Food Science integrates and applies knowledge within the disciplines of chemistry, engineering, biology, and nutrition to preserve, process, package, and distribute foods that are nutritious, wholesome, affordable, desirable, and safe to eat.
Research teams leverage complementary expertise, spanning from traditional and molecular microbiology to microbial ecology and epidemiology, to advance food safety and public health.
Researchers measure and evaluate the characteristics of foods and nonfood products that make them appealing to consumers, helping producers better understand and cater to their potential markets.
Foods contain many chemical components that directly or indirectly impact wellness, and are subject to extensive processing prior to ingestion. Departmental researchers work to understand the impact of food and to develop novel food-based solutions for enhanced health.
This group emphasizes understanding of structure-function relationships at the molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels, with the intent of developing prescriptive models that would assist in development of new food.
