AOCS Honored Student Award received by NFS student

Press Release

 For Immediate Release

6 May, 2009   Logan, Utah

 Utah State University Ph.D. candidate Megan Tippets received a prestigious “AOCS Honored student Award” yesterday (May 5, 2009) at the 100th Annual American Oil Chemist’s Society meeting held in Orlando, Florida. Tippets is originally from Utah but has been studying at Utah State University since 2006.

 Megan Tippets (M.Sc.) is currently studying the effect of food emulsions on product formulation and quality, in the Nutrition and Food Science department under Professor Silvana Martini.

 Tippet’s research project will contribute scientific knowledge that can be used by food companies to make healthier products.  Her research explores how stability and quality of food emulsions can be improved and will be useful for products such as salad dressings and mayonnaise. In addition Tippet’s research project explores addition of Vitamin D into food products. 

 Tippets supervisor Dr. Silvana Martini is an internationally respected researcher and leads one of the nation’s leading research programs specializing in the physicochemical properties of edible fats and oil. Martini herself was awarded the “AOCS Honored student award” in 2003 while studying at the University of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 ”We should be very proud of Megan’s accomplishment,” says Martini. This is a clear indication of the strength of the Nutrition and Food Science Department, its people, its leadership and the commitment of the Utah State government ot science and innovation.

 Our department is at the forefront of innovation. We are working hard in collaboration with other universities in Utah and with the Center for Advanced Nutrition in Logan to improve people’s lives and proactively address the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease that is plaguing the United States and the rest of the world. These diseases are not only tragic for families but also a tremendous burden to healthcare systems.  As taxpayers, our small investment nutrition and food science research will not only improve our lifestyle but it will also save us billions of tax dollars we can re-invest in nutrition for our families”

  The American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) is one the oldest science associations in the United States.

AOCS is a global professional scientific society for all individuals and corporations with interest in the fats, oils, surfactants, detergents and related materials fields.

 AOCS has affiliate chapters around the world and this year’s meeting attracted over 5000 scientists and industry professionals from around the world.

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