The PhD program at the School of Packaging started in 1996.  During the 1996-2002 period I have been the advisor to 16 Masters and 6 PhD students.  My students have the reputation of doing good science and making a positive impact, during and after their studies, on the “state of the art” in Packaging. They have a strong scientific formation in various field of knowledge: chemistry, chemical engineering, food science, packaging, and agriculture. We have formed a very solid research group.  During fall and spring semesters we meet on a weekly basis to discuss progress in their work, review and solve particular problems in the labs, plan for future research activities, anticipate conferences and meetings, and address important topics such as writing and oral communication, emphasize the application of statistics. Some times we invite external speakers.

Research projects for  the period 1998-2002

1.      Effect of organic compound vapors on the CO2 and O2 permeability in MAP polymeric films
2.      Shelf life of dry milk powder
3.      Nanocomposite materials
4.      Permeability Database
5.      Extrusion of biodegradable films
6.      Shelf life modeling of dual products
7.      High pressure processing effects on packaging materials
8.      Olive oil packaged in plastic containers
9.      Controlled delivers of MCP for horticulture applications
10.    Shelf life modeling
11.    Fabrication and characterization of edible films from wheat protein
 

Current students

                                

            Youn Suk Lee, Cengiz Caner, Sukasem Sittipod, Kata Kitsommart, Dario Martino,
            Me (The professor), Rafael Auras, Antonis Kanavouras, Krittika Tanprasert, Karina Martino, and Pilar
            Hernandez-Muñoz.
            Not in the picture: Jonathan Show (he is somewhere in Switzerland)
 

                                                      
                        Krittika  Tanprasert                                                                                        Antonis Kanavouras
                       PhD Candidate                                                                          PhD Candidate
                Measuring Cyclodextrines in polyethylene                                                                 All about olive oil in plastic containers
 

                                                    
                          Corey Mingerink                                                                                                            Cengiz Caner
                                                                                                                                                                              PhD Candidate
                Undergraduate working on edible films                                                  Plastic materials and high pressure processing
 
 

                                                    
                     Pilar Hernandez-Muñoz                                                                                       Sukasem Sittipod
                                Post-doctoral Fellow                                                                                              PhD Candidate
                Creating new edible films from wheat proteins                                       Exploring the use of 1-MCP on packaged broccoli

                                                
                                     Young-Suk Lee                                                                                                            Rafael Auras
                                      PhD Candidate                                                                                                            PhD Candidate
            Packaging with 1-MCP can help to control tomato ripening                              Is  the biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA)
                                                                                                                                                    good for food applications?

                    
                                Kata Kitsommart
                                 MS candidate
           Studying  biodegradable Polycaprolactone