Industry and Academia Seminars

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Industry and Academia Seminars provide a forum for industry, governmental, and academic representatives to share their perspectives on current topics shaping agriculture and the life sciences today. Through this platform, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and industry hopes to identify critical issues and develop collaborations though our research, teaching, and Extension programs to help solve the challenges.

Product Development in the Food Industry (3/28/2006)
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences hosted an Industry and Academia Seminar on March 28, 2006 in Fralin Auditorium. Executives from Hershey and ConAgra Foods as well as Virginia Tech faculty spoke on product development in the food industry. The seminar was attended by more than 100 students, graduate students, and faculty.

Product development in the food industry is a creative process that involves individuals from marketing, quality assurance, microbiology, packaging, chemistry, sensory, engineering, and other areas. It might take months or years to bring a new product to the market place. Food companies are driven by consumer demand to produce products that are healthy and also taste good.

Students at Virginia Tech are given the opportunity to work in teams to develop new product ideas in courses such as concepts of product development, sensory analysis, and packaging.

Current Issues in Nutrition and Health (11/04/2005)
Overweight children, adult obesity, food safety, and food quality are issues prominent in the media today and at the top of the list of our country's public health concerns. We will explore some of the ways industry, government, and academia are combating these important issues.