Yulie Meneses and Alex Nelson were profiled in the September 22nd issue of the Lincoln Journal-Star.  The article can be read here.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Mint green colored pistachio-flavored milk soon might become a standard in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Dairy Store.

It will, at least, if everything goes according to the plans of two food science and technology students who visited southern India this summer and learned how to create the milk. The trip by Yulie Meneses and Alex Nelson was the result of agreements signed between UNL and two universities in India.

The agreements with Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) in Chennai and Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU) in Tirupati allow for faculty and student exchanges. Vice chancellors and faculty members from both institutions have visited UNL, and one visiting faculty member from TANUVAS recently conducted research on ways to ensure the safety and extend shelf life of indigenous Indian dairy products.

Meneses, a graduate student from Ecuador, and Nelson, a senior from Omaha, were the first UNL students to visit India as part of the agreements. During their monthlong visit in July and August, they visited both universities and four area dairy plants.

"We were sent to learn about India's dairy products and how they were prepared," Nelson said.

The purpose of the trip was to "put teeth into" the agreements, said Rolando Flores, head of the Department of Food Science and Technology and director of The Food Processing Center.

"We treat these agreements seriously," Flores said, explaining that a relationship with Indian universities is beneficial in terms of shared knowledge and exposure to global markets that could promote economic development opportunities in Nebraska.

Meneses and Nelson spent much of their time learning about the variety of dairy products in India, where dairy is the most successful food industry organized as a co-op and owned by the milk producers. After watching Indian products being developed, they made the products themselves.

"The idea was to get two products that could be produced in Nebraska," Meneses said.

They decided the two products they would develop here would be pistachio-flavored milk and gulab jamun, a popular Indian dessert.

Flavored milk is common in India, and Meneses and Nelson enjoyed much of what they sampled, including almond and pistachio flavors. They decided on pistachio because it is a popular ice cream flavor in the United States and they felt that popularity would transfer to milk.

Gulab jamun may be a harder sell, they said, but it is tasty and should find a market once people try it. Resembling a donut hole, it is created from a dough made with khoa -- condensed milk -- and served in a sugar-rich syrup.

Before the products can be sold at the dairy store, Meneses and Nelson will serve them at a seminar they will give this fall to food science administrators, faculty and students. They also need to get the green light from Flores, who said he hopes Indian food products could be available in the store by the end of this year.

Flores hopes more UNL students will be able to visit India to learn about food processing. The trips are financed through department and NU Foundation funds as well as private donations.

"Every student who goes overseas gets life-learning experiences that will stay with them the rest of their lives," Flores said.

In the meantime, UNL will continue to host visiting Indian faculty members, Flores said. The Indian faculty benefit by learning more about American food processing and equipment. UNL benefits by being exposed to new techniques shared by the Indian faculty and the knowledge gained through their research, Flores said.
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9/16/09-LM Source: Rolando Flores, Department of Food Science and Technology head and director of Food Processing Center, (402) 472-1664, rflores2@unl.edu
India.16 Writer: Lori McGinnis, IANR News Service, (402) 472-3030, lmcginnis2@unl.edu

