Summer 2024 opened up new experiences and exciting opportunities for Yi and Nigel as they embarked on their first internship abroad with CJ CheilJedang in South Korea. Both Yi and Nigel were R&D interns but worked on completely different projects. Yi came up with two new prototypes of global soy sauces in line with CJ's sustainability targets and her team's expansion of product line offerings. Yi thoroughly studied the soy sauce market, valorized a key byproduct in soy sauce manufacturing, optimized formulations, and conducted analytical tests and sensory studies. Nigel was placed in an ingredient research-focused team, exploring the textural modification of plant-based high-moisture meat analogs (HMMAs) using ingredients made from precision fermentation. He worked on the extrusion of soy and pea HMMAs and produced data that supported a cost-reduction potential in the manufacture of HMMAs. Their summer in Korea was more than just the internship, though, as Yi and Nigel explored the rich and diverse cuisine of Korea, experienced life in the historical city of Suwon, went on thrilling adventures in the bustling, fast-paced metropolis of Seoul, and enjoyed the cultural exchanges with locals.

Brittany is making us proud with her achievements in 2024! She presented a research poster at IFT 2024 titled: Structure-Function Guided Protein Production of Oat Protein Isolate in Comparison to Chickpea and Pea Protein Isolates. She was also the IFT Student Association Smart Snacks for Kid product development chair for 2023-2024. Due to her passionate involvement in the field of food science, Brittany was awarded the 2024-2025 IFT Feeding Tomorrow Fellowship and the 2024-2025 Theodore Labuza Food Material Science Research Assistantship Fellowship. Brittany also received an MN IFT Travel Award earlier this year. Keep making moves, Brittany!

Join us in congratulating Jeanne on completing her first internship and attending her first conference in Summer of 2024. Jeanne was an R&D intern at SunOpta and spent most of her time designing experiments to troubleshoot the challenges in oat base stability. Jeanne also presented at IFT the findings of one of her research objectives - 'Evaluating Protein from Winter Peas in Comparison to Spring Peas'. This work was the first to evaluate winter pea protein compared to spring pea protein. We can not be more proud of Jeanne's well-deserved achievements!

We would like to take a moment to welcome the newest member of the lab, Protein Prince in Charge (yes, his name's abbreviation is "PPIC")! He is a beacon of light among the mid-semester blues. A brief survey has found that his mere presence has boosted lab morale by 200%. However, lab productivity might be declining due to tank responsibilities and parental duties.

A special thanks goes out to Kavan, Shree, and Taylor who made this great accomplishment happen and to our lovely lab mom, Pam, who approved Protein Prince's adoption into our lab home.

Our lab is very proud of Holly for gracefully passing her M.S. thesis defense on the relative ratio of pea globulins! Holly has been a lab member since her undergraduate years. She was also a PPIC researcher before officially being a graduate student. Holly has been instrumental in general lab functions and held various roles in taking care of scientific instruments. Truly a team player and a force to be reckoned with! The lab will never feel as warm and inviting without her presence. Who will ever succeed her good taste in seltzers for lab potlucks? We will miss her dearly but look forward to the exciting opportunities Cargill has in store for her!

One of our PhD researchers, Brittany Kralik, spent the summer of 2023 as a Process Engineering intern at the German Institute of Food Technology (DIL) in Quakenbrück, Germany. Interning at DIL, which is a hub for food innovation, allowed Brittany to gain hands on experience with using high-moisture extrusion (HME) to produce meat analogues. Brittany gained experience working with different raw materials and processing parameters to produce desired products for various European consumers. While at DIL, Brittany was also able to assist on a Buhler and Givaudan innovation project, assist many small European start-ups in producing their dream products, and she was even able to order and eat one of her clients' finished products at a restaurant in Poland! Now equipped with in-depth experience with HME, Brittany is ready to apply those skills to own dissertation in which she will blend several plant proteins together to product a HME meat alternative. Brittany gained priceless knowledge both in- and outside of DIL during her summer abroad last summer and is excited to see where this experience takes her in the future (hopefully back to Europe!).