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Staff Features

Aug 4, 2022

Robert Price: Committed to Food Safety 

“The job has been great. It’s a combination of two things I love the most: hands-on time in the lab and involvement with the business side of things,” says Robert Price, new Food Safety Manager at the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL).  Price joined the team in mid-May, bringing with him experience as a Biological Science…

Jul 18, 2022

Summer Interns Thrive at NCFIL

The NC State Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL) is working with a new class of summer interns. Hailing from three different universities in the region, Maddie Brenner, Andrew Beaver and Ginger Jacobson are eager to learn all they can from this distinctive experience. Maddie Brenner: Trader Joe’s Enthusiast Brenner, a rising junior at NC State University, is…

Jun 15, 2022

Senior Food Scientist Ryan Walker Strives to Make Impact

Ryan Walker considers himself lucky to have traveled the path that led to his new role as Senior Food Scientist at the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL). He describes his career progression as nontraditional, leaving college after his junior year to join the US Marine Corps. He credits his experience with the Marines as “the spark that…

Jan 26, 2022

Dede Beaver: Ready To Roll Up Her Sleeves

Dede Beaver is a mother to four grown children and enjoys the chaos of the everyday. This passion for life, especially for food, cooking, and baking, plus her enthusiastic, team-player attitude, makes her well-suited for her role as Strategic Operations Specialist at the NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL). Flexibility is Key Beaver describes her responsibilities as all-encompassing. “[I…

Jan 12, 2022

NCFIL Intern Spotlight: Chloe Brubaker

Chloe Brubaker has been interning full time with the NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL) this fall semester as part of her desire to learn more about the food science industry. Currently a senior at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, she’s majoring in nutrition science with minors in Chemistry and Biology. While BGSU does not offer a food science…

Sep 15, 2021

NCFIL + JWU Partnership: Patillo Featured in Spectrum and JWU Articles 

Chris Patillo, NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL) intern, was featured in “Johnson & Wales graduate helps create new plant-based foods” on Spectrum News North Carolina. His internship was also highlighted in “JWU Joins North Carolina Food Innovation Lab to Create New Food Concepts“ on Inside at JWU Charlotte, JWU’s official faculty and staff online newsletter. Opportunity for…

Aug 25, 2021

NCFIL Summer Intern: Chris Patillo

Chris Patillo is a recent graduate from Johnson and Wales University and one of the summer interns at NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL). While working toward his bachelor’s degree in Applied Food Science, Patillo says he “fell in love with the science behind culinary arts.” Plant-Based Passion When Patillo was in high school, meat was a main component of…

Aug 11, 2021

NCFIL Summer Intern: Emilize Momplaisir

“There hasn’t been a side of food science I haven’t liked yet,” says Emilize Momplaisir, one of the interns who joined the NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL) this summer.  With an interest in food’s role in human health and how it affects the body, Momplaisir was attracted to the science focus of NCFIL. After her college advisor…

Jul 29, 2021

Joe Hildebrand: Certified Culinary Scientist

From knife cuts to the molecular structure of your dinner, Joe Hildebrand knows it all.  As the Pilot Plant Manager at the NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL), Hildebrand manages the 3000 sq. ft. pilot plant and its equipment while implementing daily production, planning, and execution for the lab. He recently earned the title of Certified Culinary Scientist (CCS) from the Research Chefs…

Jul 19, 2021

NCFIL Executive Director Aimutis Elected IFT Fellow

NC State leaders as well as the other partners opening the NC Food Innovation Lab knew without a doubt they had landed a food science unicorn when Dr. Bill Aimutis accepted their offer to become the inaugural Executive Director of NCFIL.  And his recent election as an IFT Fellow just publicly acknowledges what we’ve all known all…