NDSU cereal science doctoral student Serap Vatansever was selected by the Minnesota Section of the Institute of Food Technologists to receive the prestigious Elwood F. Caldwell Scholarship Award for Volunteer Service. She also received a travel scholarship for the section’s annual meeting.

The organization annually awards scholarships to food science students who excel in volunteer service, leadership, academic achievement and professional development. The Elwood F. Caldwell Scholarship is given to recognize, encourage and reward volunteer service by students. The scholarship honors the late University of Minnesota food science and nutrition professor emeritus Elwood F. Caldwell for his years of service to the section.

An awards dinner that was planned in April will be rescheduled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Vatansever is originally from Turkey, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the Department of Food Engineering at Pamukkale University. She completed a graduate level certificate in statistics at NDSU and successfully defended her cereal science doctoral dissertation, ”Improvement of Organoleptic Attributes of Yellow Pea Flour through An Emerging Green Technology: Supercritical Carbon Dioxide + Ethanol Extraction,” in April.

The organization is a regional section of the Institute of Food Technologists, covering Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, northern Iowa and northwestern Wisconsin. With more than 1,000 members, it is one of the largest sections of the national group.

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