Send us a text It has been a great 2025 for WDFS. We spoke with wonderful, highly accomplished guests who provided a plethora of good advice about food science careers, about professionalism, and about life. We welcomed Stella as our podcast editor. We had our first Spanish/English bilingual podcast. We were pleasantly surprised to be invited to do a live podcast at the American Society of Baking annual conference. Incredibly (for us, anyway) the podcast is now h...

Send us a text Dr. Arnie Sair is a third generation Ph.D. food scientist, a returning guest to WDFS, and Head of Global Quality & Food Safety at Bunge. Arnie returns to WDFS with a new endeavor: the Core Ready™ leadership program. Core Ready is focused on building the soft skills and leadership habits students need to thrive in the workforce from day one using the FORM TUF ABS™ approach. In this episode, Arnie explains what each letter of FORM TUF ABS™ means and how each...

Send us a text Join us as we sit down with Dr. Chris Daubert, who brings a wealth of experience from every corner of the Food Science world. Currently serving as Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri Columbia, Dr. Daubert shares his unique career path—from his roots in agricultural engineering and becoming a recognized expert in rheology (the study of flow), to his pivotal roles as Department Head at NC State (2010-20...

Send us a text April Hix Morrison is an alumna of our department and has, for the last 17 years, served as our professional Academic Advisor across all three of our Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Science majors. A big part of April’s job is helping students’ thrive at NC State. To aid in this, NC State University, and many others, have implemented Clifton Strengths assessments to help students discover and develop their greatest talents. April became a Clifton Strengths ...

Send us a text Dr. Katie McKee is an Associate Professor and Leadership Educator in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at NC State University. Her work focuses on transformative leadership and its application to solving complex challenges to enable communities to thrive. Her research and extension efforts, including the Agents for Change program, a center on developing leadership capacity among youth, college students, and professionals to address "big, messy challenges" in the...

Send us a text In our first English/Spanish bilingual episode we talk international science communication with agronomist Dr. Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola. Malu is equally comfortable giving lectures in university classroom or (out standing) in the middle of a wheat field. Note: We switch from English to Spanish at 20:20. Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola earned her Master's in Crop Science and Genetics, as well as her Doctorate in Agronomy and Crop Science at Oregon State University. ...

Send us a text Dr. Fernanda Santos’ route to food science was not direct. But one thing is for sure, she has found a home in food science at NC State University. Dr. Santos teaches 13 classes at NC State, one of which is a project-based class for seniors in food science and bioprocessing. Through collaboration with faculty and industry, she is giving students real-world experience. We are excited to hear about her path to food science and her newest collaboration with ...

Send us a text Food waste. It’s been called the world’s dumbest problem. Did you know that about a third of the food grown on farms is wasted, meaning it never gets to a factory, a grocery store, or to a consumer? This is not because farmers are wasteful. Far from it. It's because it's sometimes hard to harvest all the food that's been produced, especially if it's underground (think sweet potatoes). Food waste is not just an economic problem, although it can driv...

Send us a text Chief Warrant Officer 5* Terrence Ward is a year 2016 alumnus of the Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences Department at NC State University. Terrence discovered his interest in Food Science during his service in the US Army. Today, as part of his continuing Army career, he audits food processing facilities around the US and around the world to assure that the food produced and sold is safe for the US Armed Forces. He uses his extensive experience ...

We all love a good story, and Dr. Leann Jaykus, a professor emeritus at NC State University, has some good ones to tell. As a virologist she has unique insights into food safety. We talk to Leann about cruise ship food safety, norovirus, coronavirus, vomit machines, and, oh yes, mentoring on this episode. Send us a text Got a questions for us? Email us at wolfingdownfoodscience@gmail.com Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on...

