Food Science's Gonzalez Wins Second First-Place Award in Cereals & Grains Contest

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Ana Gonzalez, a Bumpers College Ph.D. food science student, has now won the Cereals & Grains Association Carbohydrate Division Best Student Research Presentation for a poster in 2022 and 2020.

Ana Gonzalez, a U of A doctoral student in food science, won a Cereal & Grains Association national best student research poster presentation contest for the second time and received a $750 honorium.

Gonzalez won the Carbohydrate Division Best Student Research Presentation with her presentation "Structural changes of corn, potato and pea starches from combined acid hydrolysis and heat-moisture treatment and their relationship with crystallinity" at the recent annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

She won the same category and division two years ago with her research "Surface Removal Enhanced the Formation of a Porous Structure in Potato Starch." Three years ago, she placed third in the same competition.

Gonzalez is advised by Ya-Jane Wang, a professor of carbohydrate chemistry in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's Department of Food Science, and a researcher and scientist with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

Gonzalez, who is from Colombia, received her bachelor's degree in food engineering from Universidad de Cordoba. As a senior in college, she worked as an intern in the department's carbohydrate chemistry laboratory, which led her to the U of A to work on her doctorate.

The Cereals & Grains Association is a global, nonprofit association of nearly 2,000 scientists and food industry professionals working to advance the understanding and knowledge of cereal grain science and its product development applications through research, leadership, education, superior technical service and advocacy. Its goal is to be the global authority in cereal grain science and technology.

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. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.