Notes from the Department Head

Greetings once again from University Park. It is a pleasure to relay news from Penn State.

Those of you who have been scanning the web over the past few years may have noticed an addition around March 1. That's right, Food Science is up at last! The address is:

http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/CASDEPT/FOOD/index.html

You will notice that the people in Penn State Food Science are at the top of the page, and rightfully so. Please visit us at the above address, and send your comments and suggestions to me (dbtl@psu.edu) or to Cynthia Myers (cvm1@psu.edu).

Speaking of people, two faculty members have announced retirements in 1997. Sid Barnard stepped down as of March 1, and Joe MacNeil will retire as of June 30. They will take with them considerable years of service to Penn State. Joe will continue to contribute to a research project he initiated on recovery of protein from waste egg shells. We wish them the best of luck in their retirement. The good news is that the department recently received clearance to hire two new faculty members as part of an "enhancement" of the food system programs in the College (more on that below). We hope to get approval to fill vacancies left by Sid and Joe as well.

Cynthia Myers joined the department as administrative assistant as of February 1. She had previously served the English Department in a similar role. Rochelle Winn's duties are now in support of Food Science Undergraduate and Graduate Education programs.

The search for the new Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences was completed this spring. Ted Alter will end his service as Interim Dean of the College on June 30, as Robert Steele (currently Associate Dean at the University of Wisconsin) takes over as dean as of July 1. Dr. Steele's training is in nutritional sciences.

Strategic Planning efforts continue to be emphasized in the department, as for the fourth year in a row a revised plan was completed by the end of January. That plan is available for the asking in hard copy, and it is also on the web, via the department home page. As usual, we would love to hear from anyone who would like to give us constructive feedback. Responses may be sent to me or to Greg Ziegler, current chair of our Strategic Planning Group. A major new Strategic Planning effort was also recently completed in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Distributed on March 5, this plan describes "strategic goals for enhancement and implementation strategies." The plan calls for selective enhancement in three program areas: the life sciences, the food system, and natural resources/environment. One of the implementation strategies related to the food system states that there will be "enhanced programs in microbial safety, food chemistry, food processing and engineering, competitiveness, and consumer-driven changes in nutrition and food choices preferences." The two newly approved positions in food science are clearly related to the newly developed strategic plan. This increased appreciation for the roles of food scientists should be gratifying to all who have been associated with the department and the field of food science.

The Food Industry Group continues to play an active role in support of the department. In addition to providing financial support for selected graduate student recruitment activities, FIG has played an important role in demonstrating the commitment of alumni and friends to the welfare of the department. FIG will be working with faculty members to develop a professional meeting/conference in the spring of 1998. This conference will replace the technical program of Food Science Weekend. Dennis Zak, current FIG President, has taken strong leadership in this effort on behalf of FIG.

There will be a vestige of the old Food Science Weekend this fall, an activity we are calling the "Food Science Tailgate." The tailgate will be October 18, on Homecoming Weekend prior, to the football game with Minnesota. You should have received an announcement in the mail with details about registering and securing football tickets. If you are within driving distance, there should be no need for a hotel room, as the program will start midmorning on Saturday, and the game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The tailgate meal will be provided by the Food Science Club.

Efforts related to renovations and additions to Borland Lab have been steady, due to the independent efforts of friends and supporters of Food Science. Ongoing moral support from FIG has helped bring attention to the situation. In addition, Karl Girton has taken the initiative to organize an independent group of industry representatives to help initiate a formal project. Three subcommittees of this group have formed: one to let the Pennsylvania food industry know of the efforts (chaired by Skip Rosskam), one to work with the State Government (chaired by Chuck Duncan), and one to maintain contact with Penn State (chaired by Bill Dietrich).

A very recent Penn State project of great interest to food scientists involves preliminary work related to creation of a Food Industry Institute at Penn State. Although the name of this institute has not been settled, the College Strategic Plan calls for establishment and development of a university-wide institute to serve the food industry by drawing on the expertise of faculty members from several colleges at Penn State. This institute will probably begin with a developmental phase, in which it will be critical for Penn State faculty and staff members to work collaboratively with the food industry to ensure that the programs of an institute respond to the needs of the industry. The FIG board of directors has already had a chance to provide some early input. Once established, this institute would include the Center for Food Manufacturing in either its present form or as part of a new Engineering Research Center by the same name (currently in the submitted preproposal phase). Although an institute would be administered outside the Food Science Department, strong food science expertise will be central to its success, and the main beneficiary of this success will be the food industry in Pennsylvania, the region, the U.S., and the world. If we are successful in developing an institute, it will also lead to enhanced visibility for this important industry.

