As summer ends and the Department of Food Science and Technology eagerly awaits the start of the Fall 2024 semester, I want to extend my welcome and enthusiasm for the 2024-25 academic year. We look forward to welcoming new and existing students back to the department and of course all the energy that the Fall semester brings for students, staff, and faculty.
In April, the department held the annual student awards ceremony and the J.G. Woodroof lecture. The Woodroof lecture was selected as one of the Provosts’ signature lectures and turned out to be an excellent opportunity for engagement among the FST Department with retirees, alumni and friends in the area. Thanks to our donors which include alumni and associations across Georgia and beyond, we were able to recognize 36 students for various awards.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the hard work our recent student graduates have put in and congratulate them on their accomplishments while at our department.
The past year was filled with many other exciting events such as the CAES Dean’s Signature Event - Flavor of Georgia Contest, which could not have happened without the help of student and staff volunteers. We also celebrated the retirement of Dr. Yen-Con Hung, whose 38 years of dedication to our department is truly inspiring. Last October, the department assisted in hosting the first annual Alumni Homecoming Tailgate with the UGA Food Science Club, an exciting event we are looking forward to continuing this year and in the future.
This summer, our department hosted an Alumni Social at the annual Institute of Food Technologists conference again and had the privilege of witnessing our students’ successes at IFT FIRST 2024 in Chicago and the International Association for Food Protection conference in Long Beach, California.
As we begin this school year, I would encourage you all to stay connected with UGA Food Science and Technology. We are very appreciative of all the support that we receive from you all and for the commitment to our department.
Cedric Knight never underestimates the power of hard work. Knight transferred to the University of Georgia his junior year. After graduating, he served two decades in the Navy and retired as commander. In 1995, at the cusp of the internet age, he launched New Directions Technologies Inc., an IT, software, engineering, and cybersecurity services company, where he’s still CEO.
Many of the flowers lining store shelves for Valentine’s Day have been gifted at romantic dinners. But what happens to the flowers that went unsold? A new study from the University of Georgia explores how flowers can be repurposed as food ingredients, offering a more sustainable way to use blooms that might otherwise be discarded. “We are looking at what happens the day after Valentine’s Day to those flowers,” said UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences researcher Anand Mohan.
Organic fruits and vegetables often face a higher risk of spoiling and harboring foodborne pathogens than their conventional farming counterparts. Because organic growers and packers must adhere to higher production standards and restrictions on chemical additives, University of Georgia experts are exploring alternative methods for protecting organic products and consumers through a new $3.5 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.
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