the binding agents, we’re using eggs and breadcrumbs, which fall into the nine major allergens, and so we’re looking to make a more allergen-friendly recipe,” Carmac explains.
NC State University researchers are using salmon trimmings to make boudin sausage, a Louisiana favorite containing pork or seafood, rice, vegetables and spices.
Photo by Max Hagaman.
Acme has expressed interest in taking a variation of the smoked salmon boudin to market, which is promising, Chouljenko says.
“We just want any research that we do here to be useful for people, whether industry or consumers. We want to live up to NC State’s rich history of Extension and to serve the people of North Carolina and beyond.”
go.ncsu.edu/salmon-sausage
Department Notes
Faculty
Minliang Yang, assistant professor in food sustainability, coorganized the Sustainable Agri-Food Technology Summit (SAFTS) on May 21 at the Plant Sciences Building. The SAFTS workshop featured a series of insightful presentations and discussions on topics ranging from gene editing to alternative proteins. Participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas and collaborate on solutions to address the sustainability challenges facing our food systems today.
Andrew Neilson was promoted to the rank of professor July 1. Neilson, a faculty member with the Plants for Human Health, was conferred the title of Fellow in the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) in recognition of his efforts and impact in the field of chemical sciences.
Deepti Salvi was tenured and promoted to the rank of assoc iate professor July 1.
Nicola Singletary, teaching faculty member and manager of the lactation consultant training program, received the 2023-24 CALS Teaching Award of Merit.
Stephanie Cotter, a postdoc in Clint Stevenson’s program, was recognized as one of the Top 40 Food Safety Professionals Under 40 by the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness. This award highlights rising stars who are revolutionizing the field of food safety and leaving an enduring impact on the industry, academia or the regulatory realm.
Sebastian Wolfrum, founder of Epiphany Craft Malt and lecturer at NC State University, was inducted into the prestigious Order of the Lupulin at the NC Craft Guild Awards Banquet. The honor is the craft brewing industry’s lifetime achievement award, presented to those who have made a lasting impact on, and ultimately changed the course of, North Carolina’s brewing industry.
Staff
Robert Price, safety manager with the NC Food Innovation Lab in Kannapolis, was awarded the 2024 CALS Excellence in Safety Award.
Jessica White, senior instructional designer in DELTA and FBNS, received the Outstanding Service in Postsecondary Instructional Design Award from UPCEA, the international professional organization for online and professional education.
Students
FBNS Dairy Enterprise System celebrated men’s and women’s basketball victories by giving away ice cream at the Bell Tower and Reynolds Coliseum. The promotion included Dean Garey Fox, CALS Communications and over 2,000 fans of NC State basketball and Howling Cow.
Sanaz Mirtalebi, FBNS Ph.D. student and research assistant, has been awarded the IFT Feeding Tomorrow scholarship, selected as a grad peer mentor for FBNS for this academic year and nominated for the CALS Student Sustainability Award.
John Ivarsson won third place at the NC State Graduate Research Symposium. He is currently studying at the Plants for Human Health Institute under the guidance of faculty members Giuseppe Valacchi and Mary Ann Lila.
Mollie Ruinsky, Melanie Bacon and Luke Shawn Thomas were inducted into Phi Tau Sigma honor society for food science.
Usman Amin from Haotian Zheng’s lab won third place in the student research competition at the 2024 Global Ingredient Summit organized by American Dairy Products Institute in March.
Welcome!
Max Hagaman, industry and alumni liaison, joined FBNS on April 29. Hagaman works to improve industry and alumni relationships, including growing Industry Partners Advisory Council membership and hosting events for our alumni and industry partners. He also manages the department’s social media accounts.
Jennifer Knoll, academic advisor in nutrition, started her new role at NC State on Jan. 29.
Zihui Wu, a new postdoc in Haotian Zheng’s Lab, joined FNBS to work primarily on protein ingredient development and application for different model foods.
Zhujun (Abby) Gao, a new postdoc in Deepti Salvi’s lab, joined FBNS in August 2024 to work primarily on cold plasma and other nonthermal techniques to improve food safety and quality during manufacturing processes.