So, there are some important things going on in Food Science. On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students in the department, I want you to know that we appreciate your interest and support. I continue to be impressed by the strongly positive feelings I sense from our friends and alumni.

D. Thompson

Food Industry Group President's Message

Larry Campbell Honored as "Outstanding Alumnus"

Larry Campbell was honored as an "Outstanding Alumnus" in the College of Agricultural Sciences this spring. He received a B.S. in Dairy Science in 1963 and an M.S. in Dairy Chemistry in 1967. Larry is a staff scientist with Hershey Foods Corporation. His research expertise includes frozen desserts, fluid and concentrated milks, milk chocolate, syrups, and toppings. In addition to his work with FIG, Larry has been an active member of CAAS (College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society) and has worked tirelessly to support departmental programs. Please congratulate Larry when you see him!

1996-1997 FIG Leadership

As of the September 1996 board meeting, the FIG officers are

	President		Dennis Zak (M&M/Mars)

	Vice President	   	Dan Azzara (Hershey Foods Corp.)

	Secretary		Philip G. Keeney, Jr. (Hershey Creamery Co.)

	Treasurer		Michelle Crawford (Private Brands)

Board members are:
L. Campbell (Hershey Foods Corp.)
R. Harkins
H. Howe (Mott's)
D. Lehrian (Hershey Foods Corp.)
J. Newcomer (McCormick & Co., Inc.)
T. Petka (Mitsubishi Int'l Corp.)
D. Snyder (Hoffmann-LaRoche)
M. Stauffer (Blommer Chocolate Co.)
D. Staz (Brookwood Farms)
B. Thomas (FMC)
L. Williams (PA Dept. of Ag)


Penn State University Liasons:

P. Heuser (director ag industry relations)
M. Kroger* (professor)
D. Thompson (associate professor and Head)
L. Taylor (M.S. candidate and 1996 FD SC Club President)
R. Carandang (M.S. candidate and 1997 FD SC Club President)
* Faculty member appointed by department head

T. Dimick

Michelle Eck Travel Fund

It is with deep sadness that we inform you that Michelle Lynn Eck died on November 8, 1996 as a result of an automobile accident. Michelle received her Master's degree in Food Science in 1996 and had recently been employed at Hansmann's Mills in Binghamton, N.Y. Michelle's family and our Department would like very much to honor her memory. A special departmental fund has been established into which donations can be made in Michelle's name. These funds will be used to sponsor new graduate students who will be contributing presentations at their first professional meeting. If you would like to make a contribution to this fund, please send a check payable to "The Pennsylvania State University" and include a note stating that your donation is being made to the Michelle Eck Memorial Travel Fund. Please send your donation to

DR. DONALD B. THOMPSON, HEAD
FOOD SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
111 BORLAND LAB
PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA 16802

Food Science Club Activities

The Food Science Club is finishing an ambitious but exciting semester. The new officers who just took over in January, shifted the focus of activities towards industrial relations. Speakers from the industry came and spoke about their companies and their philosophies - Rich Schwend and Jim Ambrose (Kellogg's), Mike Levengood (Perdue Farms), Dennis Zak (M&M Mars), Blane Armor (Campbell Soup) and Sharon McEvoy (National Foods Lab). The Food Science Banquet was held on February 19 with Dr. John Milner of the Penn State Nutrition Department as guest speaker. The banquet honored the college bowl team and the scholarship recipients for the school year. The club will end the semester by participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program and having a farewell party.

Planned activities for the fall semester include plant tours of Frito-Lay, Snyder, Pepperidge Farm and Kellogg's. Invited speakers are Dr. Carol Karahadian of Firmenich (Sept 22), Joel Sidel of Tragon (Oct 20) and Garry Kohl of Nestle's (Sept 15). Club members are planning a hayride/bonfire and will participate in the Adopt-A-Highway program in October; a few other social activities are also being considered.

R. Carandang

Call for Equipment

If your company is updating its research instrumentation or pilot equipment, keep us in mind! We may be interested in using your old equipment. If you think you may have a useful contribution, please call Bob Lumley-Sapanski (814-863-2965).

