The American Association of Cereal Chemists International has awarded the 2013 AACCI Young Scientist Award to Senay Simsek, assistant professor in hard red spring wheat end quality at NDSU. The award is annually presented to an individual for outstanding contributions in basic and applied research to cereal science with the expectation that contributions will continue. As the recipient, Simsek will present a lecture on “Cereal Metabolomics: Challenges and Opportunities” at the association’s annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., in September.

Simsek’s research focuses on the effects of the chemical composition of grains, mainly wheat, on end-product quality. She has conducted research and supervised activities in structure function relationship among bio-macromolecules, particularly starch and non-starch polysaccharides, found in food systems. She joined the NDSU Department of Plant Sciences in 2007 after earning her doctorate in food science at Purdue University in 2006.

The American Association for Cereal Chemists International provides opportunities for cereal grain scientists through continuing education and networking.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.