GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Starch
• Carbohydrate chemistry

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Starch granule structure, reactivity, and behavior
  
• Chemical and genetic modifications of starch
  
• Structure-functional property relationships of polysaccharides
  
• Mono- and oligosaccharide chemistry
  
• Uses of carbohydrates in food and other commercial applications

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Process modeling
  
• Rheology
  
• Material structure and texture
  
• Extrusion

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Application of rheology to food science and food engineering
  
• Mathematical modeling of food process operations
  
• On-line rheological techniques
  
• Rheology of biomaterials
  
• Dough rheology
  
• Rheology of dairy products
  
• Characterization of material structure and texture: relationship to rheological properties
  
• Effect of glass transition on product texture
  
• Extrusion; role of rheology in the extrusion process

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• X-ray diffraction
  
• Molecular architecture of biopolymers

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Starch crystallinity
  
• Conformation of carbohydrates and nucleic acids
  
• Structure-function relationships in polysaccharides and polysaccharide mixtures
  
• Implementation of modern techniques to fiber diffraction

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Carbohydrates and health
  
• Starch
  
• Cereal chemistry

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Manipulation of starch digestion rate for low glycemic response/slow digestion
• Dietary fiber, modifications in functionality and fermentability
  
• Cereal starch and protein functionality
  
• Textural properties influenced by starch fine structure
  
• Interactions between starch and other food components
  
• Appropriate methods of improving cereal utilization in developing countries
  
• Cereal endosperm texture
  
• Electron and confocal microscopy of cereal components

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• FT-IR spectroscopy
  
• Food chemistry
  
• Food packaging

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Structure-function relationships of food ingredients
  
• FT-IR spectroscopy method development
  
• Water-solid interactions
  
• NASA food system, extended shelf life products
  
• Edible films and coatings

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Emulsions and foams
• Biopolymer interactions

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Stability and texture of food emulsions and foams
  
• Adsorption of proteins and protein-polysaccharide complexes at interfaces
  
• Functional properties of proteins and protein-polysaccharide complexes
  
• Physical and chemical modification of proteins for use as food stabilizers
  
• Rheology of polysaccharide solutions and gels

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Polysaccharide analysis
  
• Plant cell wall compositions, structures, and functions
  
• Bacterial cell wall compositions, structures, and functions

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Extractions and purification of acidic polysaccharides from cell walls of plants and bacteria
  
• Pectin analysis
  
• Capsule, gum, and lipopolysaccharides analysis
  
• Application of HPLC, GC-MS, and NMR to structural studies of carbohydrates, including polysaccharides
  
• Role of polysaccharides in bacteria-legume symbiosis
  
• Detection of bacteria in plant roots

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Plant classical and molecular genetics
  
• Protein structure and function
  
• Gene expression
  
• Large-scale forward and reverse genetics screening
  
• Genome maintenance and organization
  
• Genomics of starch digestion, composition and architecture
  

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Rational redesign of corn starch composition
  
• Computer modeling of starch synthases
  
• Mutational analysis of starch biosynthesis in corn and E. coli
  
• Genetic modification of corn starch properties

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Carbohydrate chemistry and metabolism in plants
  
• Processing of biobased materials

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Genetic, enzymatic, and chemical starch modifications
  
• Maize breeding for targeted starch structure and function
  
• Switchgrass carbohydrate metabolism
  
• Co-products of the corn refining and ethanol industries
  
• Behavior of oligo- and polysaccharides in foods
  
• Controlled-release systems

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GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

• Carbohydrate and Health
• Nanotechnology

SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS

• Structure and mechanism of slowly digestible starch
  
• Carbohydrate Nutrition and physiological responses
  
• Encapsulation of functional lipids and phytochemicals and their applications in food product development

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