Some News from Alumni and Friends

First the sad news. Five death announcements were received.

Dr. George W. Reinbold (B.S. '42) died in January 1996, age 76. He had been a long-time dairy science professor at Iowa State and later served Leprino Foods Co. in Denver as Vice President of R&D. He had received numerous awards and was known as one of the foremost and most respected cheese researchers in the country, if not the world.

In April of 1996, Herbert C. Gilmore (B.S. '41) passed away at age 74. He was a long-time resident of Borland Lab prior to his retirement in 1980. He was in dairy extension (since 1946) and in charge of the PA Dairy Herd Improvement Association, and particularly its testing program. With the help of Manfred Kroger he centralized and automated the milk fat and protein testing activities leading to the establishment of Penn State's DHIA Testing Center.

In June 1996, word was received that Austin Gavin (M.S. '76) had died. He had been with the National Food Processors Association and only recently had joined the Food and Drug Administration.

On June 24, 1996, Dr. John M. Buckalew (B.S. '49) passed away. He had been an associate professor of dairy science (production) in Borland Lab for 10 years prior to his retirement in 1979.

Michelle Eck, who recently received her M.S. degree in Food Science just a year ago with Dr. Karen Miller, died on November 8, 1996, as a result of an automobile accident in Maryland. She was 26. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1109 Union Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18103. (Another 26-year-old female with connections to Borland Lab died that week: the daughter of Dr. Larry Muller, professor of Dairy Science.)

Following is a topsy-turvy mixture of messages, hearsay, announcements and calls from people you might have known or still know very well.

The former Valerie Garber (B.S. '89), now married and with the last name Barlage, wrote and called. She is project leader of R&D with Gilardi Foods in Sidney, OH. She has now completed one year of an M.B.A. degree and is currently interested in the bakery area. She has worked with yogurt for the Dannon Co. for the past 8 years.

Judy Zerby (B.S. '91) remains a supervisor at the Safeway plant in Tempe, AZ, but yearns to return east.

Mark Swartz (B.S. '91) and wife Marge have a son born in October, 1995. He is director of Quality Assurance at ASK Foods in Palmyra, PA.

The former Louise Moir (B.S. '85) is now married to Jeffrey Newswanger. They have one child and live in New Holland. Louise works part-time at Fleur de Lait, a company with strong ties to the Food Science Department.

Bruce Poulterer (M.S. '68) and wife Janet sent their usual Christmas letter, as they have done for decades sharing with all their friends the trials and, mainly, joys of life as parents and now grandparents. Theirs is indeed the deepest and warmest and most thorough annual news message of all. Keep up the good work, Bruce and Janet!

Daniel Dimick (B.S. '82) is now a manager at Blommer Specialty Cocoas, a Division of B.T. Corporation, in East Greenville. He is seen every once in a while in Borland Lab when here on business or visiting his parents.

Frederic Faulkner (B.S. '90) and Juliann Struna (B.S. '90) were married in 1993 (honeymoon cruise to Alaska in August). Since then, Juli has been working at J. Reisman and Sons Inc., in Pennsauken, N.J., where she is director of QC/R&D, but is currently on maternity leave (first child). Juli also now holds a New Jersey waste treatment operator's license (Good thinking, Juli and =46red, just the thing you need before the first baby arrives!). Fred is with Dietz and Watson, Inc., in Philadelphia where he is QA facilitator and regulatory specialist (And he never took Kroger's Food Laws and Regulations course, praised by such people as Glenn P. Witte and Doug Timbie who have carved out a career in regulatory affairs.) Important Note: Fred and Juli may be our seventh or eighth food science grad married couple (we don't keep track of the unmarried ones, too touchy!), but according to Ed Glass and Fred Kroger they will not be called a "pure" homogenizer couple, nor the child a homogenizer baby, because although they did take the Dairy Tech course, Juli and Fred's, eyes first met, by their own admission, during Ed's Ag Ec field trip to the Hatfield slaughter plant. The terms "homo couple" and "homo baby" obviously don't apply. Any suggestions? By the way, Juli had worked with Andy Roper (B.S. '90) at Reisman, but Andy left to go to Nutri-System in Horsham. And Juli and Fred occasionally bump into classmate Sue McCormick (B.S. '90) who had been with Morton Salt since graduation. (Another trivia item, Andy Roper is the first food science graduate to have taken seven courses with Manfred Kroger, a record truly memorable for both parties!)

