Research Group

Who We Are:

	Diane M. Barrett, Ph.D. About Diane
	Gordon Anthon, Ph.D., Project Scientist Background: Plant physiology & plant biochemistry Started in lab: 1999 Method Development Enzyme activation/inactivation kinetics Current research: USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative
	Sam Matoba, B.S., Research Associate, T4 Project Funded by California League of Food Processors for past ~25 years. Supervises T4 project ~4 months/year. Manages crew of 4-6 undergraduates. Works with ~9 farm advisors to schedule harvests. Analysis of pH, T.A., SS, color, peelability & lycopene on ~600 tomato samples. Conducts all harvests & assembles all data; distributes CDs to industry. Tomato Analysis Procedure Manual
	Hanne K. Sivertsen, Ph.D., Associate Specialist Joined Barrett lab in April, 2010. Hanne's background is in Food Science and Sensory Science. She has worked in the Sensory and Consumer Department at the Norwegian Food Research Institute. Hanne is working on and funded by the USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative project. She manages the sensory facility in the Department of Plant Sciences, and runs sensory projects on fruit and berries.
	Panita Ngamchuachit, Ph.D. Student Joined Barrett lab in 2007. 2005 - Bachelor of Science, Food Technology department, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,Thailand. She is working on the effect of quarantine treatment on whole mango fruit quality. Also rheological changes during the tomato juice concentration process and during stored paste rehydration.
	Megan Clements, Ph.D. Student Joined Barrett Lab in April, 2009. Northeastern University: BS in Biology Megan is examining the effects of pre-harvest stressors and post-harvest treatments on the quality and stability of almonds. Her current work focuses on determining the cause of skin slippage at the testa-kernel interface, and how to predict and/or prevent it. Funding: Almond Board of California
	Alison Schultz, M.S. Student Joined Barrett Lab in October, 2010. 2009 - B.A. (Chemistry and English), St. Olaf College. Ali is examining enzymes responsible for degradation of fresh produce during frozen storage to see if there is a certain level of enzyme activity that can be retained without deteriorating the produce over time. This means that there would be shorter processing times and therefore a higher quality product. She is using both instrumental and sensory methods in her research.
	Blake Ringeisen, M.S. Student Joined Barrett Lab in April, 2011. 2007 - B.S. Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Florida. Blake is optimizing solar concentrators for solar fruit drying in hazy climates. He will be trying to shorten the drying time of tomatoes in these reduced sunlight conditions. Funding: HORT CRSP/U.S. Agency for International Development.
	Matthew Held, M.S. Student Joined Barrett Lab in August, 2011. 2010 - B.S. Food Science, Penn State University Matthew is working on the effects of bruising on processing tomato quality by analyzing the enzymatic degradation of pectin that occurs when the fruit is bruised. The research will provide valuable information to the tomato industry concerning the handling of the fruit prior to processing.
	Ali Bouzari, Ph.D. Student Joined Barrett Lab in September, 2011. 2010 - B.S. Biochemistry, University of Texas Ali is working on frozen fruits and vegetables, investigating the effects of freezing on nutrient content. The research will include a comparison of samples frozen immediately following harvest with samples from the same crop that have been left at a controlled room temperature that simulates a fresh product's journey from farm to consumer after a fixed time period. Funding: the American Frozen Food Foundation.
	Chukwan Techakanon (Jib), Ph.D. Student Joined Barrett Lab in January 2012. 2008 - M.S. in Food Technology from Institut Superieur D'Agriculture de Lille, France. Jib is working on High Pressure Processing in fruit products. The research will focus on the effect of high pressure on quality, applying both instrumental and sensory methods to analyze the changes after processing.