News

Celebrating Our Fall 2025 Grads

PULLMAN, Wash. —  Last Saturday, December 6th, we celebrated seven of our Food Science students who have now since graduated. While we will miss all of our graduates, we are excited to see all of the fantastic things that they will accomplish! The list of graduates: Josh Bernin, Ph.D. Alejandro Bravo Iniguez, Ph.D. Ahhria Kirkendall, […]

Two students, Christine and Alejandro, stand together and hold up wands that say "class dismissed."

Student Highlight: Natalie Camerino

PULLMAN, Wash. — Natalie Camerino is an undergraduate student majoring in Food Science with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is expected to graduate in Spring 2026. Tell me a bit about your background – professional and/or personal? My name is Natalie Camerino, I’m a fifth year Food Science student and minoring in Entrepreneurship. I’m from […]

Categories: General
Natalie talks at a podium.

Student Highlight: Edmund Afari

PULLMAN, Wash. — Edmund Larbi Afari is a doctorate student whose research is in food safety, specifically microbial and chemical contamination of food. Tell me a bit about your background – professional and/or personal? I’m Edmund Larbi Afari and I’m originally from Ghana. I grew up in Adukrom-Akuapem, a small town in the Eastern Region […]

Edmund working in the lab. In front of him are a tray of apples and other lab equipment.

AI to Transform Food Product Development

Dr. Ganjyal recently participated in the “AI for Food Product Development Symposium” at the University of California, Davis. He shared his expertise and vision on the potential applications of AI in Food Processing. AI is transforming formulation, process control, and manufacturing across the food value chain. According to the AI Insitute for Food Systems, “AI […]

Girish Ganjyal and other panelists sit at a table on stage. Girish speaks into a microphone.

Dr. Ganjyal Shares Innovations in Sustainable Food Systems at International Conference

Last week, Dr. Girish Ganjyal was invited to the Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland, to deliver a keynote talk at the international conference Food in a Sustainable World. His presentation, titled “Innovations and Trends in Food Ingredients and Food Products for a Sustainable Food System,” […]

The university building that hosted the conference. There is a sign written in Polish.

Student Highlight: Alyssa Hansten

PULLMAN, Wash. — Alyssa Hansten is a graduate student at the School of Food Science, focusing on understanding the antimicrobial properties of kefir. Would you mind telling me about your background – professional and/or personal? I grew up in Jerome, Idaho. I was active in 4-H and FFA growing up, and when I got close […]

Categories: General

USDA Awards Funding for WSU Sweet Cherry Research Project

Washington State University researchers have been awarded funding through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) Program to explore innovative ways of preserving Washington’s sweet cherry crop. The project, titled “Producing High-Quality, Shelf-Stable Sweet Cherries using Vacuum Microwave Drying (VMD) Technology,” will be led by principal investigator, Dr. Youngsoo Lee, alongside co-investigators Dr. Kang Huang […]

A bunch of cherries are in a bowl. Some are scattered around the bowl.

Food Processing Professionals Gather at WSU for Extrusion Short Course

PULLMAN, Wash. — Extrusion is one of the most versatile technologies in the food industry, widely used to produce popular snack foods, cereals, plant-based protein analogs, pet foods, and more. Last week, Professor and Extension Food Processing Specialist Dr. Girish Ganjyal and his lab led an Extrusion Processing Short Course, a three-day program designed to […]

A graduate student holds up a bag full of extruded pieces.

Student Highlight: Katie Rehberger

PULLMAN, Wash. — Katherine “Katie” Rehberger was a graduate student at the School of Food Science, focusing on sensory science and analytical analysis of mozzarella cheese, and she has since graduated after defending her thesis in July. Now, she is working at J.R. Simplot Company as a Sensory Science Intern. Can you tell me about […]

Categories: General
A graduate student holds up plates of apple slices.