One alumnus who now writes regularly (and long letters), since his 50's alumni reunion several years ago, is Peter Wersto (B.S. '39), now retired in Chicago. He shares remembrances of his student days and his professional life with the dairy industry. His letters also speak of the ill health he is experiencing. Pete, hang in there and tell us more of those (confidential) stories, such as how to cheat on examinations. Professors need to know that too.

Word comes from Debra (Daum) Thunberg (B.S. '87) that she is now with Campbell Soup Company as a senior research associate for frozen food product development. Andza Wegrzynowicz (B.S. '95) was hired into her team in May and they are working on a home delivery item designed to reduce high blood cholesterol, and another one to control blood sugar in diabetics type 2. Test-marketing will start in January in Ohio.

Timothy McElhinny (B.S. '88) is now a lab technician with the Kellogg Company in Lancaster; he lives in York and is married to Colleen Glennon, a P.S.U. (B.A. '89) English graduate; they have two children.

Cindy Kessel Hollingsworth (B.S. '87) recently left Kraft Foods In Garland, TX, after 5 years and joined Kraft as the quality compliance supervisor; she then relocated back to the Atlanta area with her husband around the time son Carson James was born late in 1995.

Bill Miller (B.S. '69) is CVC Products' Southwestern region sales manager. They make leading-edge semi-conductor material processing equipment that sells to computer chip makers such as Texas Instruments, Motorola, Sharp, Hewlett Packard, etc. In October 1995, he relocated to Austin, TX.

Bill Collins (B.S. early 40's), now retired from VPI & SU ('84) sends his regards and best wishes, as always. He had a rough year, since a March 1995 golf injury (mainly knee) had not healed properly. Bill fondly recalls making Trappist cheese with old cheesemaker Otto Poschadel and Dr. Chet Dahlein 1940. Paul Hunter was cottage cheesemaker helped too. Bill remembers these years as tough ones, but now swears they were the best of his life.

Jim Polansky (B.S. '88) has been with Eatem Foods Company in Vineland, NY, for quite some time now an has risen to vice president, Industrial Business, also overseeing national sales managers and brokers. He and wife Gwyn had a daughter (Anastasia Nerrina) in February '96, three years after son Nicholas. Jim's company exhibits at the IFT meeting and he can be found at the booth.

Kathryn (Reynolds) Carnarius (B.S. '84) sends greetings from Southern California where her husband accepted a position in October 1995. She said they enjoyed the winter there, quite a change from Pennsylvania, and wants to keep Food Science communications coming.

Kirk Bradley (B.S. '82) is market development manager with Quest International in Illinois. He handles food service sales and market issues to develop flavors and food ingredients. He reminds us that 50% of the U.S. food dollar is now spent in food service establishments, the other 50% in supermarkets. He says he "finally" got married, and "in style," in Las Vegas (by the King of Rock 'n Roll, Elvis).

Gary Langer (B.S. '89) was recently named packaging engineer at Kraft where he works as a research scientist (Desserts and Snacks Division) at the Tech Center in Tarrytown, New York.

Art DeFeo (M.S. '82) lives in North Carolina with wife Mel (who used to be a secretary in Borland Lab). Their girl is 9 now, and Mel's other daughter completed high school this year. Art has been R&D manager for Goodmark Foods, Inc., since 1986, developing new products and processes from concept to commercialization. Goodmark is a leading meat snack manufacturer, known for its Slim Jims. Art likes big game fishing and spends some time at the beach in North Carolina.

Ron Deis (Ph.D. '79) has left Consolidated Biscuit in Ohio, and is now R&D research program manager (Flavor and Ingredient Group) at Campbell Soup Company, Camden, New York. The Deises live in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Michael Hallman (M.S. '88) is a sales representative with the Nutrasweet Kelco company, a unit of Monsanto Company.

Bob Brunner (Ph.D. '40)is alumnus from "way back" who retired as food science professor from Michigan State over a decade ago. In his honor, Michigan State is holding its 11th Annual J.R. Brunner Protein Symposium on May 19-20, 1997 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing, Michigan.