Alona Chepiha, a new postdoc in Alex Chouljenko’s lab at the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), will perform molecular analyses of DNA collected from Russian sturgeon, as well as assisting with handling and caring for aquacultured fish. Her work is part of a grant project to develop a rapid, noninvasive, low-cost DNA method for determining sex of Russian sturgeon, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA).
Retirement
Mike Bumgardner retired March 31, 2024, after more than 10 years with FBNS. During this time, he not only worked with the food engineering team but also helped various groups with running equipment in our pilot plants. He also assisted with various electrical/plumbing modifications in labs, pilot plants and the dairy
farm. During the pandemic, he led the work on producing hand sanitizers and 3D printing masks. While he has had a productive and fun time at FBNS, he decided that he would like to slow down and be ready for the next chapter in his life.
Alumni News
Amanda Vargochik, an FBNS alumna and a co-founder and CIO of SinnovaTek/SinnoVita/ FirstWave has received the Triangle Business Journal 2024 Women in Business Award. Amanda was also recognized by the NC State office of Research and Innovation as one of the Five Wolfpack Women Who Are Innovative Entrepreneurs.
In Memoriam
Steven J. Schwartz
Former faculty member Steven J. Schwartz, who worked in FBNS from 1982 to 1996, died Nov. 25, 2023, in Ohio. Prior to retirement, he held an endowed professorship at the Ohio State University from 1996 to 2018.
Roy Carawan
Alumnus Roy Carawan, a longtime FBNS professor and food engineering Extension specialist, died Jan. 14, 2024. He earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in food science at NC State University, returning as a faculty member after completing his Ph.D.
Paula Pharr, a program assistant in FBNS from 1993 through 2007, passed away Jan. 26, 2024, in Arkansas.
Dora “Dean” Toler, a program support specialist with the department’s USDA-ARS unit from 1971 through 2006, passed away March 13, 2024, in Smithfield, North Carolina.
Barbara C. Barbour, a research technician in FBNS from 1967 through 1995, died March 28, 2024, in Raleigh.
Ambassadors:
In late August, FBNS launched its first cohort of departmental student ambassadors. These 13 students, under the direction of Jennifer Knoll, will meet throughout the 2024-25 academic year. They will work on personal and professional development, as well as prepare and assist with recruitment events such as: Spend a Day at State, University Open House, Executives-in-Residence and more. We’re excited to see them grow as leaders and shape the new program going forward.
CASS:
Last year, CALS Career Services launched a unique alumni mentorship program: CALS Alumni for Student Success (CASS). In the program, CALS students are matched with experienced alumni for one-on-one career coaching tailored to the aspirations of students. This year, FBNS teamed up with CALS so that our students can benefit from this program. We invite FBNS alumni to register to serve as mentors to our students in 2025.
Leadership Credential:
Strong leadership skills have never been more important to students landing a job and excelling in their careers. To address a need for more leadership skill development, FBNS is piloting a leadership credential program for both undergraduate and graduate students. This year, 11 participants will amp up their on-campus involvement and participate in partner company-led leadership development sessions to complete the credential, and help us shape the program for its official launch next academic year.
Events
FBNS BBQ Camp (pictured above)
FBNS held its annual retreat for faculty and staff on May 9 at the Randleigh Dairy Heritage Museum at the Dairy Farm on Lake Wheeler Road. We also had a day-long meeting on May 10 to work on the departmental strategic plan at the University Club. To prepare our folks for two long days of work, Dana Hanson, associate professor and meat specialist at FBNS, coordinated a barbecue camp for us. The barbecue chefs from FBNS whipped up some delicious food based on what they learned at the camp.
Donor Event
CALS Advancement hosted an informative and fun event on March 2 to thank our donors. Dana Hanson, department Extension leader and meat science specialist, made a presentation to the group, highlighting his product development work with students and the creation of Howling Hog BBQ sauce, which is now available at the Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery.
It was good to connect with some of our donors, including retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Timothy A. Peppe and his wife RJ Peppe, and Ken and Sally Anderson. The generosity of donors like them helps our students meet their financial needs and achieve their goals.
