Food Science News

Summer 2006

Vol. 34, No. 2

Dr. Brian Farkas Named Associate Department Head

The position of Associate Department Head became vacant when Dr. Donn Ward was promoted to head the Department of Food Science. Dr Farkas has been selected to serve in that position. Among other duties, Farkas will assume leadership for the overall departmental teaching function. These responsibilities include being the department’s “Teaching Champion” with respect to long term planning, assessment and leading efforts for curriculum integration and coordination. Congratulations Dr. Farkas. We know that you will be excellent.

Dr. Farkas was also selected to receive the Emerging Food Engineering Award for 2006. This prestigious award will be presented to Brian by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers during the ASABE annual meeting in Portland, Oregon this July. Congratulations Brian!

Dr. Farkas was also elected to the NC State’s Academy of Outstanding Teachers. Other current faculty members in this elite group are Dr. Lynn Turner, Dr. Dan Carroll and Dr. Chris Daubert. Congratulations.

In Memory of Dr. Neil Webb

neil webb Dr. Neil B. Webb succumbed to pneumonia on February 17, 2006. He is survived by his wife Jane Little Webb and numerous children, grandchildren, step children and their families. He is preceded in death by his wife of 44 years Nancy in 1998 and his wife of 11 months, Mary in 2000.

Neil was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He was fond of his grandchildren and he especially loved the happiness that the little ones brought to his life. Neil was also devoted to his church and to the Rotary Club where he had been a member for almost 25 years. Dr. Webb was a food scientist who spent his 50 year career teaching and advising on safer and better food products. He pursued his masters and doctorate in meat science and taught as an assistant professor at Michigan State University. He worked in the meat industry until 1966 when he became a professor at North Carolina State University. At State, he taught and consulted on the latest meat technologies. In 1976 he left academia and devoted his full-time efforts to his company, Webb Technical Group. With his first wife Nancy as his partner, he ran their research development and testing company for the food and environmental industries. After 25 years as the head of the company, he sold the business and pursued his professional love, consulting for food companies. In recent years, he focused on promoting food safety in the meat and packaged ice industries.

Neil was well-recognized for his accomplishments and received numerous awards and recognitions including the NC Governor’s Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in 1984, the Meat Processing Award from the National Live Stock and Meat Board and the American Meat Science Association in 1988 and the Signal Service Award from the American Meat Science Association in 1995.

We will miss Dr. Webb and are honored that he was a member of the Food Science Department’s family.

Dr. Lynn Turner will be honored as the 2006 winner of IFT’s Elizabeth Fleming Stier Award. This award honors an IFT member for his pursuit of humanitarian ideals and unselfish dedication that have resulted in significant contributions to the well-being of the food industry, academia, students or the general public. Dr. Turner certainly fills the bill. Congratulations Dr. Turner!

ken swartzel Dr. Kenneth R. Swartzel has received the prestigious Holladay Medal Award (the highest award given by NC State). Dr. Swartzel has served NC State for 30 years. His discoveries coupling kinetic theory and engineering principles have globally revolutionized the processed egg and other food industries. He has produced 110 scientific publications, 20 U.S. and 28 foreign patents; generated $13 million in external funding and equipment donations. He has advised eight masters, 16 doctoral and 14 postdoctoral students. Licensed patent royalties to the university have exceeded $20 million. He has lectured in 14 countries on four continents. He founded CAPPS (Center for Advanced Processing and Packaging Studies), a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, which after 19 years exists as a multi-site center dedicated to advancing technologies in food and bioprocessing. Swartzel has been recognized with nine international research awards and named Fellow of both the Institute of Food Technologists and The Society for Engineering in Agricultural, Food and Biological Systems. He served 11 years as department head of NC State’s Department of Food Science and directed the UNC General Administration’s North Carolina Technology Development Initiative. In 2004 he became the founding director of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC)/Kellogg Food Systems Leadership Institute, and more recently began coordinating bioprocessing programs for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He has been recognized with the NC State Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award.

