The Department of Food Science and Nutrition hosts a number of virtual events through its Seminar Series and its Virtual Food Industry Friday series.
The FDSN Seminar Series features guest lectures by invited speakers that broaden understanding and knowledge of various scientific topics and original research in food science and nutrition. Speakers include experts from academia, federal government agencies, and the food industry. These seminars are held every Thursday at 12:45 p.m. Central Time.
Our Virtual Food Industry Friday events showcase food industry professionals, board members, and alumni who are available to meet with students, providing career path insights to the broad and important field of food, science, and technology. Speakers represent a wide range of experience and roles in the food industry such as quality, product development, packaging, regulations, research and development, and more, providing a broad perspective on the food industry. Virtual Food Industry Friday events are held every third Friday of the month during the spring and fall semester from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. CST. The open seminar forum lasts approximately 45 minutes with a 10-15 minute Q&A session included.
Spring 2025 Seminars
| Date | Title | Speaker | Google Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 16 | Food Science/an R&D Overview | Duey Fimreite | In-person Robert Pritzker Science Center Room 111 |
| Jan 23 | Breaking Bugs: Microbial Metabolites Mediate the Vascular Benefits of Blueberries | Anandh Babu Pon Velayutham | |
| Jan 30 | Fermented Foods and Kombucha Brewing Workshop | Sarah Ku | ID: 3123989873 |
| Feb 13 | Intellectual Property and Regulatory Review: Legal Analysis of What Goes On or In the Bag, Box or Bottle | Sean Swidler | In-person Robert Pritzker Science Center Room 111 |
| Feb 20 | Navigating Food Safety in the Age of Convenience | Lacey Guillen | ID: 3123989873 |
| April 3 | IBRL and iFAB: Growing Biomanufacturing in Illinois | Beth Conerty | ID: 3123989873 |
| April 17 | Can Mushrooms Impact Our Global Health Crisis? | John James Staniszewski | In-person Robert Pritzker Science Center Room 111 |
| April 24 | The Use of Natural and Artificial Ingredients in Safe Manufacture of Consumer Product | Arthur C. Curran | In-person Robert Pritzker Science Center Room 111 |
Fall 2024 Seminars
| Date | Title | Speaker | Google Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 12 | Antimicrobial efficacy of GS-2 on reusable food packaging materials for fresh produce | Catherine Wong | |
| Sept 19 | Health benefits of time restricted eating | Krista Varady | |
| Sept 26 | Product Development Insights—Overview on Ice Cream Processing and Custom Ingredient Application to Elevate Consumer Experience | Kaavya Rathnakumar | |
| Oct 3 | Distinct metabolic strategies modulate bioactive metabolite production by the gut microbiome | Sam Light | |
| Oct 10 | Bacteriophage-based Biocontrol of Salmonella in Poultry | Siyun Wang | |
| Oct 17 | Cronobacter and the Detection Methods | Yi Chen | |
| Oct 24 | Perspectives on Sensory Science: from coursework to implementation | Cynthia Rohrer | |
| Oct 31 | Survival or/and growth of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella in the reconstitution of PIF and storage of PIF | Gurjot Kaur | ID: 3123989873 |
| Nov 11 | PENDING | Xiyang Liu | ID: 3123989873 |
| Nov 14 | PENDING | PENDING | ID: 3123989873 |
| Nov 21 | Influence of Harvesting Season on the Chemical Properties of Maple Sap in the Upper Peninsula Region | Azhar Mesfer S Alghamdi | ID: 3123989873 |
Spring 2024 Seminars
Fall 2023 Seminars
| Date | Title | Speaker | Google Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 21 | Overview of B2B Industry and Role of Technical Service Scientists in Growing the B2B Business | Neeraj Kamath | |
| Sept 28 | Innovations and Opportunities in Grain Science to Address Public Health Challenges | Ram Ramakrishna, PhD | |
| Oct 5 | Introduction to Brewing – Beer Fermentation Process | Devanshu Mehta | ID: 3123989873 |
| Oct 12 | Analyzing Transferred Nanomaterials in Foods and Beverages Under Simulated Storage Conditions | Laxmi Adhikari | ID: 3123989873 |
| Oct 19 | Legal Issues for Food and Beverage Start-Ups | Sean Swidler | |
| Oct 26 | The Technical Path to Sales in the Food Industry | James Skidmore | |
