Arda Tuhanioglu and Surabhi Wason, both graduate students in food science, won competition awards at the recent Institute of Food Technologists First Event and Expo in Chicago.

Tuhanioglu, a Ph.D. student advised by assistant professor Ali Ubeyitogullari, won the Sustainable Food Systems division oral contest.

Wason, a Ph.D. student advised by professor and head of the Department of Food Science Jeyam Subbiah, won the Non-Thermal Processing division oral competition.

Tuhanioglu's research is "A Green Integrated Approach to Extract High-Value and Bioactive Compounds from Sorghum Bran via Supercritical Carbon Dioxide."

Wason's research is "Efficacy of Gaseous Chlorine Dioxide on Salmonella Enterica and Enterococcus Faecium NRRL B-2354 in Chia Seeds."

"The Institute of Food Technologists is a professional scientific society in the field of food science and its annual meeting was attended by over 15,000 participants from all over the world," Subbiah said. "For two of our graduate students to receive the top prize at this international event speaks volumes about the scientific rigor of our faculty and graduate students. In fact, U of A's Food Science Department ranks ninth in the nation for research productivity, according to academic analytics."

Ubeyitogullari and Subbiah are both faculty members in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, and researchers and scientists with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture. Ubeyitogullari also has a shared appointment with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

IFT is a forum for science of food professionals and technologists to collaborate, learn and contribute with the goal of inspiring and transforming collective scientific knowledge into innovative solutions for the benefit of people around the world. The expo offers opportunities to access the latest food trends from IFT partners with over 700 exhibitors who showcase, demonstrate, educate and sample trending ingredients, machinery, and food and science intelligence.

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 few 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.