STUDENT NIGHT AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
Navigating the Path Ahead: Academia vs. Industry
Thursday, February 22, 2024
SCHEDULE
4:00 – 6:00 pm Career Fair 4 – 6 pm
5:00 pm Poster Sessions
6:00 pm Scholarship & Poster Awards
6:15 pm Panel Presentation
7:15 pm Dinner Buffet
WHERE: Institute of Food Nutrition & Health (IFNH) Atrium, Rutgers University, 61 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ
QR Code for Parking
PARKING: You may only park in Lots 97 and 98B. Registration is required to avoid a citation. You can register any time up to the time you park. You will need your Vehicle information (State, Type & Plate). Register your vehicle using the following link: https://go.rutgers.edu/ataf3cgt
Panel Presentation
Moderator: Donald Schaffner, Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Tamanna Ramesh, M.S., M.B.A. – Spark Career Services
Beverly Tepper, Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Sarah Waxman, Ph.D. – Ingredion
Fee: $55 Members | $60 Non-members | $30 Students, Retired & Unemployed
Click Here to View the Dinner Menu | Transportation Policy for NYIFT Student Members
Student Night 2024 features dinner, poster exhibits, scholarship awards, career session and a panel discussion on “Navigating the Path Ahead: Academia vs. Industry”. The panelists are Ms. Tamanna Ramesh of Spark Career Services, Dr. Beverly Tepper, at Rutgers University and Dr. Sarah Waxman, a Rutgers alumni who now works at Ingredion. The session will be moderated by Dr. Donald Schaffner, a Distinguished Professor in Rutgers University’s Food Science Department and co-host for the Food Safety Talk and Risky or Not podcasts.
The Student Night event is designed to facilitate connections between food science students and industry professionals, offering networking opportunities and a platform for emerging researchers to showcase their work. This event celebrates the accomplishments of students from Rutgers and other universities in the New York Section of IFT.
Whether you are a student or postdoc wanting to learn more about the academia and industry path, improve your interviewing, presentation, or teaching skills, or an industry professional seeking to learn more about academia as a career, this session is sure to be an amazing discussion with some all-stars of academia and food industry.
Join us on February 22 for an evening of celebration and bridging connections with the next generation of food scientists!
About the Speakers:
Donald W. Schaffner, Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Extension Specialist in Food Science & Distinguished Professor
Dr. Donald W. Schaffner is an Extension Specialist in food science and distinguished professor at Rutgers University. His research interests include handwashing, cross-contamination and quantitative microbial risk assessment. Dr. Schaffner has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and educated thousands of food industry professionals around the world. He is a Fellow and Member of the Institute of Food Technologists. He is also a Member of the American Academy of Microbiology, the Society for Risk Analysis and International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and has served as an Editor for the “ASM journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology” from 2005 to 2020. He began serving as a Contributing Editor for the journal “Food Microbiology” and as Associate Editor for “Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety” in 2020. Dr. Schaffner was also the president of IAFP in 2013-2014. In his spare time, he co-hosts the Food Safety Talk and Risky or Not podcasts.
Tamanna Ramesh – Spark Career Services
Founder & Career Coach
Ms. Tamanna Ramesh is the founder of Spark Career Services, a career coaching service that supports students and early- and mid-career professionals pursuing STEM careers in the food industry and managerial careers in any industry. She has almost a decade of experience predominantly in R&D process development, technology innovation, product development, and commercialization roles. In her career, Ms. Ramesh has always championed DEIB culture shift, R&D career pathing, and employee engagement initiatives in addition to commercializing new products, assessing new technologies, and building the innovation pipeline for long-term business success. She has a M.S. in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Maine and an M.B.A. from the Kelley-Manchester Global program. Ms. Ramesh is actively involved with the Institute of Food Technologists, founded and led the Women’s Resource Group, and served as the Chair of the Product Development Division and the Southeastern Section IFT. She has held several other leadership positions and is fond of serving and supporting the community of food industry professionals.
Beverly Tepper, Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Graduate Program Director and Professor
Dr. Beverly Tepper joined Rutgers University in 1989, is currently the Graduate Program Director and a professor in the Department of Food Science where she directs the Sensory Evaluation Laboratory. She is also the co-founder and director of the Center for Sensory Sciences & Innovation (CSSI) at Rutgers. Her research program combines Food Sensory Science with Nutritional Science and Psychology to better understand the links between taste, diet, and health. Dr. Tepper was elected Fellow of the IFT in 2017 and has a long history of leadership at both the national and local levels.
Sarah Waxman, Ph.D. – Ingedion
Sarah (Waxman) Tully earned her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University with a triple major in food science, nutrition, and biology. She began her career at Mondelez International with her first role focused on Lipids research within the Ingredient research function. She held several other positions within the Gum and Candy category on both front-end technology innovation and product development teams. Sarah also led Innovation Excellence initiatives working to develop innovation capabilities within R&D and the broader enterprise. While working at Mondelez, Sarah completed her Ph.D., part time, under the advisement of Dr. Richard Ludescher, studying oil migration in chocolate. Sarah has recently joined Ingredion as the Food Applications Innovation Lead, working to develop innovation capabilities to deliver strengthened innovation pipelines.
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