Food Science's Mukhopadhyay, Siebenmorgen Win Second Cereal Chemists Award in Four Years

Photo by Fred Miller

Sangeeta Mukhopadhyay, a Bumpers College doctoral student, and Distinguished Professor of food science Terry Siebenmorgen have conducted research that could be used to improve the process of drying rice.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sangeeta Mukhopadhyay, a University of Arkansas doctoral student in food science, was named winner of the student paper competition at the American Association of Cereal Chemists International annual meeting in San Diego, California, in October.

Mukhopadhyay won the 2017 Engineering and Processing Best Student Paper Award for her entry, "Experimental Simulation of Cross-Flow Rice Drying: Effect of Tempering Approaches on Milling Yields."

Terry Siebenmorgen, Distinguished Professor in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's Department of Food Science and with the U of A System Division of Agriculture, is Mukhopadhyay's major adviser and co-author of the research.

Mukhopadhyay's research focuses on experimental simulation of cross-flow dryers, the most common rice dryers in the U.S. rice industry. For the 2017 paper, she and Siebenmorgen simulated a cross-flow drying column with the goal of understanding ​the effect of post-drying tempering approaches on rice ​milling yields and the extent of fissure occurrence when rice from different dryer cross-sections are tempered differently. They found the tempering approach immediately after drying significantly affects head rice yields (HRYs) of rice located​ at different dryer cross-sections during drying. This effect was more prominent on rice located near the heated-air plenum during drying​. These results can be used to design better cross-flow rice dryers and improve the drying process.

Mukhopadhyay, from Kolkata, India, earned her bachelor's degree in food technology from West Bengal University of Technology in India in 2009 and her master's degree in food and agricultural engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 2012. She joined U of A's rice processing program as a graduate assistant working with Siebenmorgen in 2012.

Mukhopadhyay, who has served as a teaching assistant in food engineering, and Siebenmorgen have won the AACCI Engineering and Processing Best Student Paper Award twice in four years. They won in 2014 for the entry "Impact of Rapid Moisture Adsorption on Rice Milling Yields."

AAACI is a global, nonprofit association of more than 2,000 scientists and food industry professionals focused on advancing the understanding and knowledge of cereal grain science and its product development applications through research, leadership, education, technical service and advocacy.

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.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.