Howdy! 

 

I am excited to connect with you via the department’s first e-newsletter! With this bi-annual publication, we hope to

regularly engage with you, share highlights about our department and strengthen our ties with students, staff, faculty and friends of the department.

 

Our department is a small family of dedicated faculty, staff and students that aims to provide the best experience and education possible.

 

We have a newly established Food Science and Technology External Advisory Board to help us fulfill our strategic initiatives. We sincerely appreciate these industry leaders for dedicating their time and efforts to advance our department.

I'd like to share a few updates about our goals and priorities and the efforts being made to achieve them:

 

Strengthening our ties with former students and stakeholders

We believe our former students are our strongest supporters and play a key role in shaping our future! Our first former student dinner was held at the Union League Club of Chicago during the IFT First event in July 2022. More than 45 former students and their guests attended the dinner. 

 

Please consider following and engaging with us on our social channels.

• LinkedIn: Texas A&M Department of Food Science & Technology
• LinkedIn Former Student Group: Texas A&M Food Science & Technology Former Students
• Instagram: @TAMUFSTC
• Twitter: @TAMUFSTC

Enhancing the undergraduate experience

We have initiated many activities to support our goal of engaging 100% of our students in high-impact experiential learning.

 

The department supported 60+ students to participate in the Institute of Food Technologists', IFT, annual event in Chicago, Illinois, in July, the Alamo IFT Scholarship Award Dinner in San Antonio and Longhorn IFT Supplier Night in Frisco in November. These events provide students with unique opportunities to present at conferences, learn, network and make impactful connections with possible future employers.

 

We started the ENRICH program, providing undergraduates with experiential research opportunities to work in a lab with a professor of their choice. Additionally, we are working to increase internship opportunities for our undergraduate students. 

 

Increasing undergraduate enrollment

A top strategic priority for the department is to double our undergraduate enrollment to 160+ students. Freshman scholarships were identified as a key factor in growing the undergraduate program. As a result, we are seeking to expand undergraduate scholarship opportunities. One such example is the new Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, IFANCA, Freshman Scholarship awarded to two exceptional freshmen in 2022. Our undergraduate enrollment grew by 10% in 2022.

 

Expanding graduate scholarships and research capacity

We have established two IFANCA Graduate Fellowships for Fall 2023. Each fellowship is valued at $22,000 and will support doctoral student research in food diversity. Additionally, we are currently in the process of hiring two new tenure-track faculty members to improve our student experience and academic opportunities.

 

Finally, we have multiple opportunities for you to engage with our department. If you would like to support our department's initiatives, you may do so here. If you or your organization have internship opportunities for our students, please reach out to foodscience@ag.tamu.edu. We also encourage you to reach out to us via email with any thoughts or feedback you would like to provide. 

 

I hope you have a restful break and happy holidays!

Joseph Awika

Professor and Head

First Annual Alumni Dinner

The Department of Food Science and Technology hosted its first Annual Alumni Dinner in July at the Union League Club of Chicago during the IFT First event. The event was co-sponsored by IFANCA. The dinner provided a great opportunity for former students to catch up with colleagues, classmates and professors and learn more about the newly established department.

2022 Department Scholarships

The department awarded more than 40 scholarships to our students. We appreciate the support of our donors who made these scholarships possible.

2022 STARS Summer Enrichment Camp

During the three-day camp this summer, Joseph Awika, Ph.D., and Mian Riaz, Ph.D., spoke with high school students about the department and the career opportunities available to them with a food science and technology degree.

IFANCA-Food Diversity Symposium

The IFANCA-Food Diversity Innovation Program Symposium on “Current Trends in Food Industry - Challenges and Strategies” was held in Frisco in November in conjunction with the Longhorn IFT Suppliers Night. The symposium included talks by representatives from leading food companies and faculty members from Texas A&M. It was followed with poster presentations by graduate students, undergraduate students and post-docs from the Department of Food Science and Technology.

Food Science Club Updates

Throughout the semester, the Texas A&M Food Science Club has provided the opportunity for students to interact with industry professionals from a variety of companies each week. We've also conducted professional development workshops and trips to equip members with the necessary tools to network and join the workforce. Finally, some of our meetings were tailored to specific paths in food science, insight into opportunities in the department and college, and provided opportunities to get to know faculty and staff better.

Allison Brenner '23

Food Science and Technology

Cyprian Syeunda

Food Science and Technology

Doctoral Candidate

Jennifer Vuia-Riser, Ph.D., '14

B.S. Nutritional Science

M.S. Food Science and Technology

 

Cargill Protein

Susanne Talcott, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Botanical Compounds

Texas A&M Center World Leader in Electron Beam Technology

National Center for Electron Beam Research, more commonly known as "the eBeam center," is a world leader in accelerating the commercial use of this advanced technology with myriad applications.

Giving to the Department

The department offers many gifting opportunities that will have a lasting impact on our department.

Department Scholarships

All eligible current and future food science and technology students are encouraged to apply for our scholarships.

Follow us on LinkedIn

Department Page

Former Student Group

Follow us on Instagram

@TAMUFSTC

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@TAMUFSTC

Click here to email us with questions or comments.

About the Department of Food Science and Technology

Established in 2020, the Department of Food Science and Technology aspires to develop a world-class training, research, and outreach program that leads the nation in shaping the future direction of the food science profession, while innovatively meeting the current and emerging needs of stakeholders. The department is invested on unique high impact education and research programs that apply contemporary and novel technologies in food processing, food safety and quality, and sustainability.

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