Tad Beekman, Doctoral Candidate in Food Science, Earns $10,000 MISA Foundation Scholarship

Rosa Buescher

Tad Beekman is a U of A Distinguished Doctoral Fellow in food science.

Tad Beekman, a U of A doctoral student in food science, is one of seven students nationally selected to receive a Meat Industry Suppliers Alliance Foundation scholarship for $10,000.

Beekman, who has earned a Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship at the U of A Graduate School and International Education, has also been nominated to serve on the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation's Student Advisory Committee.

Beekman is advised by Han-Seok Seo, associate professor of food science, and a researcher and scientist with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

"This is such great news, meaning that Tad's endless motivation and activities in both meat-related research and in the meat industry network have paid off," Seo said. "He is very deserving, and I am very proud of him."

In the spring, he was one of three U of A students, all in the food science program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, selected to receive scholarships through Feeding Tomorrow: The Foundation of the Institute of Food Technologists. He won the Evergreen Award for Outstanding Presentation that Develops or Expands a Method at the National Conference for Sensory Professionals in 2020 and the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Science Communication Podcast Award in 2019, and placed second in the 2019 Arkansas Chapter Gamma Sigma Delta Ph.D. Poster Contest.

In 2021, Phi Tau Sigma, the Honor Society of Food Science and Technology, also featured his research publication showing how different types of straws or lids can affect consumer acceptability and monetary value perception of iced coffee beverage. Beekman is also president of the Food Science Club.

"The MISA Foundation is proud to announce its list of outstanding scholarships winners for the 2021-22 school year," said Brian Perkins, chairman of the MISA Foundation and president, Processing Group, Diversified Food & Health of JBT Corporation. "The Foundation Board congratulates the winners and wishes them the best in the upcoming school year and all future endeavors. This year's group of applicants was especially strong, making our selection process very difficult. It's nice to see that even during the challenging times we have all experienced over the past 18 months, we have dedicated students working hard to expand their knowledge and establish a foundation for what we know will be successful careers in this industry."

The Meat Industry Suppliers Alliance is the non-profit meat industry council of the Food Processing Suppliers Association that is actively engaged in continuous improvement on behalf of its members as well as the meat industry.

The MISA Foundation is a non-profit tax-exempt organization formed to nurture, promote and develop state-of-the-art technology and technical information by furthering the education of meat and food science students.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.