Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
A newsletter for faculty, staff and students
January-February 2006 • Vol. 32, No. 1
Table of Contents
WHO, WHAT,
WHEN, WHERE
• Notables
• Grants
• Articles Published
• New Projects
• New Publications
• Coming Events
• Dean reviews 2005 accomplishments
• 700-plus attend ‘Party of the Century’
• Food Science Building expanded
• Robert Bacon is CSES interim head
• Robertson to coordinate Apparel Studies major
• Food packaging, processing expert joins UA faculty
• AGCS adds digital media specialist
• Donors provide new scholarships and building funds
• Legislature applauds UA fruit breeding program
• Crop Biotechnology minor proposed
• Bumpers welcomes transfer students
• Magazine features U of A spinach breeding program
• Congratulations to fall graduates
• Poultry science students win national awards for research
• CSES students win ASA poster contest
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Vision Archive Index
All About Advising
• Monthly newsletter index
UA Agri LInks
• Division of Agriculture
• University of Arkansas
• Dale Bumpers College of
xxxAgricultural, Food and
xxxLife Sciences
• Arkansas Agricultural
xxxExperiment Station
• Cooperative Extension
xxxService
• Alumni and Development
• Future Students
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Vision Credits
Vision is published six times a year by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station in the U of A System's Division of Agriculture and by the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. It is produced by the Communication Services unit of the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, 110 Agriculture Building, U of A, Fayetteville, AR 72701. 479-575-5647.
• Editor: Howell Medders, (hmedders@uark.edu).
• Web manager: David Edmark (dedmark@uark.edu).
• Writers and photographers: Fred Miller and Karen Eskew
• Editorial Assistants: Cassandra Cox and Amalie Holland
• Broadcast e-mail support: Arkansas Alumni Association
E-mail items for publication in Vision to ahollan@uark.edu
Food Science Building Expanded
A 10,000-sguare-foot addition to the Food Science Building at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center will provide for expanded research, extension and teaching programs in the Food Science Department and the Institute of Food Science and Engineering.
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| Construction proceeds on Food Science Building addition. |
Food science department head Ron Buescher said the addition will provide laboratory and office space for a new Center for Food Safety, a new food processing and packaging program and an expanded sensory evaluation program.
Steven Ricke joined the UA faculty in January as the Donald “Buddy” Wray Chair for Food Safety and director of the new Center for Food Safety. The center is part of the Division of Agriculture’s Institute of Food Science and Engineering. His office will be in the new addition. He will have a laboratory in the Biosciences Lab at the AAREC and in the Poultry Science Center on campus.
Formerly a professor of poultry science at Texas A&M University, Ricke said the Center for Food Safety will support existing and new programs in several departments that address food safety issues.
“My goals for the center are to increase the visibility, integration, diversity and reputation of food safety programs at the University,” Ricke said. “We already have a number of excellent programs, and we have the potential to become one of the leading universities in this vital area of research, education and extension outreach.”
Assistant Professor Ruben Morawicki, who joined the faculty in February, will develop the new food processing and packaging program. He was formerly a senior scientist at Tyson Foods, where he helped develop innovative packaging materials and processing systems. (See “Headlines” article on his appointment.)
Associate Professor Jean-Francois Meullenet coordinates the rheology and sensory research program. He conducts research to advance the science of food sensory analysis and provides analytical services for the food industry.
Meullenet said a project to evaluate different formulations of a potential new product typically includes “preference” testing by consumer panelists as well as “descriptive” analysis by professional tasters who evaluate specific sensory features. The program includes 15 part-time trained sensory panelists and a database of 1,500 consumers who completed a questionnaire on personal information and food consumption preferences.
The addition doubled the number of blind tasting stations and added other laboratory space for the rheology and sensory research program.