Cydney A. Whitmoyer (B.S. '89) formerly Flaharty and Everline, is a food scientist in the Beverage Product Development for Flavor Applications department of McCormick & Company, Inc. She married Jeffrey G. Witmoyer October 4, 1996, and has a new address and phone number - 1746 Parkside Drive South, Wyomissing, PA 19610, 610-372-7866. One problem with her new address,she says, is that she "can't keep doing the 90 mile commute (one way) to work." She is looking for a "local job."

Julie M. Caiola (B.S. '90) formerly Abel, married Tony Caiola in September of 1995. No children as of yet! Currently she is working as a food chemist in Applied Research at Firmenich, Inc., a flavor and fragrance company located in Plainsboro, NJ. She is working with Dr. Brian Guthrie, another Penn Stater (M.S. in Food Science in '83).

Soumya Roy (Ph.D. '94) is with General Mills, Inc. as a research food scientist for Snacks Unlimited in Minneapolis, MN.

The Penn State Breakfast at the 1996 IFT meeting was another success with 65 in attendance. The following people in no particular order braved this "early" activity at 7:00 a.m:

Greg Ziegler (B.S. '80), Robert Roberts, Hortense Dodo (Ph.D. '92), Jodi Blanch ('90), Dan Azzara (Ph.D. '86), Stan Tarka (Ph.D. '80), Catherine Adams (B.S. '79), David D'Zurilla (B.S. '82), Michael Cigich (B.S. '96), Joshua Opiacha (Ph.D. '89), Michelle Y. Troutman (B.S. '96), Cathy K. Kobayashi (B.S. '96), Roy R. Scott (B.S. Ch.E. '74), Eddie Wu (Ph.D. '95), Janine Graziano (B.S. '96), Manfred Kroger (M.S. '63, Ph.D. '66), William E. Riddle (B.S. '63, Ph.D. '69), Arthur J. Miller, (M.S. '77), Joe MacNeil, Larry Campbell (B.S. '63, M.S. '67), Bob Harkins, Claudene Harkins, Barbara Flango, Bill Flango, Mike Bayusik , Bob Rinda, Kesh Talapatra (Ph.D. '74), Fred Caporaso (Ph.D. '75), Lance Taylor (B.S. '95), Kelly Karr (M.S. '92), Christi Keener (B.S. '94), Johnny Casasnovas (M.S. '94), April Pontius, Aimee Eopechino (B.S. '94), Lam Hood (Ph.D. '68), Vikram Ghosh, Bill Bennet (B.S. '68), Ramaswamy Anantheswaran, Dave Cin (M.S. '80), Sharon Cin (M.S. '81), Charles Edwards (Ph.D. '89), Ruth Hollender (M.S. '83), Jeanne Hoskin (Ph.D. '80), Bob Beelman, Joe Speroni (Ph.D. '82), Stephanie Doores, Robert Britt (B.S. '91), Kristi Britt, Suresh Jambunathan, Pete Cheplick (B.S. '95), Jean Anderson (Ph.D. '96), Steve Hess (M.S. '94), Stacy Kimmel (M.S. '93), Sheri Young (B.S. '95), Jeff Klucinec (B.S. '95), Dorris Arruda (M.S. '89), Denise (Blysick) McKenna, Mark Witowski (M.S. '82), Dave Jordan (B.S. '80), Frank Furman (B.S. '85), Carolyn Thomas, Paul S. Dimick (Ph.D '64), Judi Burns, Craig J. Burns (B.S. '93), and Eric James.

This may be of interest to some: Since 1961, when Paul Dimick and Manfred Kroger arrived on the scene in Borland Lab, they have "worked" under the leadership of the following Ag College deans: Lyman Jackson, Russ Larson, Dave McClay, Jim Beattie, Sam Smith, Wayne Heinish, Lam Hood, Jim Starling(interim) and Ted Alter (interim), with one more to come in 1997. And to complete the record, here are the department heads since 1961: Don Josephson, Phil Keeney (interim), Dave Lineback, Phil Keeney, Bob McCarthy (interim), Lowell Satterlee, Gerry Kuhn (interim), and Don Thompson. If there is a moral to that, it must be this agricultural metaphor: good crops come and go and are rotated, but the weeds stay and stay and stay.

M. Kroger

This newsletter is a service of:
The Food Industry Group and
The Department of Food Science
The Pennsylvania State University
111 Borland Laboratory
University Park, PA 16802
(814)865-5444


Thomas S. Dimick, Editor
Manfred Kroger, Associate Editor

This publication is available in alternative media on request
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