Awards

Dr. E. Allen Foegeding was named an IFT Fellow in February, 2006. Election as an IFT Fellow is a unique professional distinction conferred for outstanding and extraordinary contributions in the field of food science and technology. This is well deserved by Dr. Foegeding. Congratulations.

Also, Dr. Foegeding was named as an Alumni Outstanding Research Award recipient for 2005-06. This award is one of the highest honors that a faculty member can receive at NC State. Congratulations on this too!

lee ann jaykus Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus was selected to receive the 2006 Educator Award from the International Association for Food Protection. This prestigious award recognizes an active IAFP member for dedicated and exceptional contributions to the profession of the Educator. This award reflects Dr. Jaykus’s contributions and service to industry, education, government and the public. Congratulations to Dr. Jaykus.

New Faculty

lisa dean Dr. Lisa O. Dean joined us as a graduate student and then was hired as a Research technician. After working in Dr. Tim Sanders’ lab for several years, she has been has been hired as a new USDA ARS faculty member. Congratulations Lisa!

New Staff

Rosemary Sanozky-Dawes was hired in January 2006. She is a new Research Assistant working in Dr. Todd Klaenhammer’s lab.

sarah o'flaherty Dr. Sarah Josephine O’Flaherty a native of Ireland is a research associate post doc working in Dr. Todd Klaenhammer's lab.

richard tallon

Richard Tallon, a native of France was hired in January 2006. He is a Research Associate, post doc working in Dr. Todd Klaenhammer’s lab.

ashlee webber Ashlee Webber was hired in May 2006. She will be working for Ilenys Diaz-Muniz in the Dr. Roger McFeeters lab in the USDA section.

The Pancake Breakfast

chefs den and lisa On February 14, 2006 we flipped a flock of fluffy pancakes and they were served up with savory sausages and fresh fruit juices to a large group of hungry students, staff and faculty. The lobby was full of good food and good fellowship. This activity raises money for our flower and card fund.

CMAST News

dean oblinger and david green A look under the hood Feb. 1, 2006
Jacksonville Daily News, New Bern Sun Journal, The Daily Tar Heel

Left to right: Oblinger, Bowles and Green
MOREHEAD CITY — The new president of the University of North Carolina system was full of questions Tuesday. “What else can we do? What do you really need?”, asked Erskine Bowles as he began his two-hour visit of N.C. State University’s Center for Marine Science and Technology in Morehead City. Bowles, a former candidate for U.S. Senate and White House Chief of Staff in the Clinton administration, tried to satisfy his curiosity as he took a glimpse of Carteret County’s niche in marine sciences. Bowles joined N.C. State Chancellor James L. Oblinger on a four-stop tour of eastern North Carolina. For Bowles, who began his job as head of the 16-campus system on Jan. 1, it was all about listening. “I hope to hear from you about what you need in order to capture what’s here,”he said. The tour of the CMAST facility gave Bowles a first-hand look at some of the research being done in Carteret County in areas such as fisheries, water quality, seafood processing and coastal resources.

In the zoology lab, where graduate students worked on fisheries research, Bowles stopped at each station to talk with them about their work. And each time, the questions flowed. “How has your experience been here? What type of work do you want to do?” he asked one student. “What brought you to this facility?” he asked another, who was examining the over-wintering of blue fin tuna. Nate Bacheler, a graduate student, talked with Bowles about a tagging project he is working on tracking red drum, particularly in the Neuse River. Bacheler said Bowles’ visit was more than just a chance to talk about his research but to show him the importance of the work being done to address many issues in marine fisheries. The entire marine sciences field was a major focus during the stop in Morehead City, and it wasn’t just the work within the CMAST walls that was discussed. The emphasis Tuesday was on partnerships between CMAST and the other many other education and research facilities clustered in Carteret County.