Prof. Philipina A. Marcelo, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and resident researcher of the Research Center on the Natural and Applied Sciences, presented a poster titled, “Characterization of virgin coconut oil emulsion with polymerized whey protein as emulsifier”, at the International Conference on Food Innovation (FoodInnova 2017), held at the Cesena campus of the University of Bologna (UniBo) in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy on 31 January – 03 February 2017. She also visited the School of Engineering of UniBo in Cesena to begin collaboration between the School and the Faculty of Engineering.
FoodInnova is a bi-annual gathering of food scientists and engineers in the world where the focus is bringing basic research in food to innovative applications and into the food chain. This year, it was hosted by UniBo in cooperation of the ISEKI (The European Association for Integrating Food Science and Engineering Knowledge Into the Food Chain) Food Association (IFA) where Dean Marcelo was an individual member. The poster that Dean Marcelo presented featured highlights of work on virgin coconut oil (VCO) with whey proteins involving undergraduate students in the Department of Chemical Engineering. She met with UniBo food scientists, Prof. Marco Dalla Rosa, Chair of FoodInnova 2017, and Assoc. Prof. Nadia Lotti, PhD. to explore research collaborations.
While in UniBo-Cesena, Dean Marcelo was hosted by the Vice-Dean for Cesena of the School of Engineering, Prof. Massimo Cicognani, Ph. D., and Prof. Marco Chiani, Ph. D., Director of the G. Marconi Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering. They commenced discussion on areas of collaboration, focusing on electrical and electronic engineering as well as biomedical engineering. They agreed to articulate details of said collaboration in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which they hope to be signed by the respective Officials of the UST and UniBo. Dean Marcelo toured the facilities of the Unibo-Cesena School of Engineering and met with research personnel and students. Founded in 1088, the Alma Mater Studiorum Universitá di Bologna is recognized as the oldest University in the Western World – the Alma Mater of all Universities. It has grown into a multi-campus University since 1989. Its Engineering Programs are among its flagship Programs, with the prominent electrical engineer and winner of Nobel Prize in Physics, Guglielmo Marconi, as an alumnus.
Dean Marcelo’s participation in FoodInnova 2017 and visit to the UniBo School of Engineering was featured in the local newspaper of Cesena.
