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Food S.U.R.E

The Food Science Undergraduate Research Experience (Food S.U.R.E.) engages students in research throughout their undergraduate education. This program, which is a part of the Department of Food Science and Technology, was created to help students develop their future goals. “It’s been a nice way to have more of a formal education about those types of skills we don’t get in the classroom,” said Karli Van Simaeys, an undergraduate student participating in Food S.U.R.E.

According to Gregory T. Sigurdson, Food S.U.R.E. coordinator, the program focuses on not only research but also the skills obtained through research, which are much more than academic. Providing students with the ability to practice these skills can help students in their schooling and in the workforce. “Research is a way of problem-solving and a way of guiding interests,” said Yael Vodovotz, Ph.D., committee chair of Food S.U.R.E. and professor at Ohio State.

Why Food S.U.R.E.?

Food S.U.R.E. was started in October 2016 as a way to facilitate undergraduates as they get involved in research. The program is based on concepts that can help with research as a graduate student or in the career path a student chooses. Such as “how to write an abstract,” said Brittany Miles, Food S.U.R.E. coordinator, as well as how to communicate science disciplines and how to look for the materials you need.

“It’s a win-win — it helps get a real experience in the lab and with a faculty member, you get a credit and it gives you many opportunities,” said Vodovotz.

Undergraduates may find contacting their advisors intimidating. Food S.U.R.E. was created to bridge the gap in research in the Food Science and Technology department by recruiting undergraduates to participate in research throughout the whole department while connecting labs with undergraduates to expand research across the college. Three students have graduated from the program, six are currently on track to present and graduate from the program this year and an additional 12 undergraduate students are a part of the program in the beginning stages.

Participation is Easy

There are a few steps to participating in Food S.U.R.E. “Students can start the program requirements by taking FST 4999,” said Miles. FST 4999 will give the student research distinction, and the number of credits students receive depends on the hours they will complete research throughout the semester. Throughout the semester, the student cannot complete more than six units of FST 4999.

While taking FST 4999, a student can submit a proposal at any time on what research they are wanting to partake in. The research proposal is two pages long and outlines the project they want to do, and the steps needed to accomplish it. After students turn in proposals “they get a $500 scholarship as some thanks for doing research with us and $500 go to the lab they will be doing research in,” said Sigurdson. There are some stipulations to receiving the money. Food science students will receive $500 if they do research in Food Science; their laboratory advisor will receive $500 as well. If a Food Science student does research in a Non-Food Science laboratory, they may not receive $500. Non-Food Science students will not receive $500, but if they do research in Food Science the laboratory advisor will receive $500.

According to Miles, the next step to go through is the online modules that cover key topics relevant to research, such as what is research and how you can get involved. For the most part, they are pre-research topics to make sure everyone is at the same baseline as they begin.

Each month, required meetings are held to discuss topics that will help students on their journey through the program. The topics vary: The first meeting is an introduction to Food S.U.R.E. where Miles and Sigurdson give an overview of what the process will look like. This is also the time to start looking for an advisor to help throughout the research program. The second covers literature reviews and how to find and interpret an article, skills everyone can use whether they’re going into research, undergraduate programs, or graduate school.

In the December 2017 meeting, the department brought in three people who worked at Wendy’s, Abbott and Ohio State as an alumni panel who did undergraduate research. “It was beneficial for me and the other students to hear their perspective on what they are working on, what their backgrounds are, and how that aligned with what I wanted to do,” said Van Simaeys, “there are a lot of different ways to achieve that.” This gave students a connection to how the program helped benefit former participants and what they got out of the program to make connections to the outside world. Later in the program, they will have a meeting on how to make a poster, give oral presentations and hands-on skills that can help in future jobs and or research. Miles and Sigurdson pull in resources that they think are helpful. Thus, the students excel in classwork and research.

“Students can create their own schedule based on their project and course load,” said Sigurdson. The duration of the program is determined by the project and availability. Miles stressed the need for students to take care of themselves first and their course load first before research. “It is a flexible program, there is no timeline, so you can take as long as you want,” said Van Simaeys.

Projects from All Sides

The projects range from student to student. According to Miles, this is the first year Food S.U.R.E. hits all core competencies within the department, meaning there is someone doing research in engineering, sensory, chemistry and microbiology. Examples of projects include stability of natural colors, safety evaluations methods and techniques to detect potential toxins in peanuts, color image analysis in meat products and a dairy formulation project. Another research project which Van Simaeys participated in was a punctate sensitive comparison of texture sensitivity evaluating textures between fingertips and tongue. Students collect this data through the research they do in the lab through various tests, this research is then presented in the form of a poster.

“There are typically three poster competitions where Food S.U.R.E. goes to present posters, which is the final step to graduating the program,” according to Miles. The posters are based on the undergraduate research. “It’s a competition to win extra money at these poster presentations. In the first year, three Food S.U.R.E. participants won at all three conferences they went to,” said Miles.

Miles said the program is, “one of the few opportunities to get one-on-one interaction with research. It can be hard to set yourself apart if you’re just going to the workforce, and this is a good opportunity to gain knowledge and connections.”

As it ages and expands, the Food S.U.R.E. program is trying to branch out beyond the food science department to all of CFAES. Miles said, “Anyone can do it. It’s not for those going to graduate school,” Miles said. “Research is for the people who are curious.”

Sources

Brittany Miles

Graduate Research Associate

Food S.U.R.E. Coordinator

Miles.243@osu.edu

Interviewed on 1–25 at 1 p.m. in person

Gregory T. Sigurdson

Post-Doctoral Researcher

Food S.U.R.E. Coordinator

Sigurdson.5@osu.edu

Interviewed 1–26 at 1 p.m. in person

Yael Vodovotz, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Food Science and Technology

Committee Chair of Food S.U.R.E.

Vodovotz.1@osu.edu

Interviewed 2–1 at 1 p.m. in person

Karli Van Simaeys

Undergraduate Participant of Food S.U.R.E.

vansimaeys.1@osu.edu

(937)510–1990

Interviewed 2–16 at 2 p.m. by phone

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