UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture recently announced an investment of $11.6 million in its Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates program. Among the recipients, Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences was awarded a $750,000 grant to support 50 undergraduate students in exploring career opportunities in food science and nutritional sciences.

Helene Hopfer, associate professor of food science, will lead a program to engage participants from several institutions through research, professional skills development and networking to consider future careers at the human-food interface. The program will specifically seek to recruit students from chemistry, biology, engineering, psychology and other related disciplines.

“We know from our own experiences that students entering college often do not know about food science or nutritional sciences, although they might be interested in the science of food and the science behind eating,” Hopfer said.

The human-food interface encompasses many jobs along the continuum of food science and nutritional sciences, including careers in sensory and consumer science, ingestive behavior, food analysis and food quality. Specific examples include food product development, quality assurance and quality control, public health education, nutrition extension and food marketing.

“Through this program, we hope more students learn about the many available career options,” Hopfer said. “We also aim to provide critical interdisciplinary training with the goal of more students discovering research careers. Our recruiting also will focus on underrepresented minorities to broaden educational access.”

According to Hopfer, though there are many careers at the human-food interface, many require a transdisciplinary approach. Students in undergraduate-centric and non-land-grant institutions often lack opportunities to conduct research. The demand for graduates with interdisciplinary skills currently exceeds supply.

“Over the next five years, we’re excited to introduce 50 undergraduate students to the exciting research on food and humans conducted in Penn State’s food science and nutritional sciences departments,” she said. “The research will be impactful, highlight interactions between humans and food, and engage students across many disciplines.”

The Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates program is aimed at giving undergraduates exceptional skills and practical capabilities for entering the workforce after graduation. According to its website, the initiative enables colleges to “provide opportunities for undergraduate students, including those from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged groups, minority-serving institutions, community colleges and universities.”

The eight-week summer program at Penn State will facilitate experiential research, career exploration and professional development for students. Each student will be mentored by a graduate student and a faculty mentor. Individual projects will focus on human nutrition and food science, specifically sensory and consumer science, food analysis, food metabolomics, food toxicology and biochemistry, and human ingestive behavior.

The program will include pre-arrival training paired with a research boot camp, independent student-led research, weekly seminars and professional development workshops, company visits and a final research exposition. The program will develop students’ research and professional skills and encourage career exploration.

Evaluation and assessment will measure students’ gains in research skills and provide feedback on the program to allow for continuous improvement of programming. Students will have opportunities to co-author publications and research presentations.

Hopfer explained that this program is “truly a team effort and would not be possible without the other faculty and graduate student mentors.”

Research mentors include Professor Kathleen Keller and Assistant Professor Travis Masterson, faculty from the College of Health and Human Development’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, as well as faulty from the Department of Food Science: John Hayes, professor of food science; Misha Kwasniewski, associate research professor of food science; Joshua Lambert, professor of food science; and Yi Zhang, Frederik Sr. and Faith E. Rasmussen Career Development Professor in Food Science. Kevin Curry, associate professor of agricultural and extension education from the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, will be the program evaluator.

Hopfer acknowledged the support of partner faculty at other undergraduate-centric institutions, including Middle Tennessee State University; Alcorn University; Georgia State University; California State University, Bakersfield; Montclair University; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and at the Penn State Commonwealth Campuses.

“We are working with our contacts at these institutions to identify potential students for our program and will also bring one of these faculty to Penn State each summer to strengthen our relationships with these schools,” Hopfer said.

This program also is supported by other units, such as Penn State Libraries (Teaching and Learning), Penn State Career Services, Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center, and the College of Agricultural Sciences Office of Access and Equity.