FBNS Scholarship Award Winners
Benjamin P. Forbes Scholarship
Rayce Ely
Benjamin W. Kilgore Food Science Scholarship
Victoria Braunstein, Eliza Buhrman, Lottie
Pate
Burton M. Newell Award
Andrew Lee
Cristie Abigail "Abbi" Fleming Dairy Science Scholarship
Lucy Caldwell
Dr. Frank and Rachel Kirby Thomas Food Science and Family Consumer Sciences Scholarship
Oscar Chen, Abigail Commodore, Rayce Ely, Shauna Johnson, Allie Osmanski
Dr. Isadore and Cynthia Peppe Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Scholarship
Clara Beaver, Addison Detig, Bethany Lee
Dr. Peggy Foegeding Memorial Food Science Scholarship
Catherine Merigliano
Dr. Wanida Lewis Food Science Fellowship Award Endowment
Sudarshan Reddy Medagam
Duong, Green and Gharst Food Science Leadership Award Endowment
Yufeng Lin
Eakes-Turner Food Science Scholarship
Hong Phat Cai
Ellen Swallow Richards Endowed Nutrition Scholarship
Morgan Smith
Food Science Club Endowment
Ryan Phillips
Food Science Club Active Member Scholarship
Mrunmayi Chawnekar, Leah Dexter-Boone, Rayce Ely, Tia Meredith
Food Science Club Professional Development Scholarship
Kara Allen, Andrew Lee, Rebecca Shenk
Food Science Club Travel Scholarship
Leah Dexter-Boone
Fred Tarver Poultry Products Scholarship
Sydney Gandy
H. Hawkins Bradley Scholarship
Andrew Lee
Harvey L. and Kathleen R. Barnes Scholarship
Grace Blackwell, Oluwafunmilayo Olabode, Annah Smitherman
Hase H. and Lena M. Smith Scholarship
Will Adams
Ivan D. and Lillian T. Jones Food Science Scholarship
Caden Tacosik
J. Frank and Margaret B. Neely Scholarship
Adriana Dioli, Jackson Edwards, Wesley Holliday, Ella Howard, Darren Liu, Tristyn
Mosslih, Haley Sparks, Abby Trexler, Nathan Wurst
James L. and Diana G. Oblinger Scholarship
Alvina Moon
John and Kelli Rushing Food Science Freshman Scholarship
Marley Kellar
John Rushing, Southeastern Food Processor's Association Scholarship
Kara Allen
Leonard and Frances Crouch Scholastic Achievement Award
Andrew Lee
Livio Ferruzzi Memorial Agricultural Scholarship
Fletcher Kays
Mose and Helen Kiser Scholarship
Victoria Braunstein
Neil and Nancy Webb Memorial Food Science Scholarship
Indigo Weaver
North Carolina Meat Processors Association Scholarship in Memory of John W. Long
Lottie Pate
Robert H. Hartman Graduate Endowment
Ajinkya Atkare, Alex Swanson-Boyd
Robert D. and Connie C. Shertz Scholars Endowment
Briley Bickerstaff, Eric Swanson
Robert N. Wood - NC Dairy Products Association Memorial Scholarship
Emily Elmer, Erin Pacifico
Roy and Grace Graves Family Scholarship
Dhruv Ghevariya
Stephanie Christine Anderson Scholarship
Kevin Bolin, Haley Sparks
T.W. Garner Food Company (Texas Pete) Scholarship
Nicholas Nguyen
Thomas N. Blumer Scholarship
Jenna Rose D’Ambra
Todd R. and Amy E. Klaenhammer FBNS Graduate Award Endowment in Food Microbiology and Functional Genomics
Ourania Raftopoulou
Tommy McPherson Dairy Science Scholarship
Sofia Obregon
Victor and Maryetta Jones Scholarship
Shelly Aguilar-Garcia, Emily Kumar, Samantha Mellott, Lauren Schneider
William E. Younts Jr. Dairy Science Graduate Support Endowment
Tyler Jarrard, Yufeng Lin, Tina Truong, Kai Ow-Wing
Teaming Up With FBNS
FBNS is always looking for ways to engage with our industry partners and alumni. If you or your company have an interest in speaking to or mentoring students, sharing job opportunities, partnering on senior design projects or joining our Industry Partners Advisory Council (IPAC), we’d love to work with you.
Industry and Alumni Liaison Max Hagaman (right) can help get you engaged with opportunities that match your interests and expertise. Contact Max at mjhagama@ncsu.edu or fbnsliaison@ncsu.edu.
Connect with FBNS, alumni and friends.
go.ncsu.edu/fbns