About the Center

WHO WE ARE

Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research is a university-industry research center that conducts fundamental research related to practical applications of carbohydrates.

The Center provides world-class excellence in focused areas of carbohydrate research, communication related to the research areas, analytical services, and education. It works in partnership with companies to extend uses of carbohydrates, hydrocolloids in general, other biopolymers, and cereals. It serves carbohydrate-producing and carbohydrate-utilizing and related industries through:

• generation of fundamental information targeted for new technology development
• providing young scientists educated to understand and work with carbohydrates and related biopolymers via education which stresses application of knowledge of their chemistry, fundamental properties and behaviors, structures, and dynamics
• providing unique problem-solving capabilities

In partnership with industrial sponsors, the Center searches for understandings of structure-function relationships of starches, hydrocolloids, and low-molecular-weight carbohydrates through application of leading-edge technology.

MISSION

The mission of the Center is to enhance the quality and quantity of carbohydrate use through an increased understanding of the chemical, physical, and biological properties of carbohydrates and through education.

Vision

To be the premier food carbohydrate research center via:

• being the leader in research related to food carbohydrates
• being the leader in graduate education related to food carbohydrates,
• exhibiting the highest level of creativity and professionalism, and
• maintaining successful, productive partnerships with our Sustaining Member companies

FOCUS

The Center serves carbohydrate-producing, carbohydrate-utilizing, and related industries through: generation and extension of fundamental information targeted for new technology development; education that stresses application of knowledge of the chemistry, fundamental properties, behaviors, structures, and dynamics of carbohydrates; provision of solutions to problems. In partnership with industrial sponsors, the Center searches for an understanding of the structure-function relationships of polymeric carbohydrates and other biopolymers through application of leading-edge technology in order to extend uses of starches, hydrocolloids in general, and cereals.

CONTRIBUTIONS

• Development of experimental techniques, theory, and modeling to determine the kinetics of adsorption of proteins at interfaces
• Measurements of the steady-state distribution of emulsion droplets that correlate with shelf life
• Determination of the effects of operating parameters and formulation on coalescence rates of droplets during emulsion formation in a high-pressure homogenizer
• Construction of a phase diagram for binary mixtures of globular proteins and uncharged polymers
• Development of a rapid ELISA-based screening assay for cereal protein digestibility
• Correlation of sorghum grain microstructure with digestibility and improvement of digestibilities
• Determination of the effect of lime and calcium ion binding on starch gelatinization and pasting behavior
• Determination of the relationship of starch fine structural detail to cereal product texture
• Nondestructive determination of the sugar content of ripening fruit
• Determination of the amount of solid-like domains and the degree of solidity of food products
• Determination of polymer chain mobility in food products and its correlation with stability and mouthfeel
• Characterization of polymer substitution in modified starches
• Determination of the 3D structure of guaran and other galactomannans
• Determination of changes occurring in protein body structure and alpha-zein during cornflake processing