Roundtable 1: What is food?

February 1, 2013 > Session I: Food > Roundtable 1

Panelists:

Cory Bernat – Food historian + designer + curator

Cory Bernat is an eclectic scholar, designer, and curator who has worked with a diverse range of public institutions, including the San Francisco Art Institute, the National Park Service, and the Library of Congress. Her exhibition of war-era food posters at the National Agricultural Library, When Beans Were Bullets, led to her position with the Food and Wine History Project at the National Museum of American History, where she recently co-curated the exhibition, Food: Transforming the American Table, 1950–2000. Cory is currently a collaborator with the Smithsonian Institution‘s “Age of Plastic” research program, writing for SmithsonianMagazine.com and teaching at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, DC.

Rhykka Connelly, PhD – Technical Director, University of Texas Science and Technology Facility

Dr. Rhykka Connelly received her PhD in Cell Biology at Northern Illinois University in 2006 and is currently the Technical Director of the University of Texas Science and Technology Facility in Austin. The facility focuses on developing processing technologies and providing analytical support for its partners in the biomass industry. Dr. Connelly’s work centers on the production and application of algae-based biofertilizers for use as a sustainable replacement for inorganic commercial fertilizers. This organic product is grown on the UT campus by our collaborators, AlgEternal Technologies, and has been applied to provide nutrients to grasses, trees, flowering, and vegetable plants. Its nutrient content is similar to other organic fertilizers; however an added benefit to algae is that it converts CO2 to oxygen and can grow on waste streams to recover valuable nutrients that would have otherwise gone unused. Her team is currently conducting a large-scale, multi-year study on the cost and environmental benefits of using algae-based fertilizers on the UT campus. Rhykka also develops methodologies to recover and test natural lipid-based products derived from algae for nutra- and pharmaceutical applications, including wound healing and skin care.

Robert Jansen, PhD – Professor of Integrative Biology, College of Natural Sciences, UT

Bob Jansen is a professor in the UT-Austin College of Natural Sciences Section of Integrative Biology. His research encompasses a wide diversity of topics in systematics, evolution, and conservation biology. In each of these areas the primary focus of the work has been to understand plant biodiversity by constructing a phylogenetic framework using various kinds of DNA characters. The basic premise of this work is that one cannot address biological questions without first having a comprehensive understanding of evolutionary relationships.

Jennifer Plewka – Manager of Outreach & Communication for Farming Concrete

Jennifer Plewka is an experienced and innovative educator whose passions for gardening and teaching have combined with her background in environmental science, horticulture, and sustainability to enrich the lives of countless children, seniors, international refugees, and people in need.  Jennifer has developed community gardens in the Bronx that are not only places for people to organically grow their own food, but become vital and treasured lifelines of hands-on community education on nutrition, healthy cooking and eating, and environmental stewardship.  In 2007, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented her with  the NYC Neighborhood Achievement Partnership Award for her work to establish the West Farmers’ Market in a neighborhood with little access to fresh produce.  Through over 10 years of hands-on teaching experience in both garden and classroom settings, Jennifer has acquired a wealth of expertise in grant develo

pment, budget planning, volunteer and staff training, and strategic operations management.  This rich background along with her creativity, warmth, generosity, and dedication to the community make her a valued resource to green urban agriculture organizations throughout New York City.

Jeff Rice, PhD – Associate Professor, University of Kentucky

Dr. Jeff Rice is Associate Professor of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media and Martha B Reynolds Professor in Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of The Rhetoric of Cool: Composition Studies and New Media and Digital Detroit: Rhetoric and Space in the Age of the Network. He is currently writing a book about craft beer and social media called Craft Obsession.

Jenny Rice, PhD – Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky

Dr. Jenny Rice is an Assistant Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (WRD) at the University of Kentucky. Her book, Distant Publics: Development Rhetoric and the Subject of Crisis, is published by University of Pittsburgh Press. Jenny has published scholarship on topics such as public rhetoric, affect, rhetorical ecologies, and new media writing.

Kent Stewart, PhD – Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech

Dr. KENT K. STEWART, a Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech, is known for his work in the analytical chemistry of diet and health.  He was the founding head of the USDA’s  Nutrient Composition Laboratory and the founding Editor of the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis sponsored by United Nations University.   He is a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists.  He has served on national and international scientific committees.  Dr. Stewart has taught undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate courses in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Food Science; most recently at the University of Texas.

Moderator:

Addie Broyles, Food writer, the Austin American-Statesman

As the food writer for the Austin American-Statesman, Addie Broyles writes about everything from farmers and up-and-coming chefs to food trends in Austin and beyond in a weekly column and blog called Relish Austin. When she’s not chasing after her two young sons, the Ozarks native and University of Missouri graduate writes about women and food at TheFeministKitchen.com and is the advisory council chair of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance. Addie is spearheading an Austin Food Blogger Alliance community cookbook that is slated to come out in April 2013. You can follow her on Twitter @broylesa.

 

ONLINE REGISTRATION HERE

$75 per person, two-days, including lunch on both days.

Food, the City, and Innovation, a two-day roundtable conference at the E. A. Smith building, just west of the Blanton Museum in Austin, Texas. February 1 & 2, 2013

The Food Lab at UT and our co-host Boston University believe that the climate for innovation in the food industry could not be better. New food startups led by engineers, artists, scientists, and architects are responding to the challenge to re-invent our global food system. This conference will explore the opportunities for innovation and seek those that will benefit from the collaboration between universities, industry and our cities. Each session will include two round table discussions with a wide variety of speakers from academics, industry workers to local food entrepreneurs.

For complete information, visit our conference page HERE.