| Nov 9 | Approach to Solution and Ingredient Development in Diverse Food Applications | Ragya Kapoor and Ravi Kiran Tadapaneni | |
| Nov 16 | The Safety of Flavor Ingredients, Using Sound Science to Confront Chemophobia | Arthur Curran | |
| Nov 30 | Aronia Berry Bioactives: From Field to Function | Bradley W. Bolling, PhD |
Spring 2023 Seminars
Fall 2022 Seminars
| Date | Title | Speaker | Google Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 15 | Controlling Enteric Pathogens on Wheat Grain | Teresa Bergholz | |
| Sept 22 | An Introduction to Kosher and Halal Food Laws | Joe Mac Regenstein
| |
| Sept 29 | Optimizing Protein in a Carbohydrate World | Donald Layman | |
| Oct 6 | Managing Food Safety Along the Supply Chain | Sandhya Krishnankutty | |
| Oct 13 | How Can Ultrasound Make Food Sound? | Hao Feng | |
| Oct 20 | Food Safety Needs in the Egg Industry | Urvi Shah | |
| Oct 27 | Anti-inflammatory Interactions of Gallotannins with the Intestinal Microbiome | Susanne U. Talcott | |
| Nov 3 | Legal Issues for Food and Beverage Startups | Sean Swidler | Watch the Video |
| Nov 10 | Use of Next-Generation Sequencing Methods for Surveillance and to Study Bacterial Adaptation | SĂ©amus Fanning | |
| Nov 17 | Nutrition in the News: Science Fact or Science Fiction | Melissa Joy Dobbins | |
| Dec 1 | Craft Distilling–Combining History and Science |
Spring 2022 Seminars
| Date | Title | Speaker | Google Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 20 | Nutrition and Immune Resilience: A Clinical Perspective | Chelsea Preiss Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist and Clinical Research Associate Center for Nutrition Research at Illinois Institute of Technology | |
| Jan 27 | Interlaboratory Comparison of SARS-CoV2 Molecular Detection Assays in Use by U.S. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories | Kaiping Deng Biologist, Staff Fellow FDA/CFSAN/OFS/DFPST | |
| Feb 3 | Disruption by the Pandemic: Future Proofing the Food Industry | Kantha Shelke Principal, Corvus Blue | Sr. Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University | |
| Feb 10 | OPEN | ||
| Feb 17 | The Continued Search for Suitable Surrogates for Clostridium Botulinum | Kristin Schill Associate Scientist @ University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Food Research Institute (FRI) | |
| Feb 24 | Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Blackberry Phenolic and Volatile Extracts | Dr. Luke R. Howard Department of Food Science at the University of Arkansas since 1997 (Associate Research Professor 1997-2002, Professor 2002-present | |
| Feb 25 | Building Career Capital in the Food Industry: How to Stand Out from the Rest | Kantha Shelke, principal at Corvus Blue Matthew Botos, CEO of ConnectFood | |
| Mar 3 | Leading with Heart – A Career from Illinois Institute of Technology to Impossible Foods | Ravi Tadapaneni Product Development & Commercialization Impossible Foods | |
| Mar 10 | The USDA Pesticide Monitoring Program for Foods Consumed in the United States | Shanker Reddy Ph.D. USDA, AMS, S&T, MPD, PDP | |
| Mar 23 | Building Career Capital in the Food Industry: The Three L's: Listen, Learn, Leverage | Kantha Shelke, principal at Corvus Blue Matthew Botos, CEO of ConnectFood | |
| Mar 24 | Food Quality Statistically | Dr. Bhaskar A. Janve, QA manager at the Honest Kitchen | |
| Mar 25 | Research & Development and Food Safety at Hormel Foods | Kevin Myers, Senior Vice President of R&D, Hormel Foods | |
| Mar 31 | Cocoa Flavanols - The Journey from Flavor Inhibitor to Potent Nutraceutical and Beyond | John Hammerstone
| |
| Apr 7 | Emerging Pathogens and Pathogens of Emerging Concern | Purnendu C. Vasavada, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin- River Falls | |
| Apr 14 | Sadie Shake: An Entrepreneurs Journey to Bring Ground-breaking Nutrition to Children in Schools | Margaret Hyde Sadie Shake | |
| Apr 21 | Innovation Process | Dr. Valeria Acquarone Tate & Lyle | |
| Apr 28 | Experimental, modeling, and genomics-approaches to studying and characterizing risks associated with foodborne pathogens | Ruixi Chen PhD Candidate, Wiedmann Lab - Cornell University | |
| Apr 29 | Overview of B2B industry and role of Technical Service Scientist in growing the B2B business | Neeraj Kamath, Sr. Technical Service Scientist Dairy Category and Certified Food Scientist, Tate & Lyle |
Fall 2021 Seminars