Alumni Spotlights
Building from biochemistry to a medical degree
Justin Couetil (BS '19, biochemistry) knew he wanted to do research and study a diverse curriculum in an academically rigorous environment. Purdue offered all three, says Couetil, recipient of the 2019 G.A. Ross Award, presented annually to Purdue’s outstanding senior man for scholarship, leadership, character and service to the university community. He crafted a plan of study that included business, liberal arts, and science, and worked in the Laboratory of Renewable Resource Engineering with Michael Ladisch, distinguished professor of agricultural and biological engineering. This fall he’ll begin a medical degree at Indiana University.
Fighting hunger feeds peace
Purdue Agriculture alumni may recognize Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina (MS '85, PhD '88, agricultural economics) as the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate. In February, he received the 2019 Sunhak Peace Prize, which honors individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the peace and welfare of future generations. Adesina was honored for his more than 30-year commitment to the eradication of poverty through agricultural innovation. As president of the African Development Bank, he has also promoted good government through economic development, boosting Africa’s capacity to feed itself and transform its economy for millions of rural and poor African farmers.
Shooting for the moon with new food technology
Technology created by George Sadler (PhD '84, food science) has figuratively been to the moon and back. Sadler originally developed the process for on-demand heating in food production to help lunar colonies, with funding from the USDA and NASA. Now he’s co-founded the Purdue-affiliated startup Induction Food Systems so food and beverage manufacturers here on Earth can benefit from the technology. Compared to processes like steam pasteurization, on-demand heating has several advantages. It’s faster, more precise and able to retain some of the flavor lost when food is heated using current processing methods. The technology’s coil and core design uses electromagnetic energy instead of the combustion that creates steam in boilers, so the equipment requires less energy and has a smaller footprint than other systems.
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