Dr. Arnie Sair has worked for General Mills, Signature Brands and now, Bunge. Throughout his career one thing has held constant, his focus on food safety and quality. As a Ph.D. recipient at NC State University, an outstanding alumni award winner, and who started out as a high school student working at McDonalds, Arnie has great insight into the food industry. Join us as we talk about carrying on the legacy of being a 3rd generation, Ph.D. food scientist (which makes him a b...

After graduating from NC State, Mandy Taylor spent time in product development for a variety of food companies. Her years of experience gave her the knowledge and desire to foster career growth in others by managing the summer intern program in research and development at Mars Wrigley. We talk to Mandy about her time in product development and what she sees as the most challenging and rewarding parts of working with and fostering new food scientists. And we have a good laugh about...

Our world is complicated! Yifat Rogers started Yaniv Consulting to help people and businesses cut through the tough problems and find practical solutions. Yifat is a PhD food scientist and engineer who has worked in the food industry for 15+ years. Her experience and desire to help people prompted her shift to consulting. She has started her very own podcast called Success Your Own Way where guests discuss what success looks like for them with insights on how to achiev...

Kenya Hairston is a Senior Project Manager, Adjunct Professor, and Doctoral student. Kenya holds a Master's degree from Franklin University as well as Bachelors Degrees from the University of Toledo and The Ohio State University (that's where Keith and Kenya crossed paths). She is currently a 2nd year doctoral student at Franklin University where she is pursuing her Ed.D in instructional design leadership. Kenya has worked at Abbott since 2015 and now calls Dallas, Texas home. Sen...

This episode tells the inspiring story behind the creation of Cafe Kreyól and Joey Stazzone's entrepreneurial origin story. Anyone who has met Joey knows the energy and positivity he brings to the room. Joey is the founder and President of Cafe Kreyól, an award-winning coffee distribution and coffee roasting company located in Manassas, Virginia. Joey is a certified Q (Q = Quality) Grader, as well as a CQI (CQI = Coffee Quality Institute) Post-Harvest Process and Quality Evaluat...

Dr. Ryan Dowdy is the founder and CEO of READYBAR. Previous to that, Ryan worked as Chief of Staff to the CTO at EVERY, an "all protein, no meat" company, as a Science and Technology Analysis Manager at the Good Food Institute, and at NASA as Food System Manager for the International Space Station. He has appeared on Rhett & Link's Good Mythical Morning, has written for the Washington Post, and was featured on the NPR Program Shortwave. I first met Ryan when he was a Foo...

Kait O’Shaughnessy and Cameron LaCross join us for this episode of WDFS. Both work for Gallo as associate beverage makers. Cameron started in California in the area of wine making and moved back to her home state of SC when the opportunity came up. Kait started her career in fruit juice beverages and joined Gallo 2 years ago. Today we chat about the world of beverages and starting a career in food science. Send us a text Got a questions for us? Email us at wolfingdownf...

The world of food production is wide and varied. We discuss producing sustainable proteins with Dave Reynolds, an engineer working at Buhler. Buhler is an equipment manufacturing company with unique missions and a global reach. Dave has worked with us at NC State University to facilitate student projects and guide our department as an industry member. Join us for an insightful discussion. Send us a text Got a questions for us? Email us at wolfingdownfoodscience@gmail.c...

Dr. Lynette Johnston is a extension specialist with a focus on food safety. She travels around the state of North Carolina helping food producers solve problems and keep their products safe. She trains industry professionals and teaches Food Microbiology here at NC State. Her journey from a dairy farm in Texas to faculty member at NC State and everything in between are covered in this episode. Along the way, Lynette has fielded some great questions from stakeholders an...

This episode is a recording of our second WDFS Live event. Our guest, Dr. Sarah Ash, Professor Emeritus in Nutrition at NC State University, and Adam Yee, entrepreneur many times over in the food industry, join us to discuss ultra processed foods. What are they? What should you know about them? Some definitions focus on the types or number of ingredients. Few definitions get to the actual process of how foods are made. This interactive presentation and disc...