Call for pre-proposals for Nebraska EPSCoR FIRST AWARD grant program
Deadline: 5:00 p.m., Monday, October 19, 2009
Nebraska EPSCoR has created a competitive FIRST AWARD grant program to help Nebraska early career faculty members to initiate their research programs. This program is funded by an NSF infrastructure grant to Nebraska EPSCoR. The FIRST AWARD grant is limited to $20,000 for one year with 100% matching requirement. Nebraska EPSCoR anticipates awarding approximately six grants. Each grantee is required to submit a CAREER grant proposal to NSF at the end of the award period.
Who may apply: An assistant professor in a tenure-leading position in any university in the state who is: a) in the first four years of his/her academic career; and b) eligible to apply for an NSF CAREER grant during the award period.
Type of eligible project: Any project that potentially could be supported by a National Science Foundation competitive research grant is eligible.
Match requirement and duration: An award amount is limited to $20,000 and requires a one-for-one non-federal match (cash or in-kind). No Indirect Costs are allowed. FIRST AWARDs are granted for a period of one year, starting April 1, 2010, and ending March 31, 2011. The NSF grant funding the First Award program ends July 31, 2010; therefore, all First Award funds supplied by Nebraska EPSCoR must be spent by July 15, 2010.
Approval process: All pre-proposals will be reviewed by a grant subcommittee designated by Nebraska EPSCoR. The grant subcommittee will be composed of members of the scientific community but not necessarily experts in the field of each proposal; therefore, use language that is understandable to those with general knowledge of the area. It is anticipated that fewer than ten applicants will be invited to prepare an NSF CAREER-like full proposal. Each full proposal will be reviewed, using NSF proposal review criteria, by approximately three external experts in the field. The Nebraska EPSCoR Committee will select FIRST AWARD recipients.
Pre-proposal content: The pre-proposal must be prepared using font size 11 or greater with 1 inch margins. NSF CAREER proposal criteria should be followed for this pre-proposal except insofar as specifically directed otherwise by this RFP (special attachments required by NSF should not be included in the pre-proposal). The pre-proposal should consist of the following:
1. Budget: Attach a completed Nebraska EPSCoR Budget and Approval Form available from our web site at http://epscor.unl.edu/forms . Identify the NSF program to which the CAREER proposal is intended to be submitted in the Federal Agency/Program space on the form. The pre-proposal budget should provide expenditure plan for the total budget (EPSCoR funds plus match). Be sure appropriate signature and match account numbers appear on the form. No indirect costs are allowed.
2. Body of the Pre-proposal:
a. the main body of the pre-proposal. The main body, including references, may not exceed six pages. It should have 1) a section describing the research, 2) a section on its intellectual merit and significance, 3) a section describing the educational plan of the PI, 4) a section addressing the broader impact, and 5) a budget justification section. Other sections may be included as necessary. Any citations should be included in the six-page limit;
b. CV summary: a two-page CV that has been prepared according to NSF instructions and also lists the PI’s current grants;
c. a letter of endorsement from the appropriate department chair or dean. The letter must attest that the PI meets the necessary qualifications for the FIRST AWARD as well as the CAREER Award, and delineate how this grant would enhance the competitiveness of the PI.
Submission: Pre-proposals must be submitted electronically and in print.

1. The pre-proposal must be submitted electronically via the Nebraska EPSCoR web site at http://epscor.unl.edu/rfps no later than 5 p.m., Monday, October 19, 2009. Note that, per web-site instructions for electronic submission, the Budget and Approval Form must be submitted as one file. The pre-proposal body (consisting of the main body, CV summary, and letter of endorsement) must be submitted also as one file (separate from the budget file); it is preferable that these files be submitted in PDF format.


2. The original pre-proposal, in print and with appropriate signatures, also must be received no later than 5 p.m., Monday, October 19, 2009, in the Nebraska EPSCoR office at W192 Nebraska Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0557.

Faculty selected to develop CAREER-like full proposals will be notified in early November 2009. Full proposals will be due in the Nebraska EPSCoR office by mid-January 2010.

We are pleased to announce Student/Postdoc Travel Scholarships to attend the 6th Annual Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Symposium (BIOT-2009). These travel scholarships are made available through a National Science Foundation award. All students and postdocs are welcome to apply. Please follow the application procedure below to apply for a travel scholarship.

Application Deadline: September 10 (Thu), 2009

Eligibility: Only current students (graduate or undergraduate) and postdocs are eligible for the awards. Ask your current supervisors or PIs to send a short confirmation email for the applicant's current status (student or postdoc) to BiotechPSIOffice@unl.edu with "BIOT-2009 Scholarship Confirmation" in the subject line. The confirmation emails are due by September 10 (Thu), 2009.
Abstract Submission: Applicants are required to submit a one-page poster abstract, and if chosen, to attend the meeting and present the poster. If applicants have already submitted papers or two-page abstracts for oral presentation, no other abstract submission is necessary. The abstract (or paper) should have the applicant as the first author. In the comment section of the paper/abstract submission website, write "Student Scholarship" or "Postdoc Scholarship," depending on your qualification.
Email Application: In addition to the abstract submission, send an Email to BiotechPSIOffice@unl.edu with "BIOT-2009 Scholarship Application" in the subject line. In the Email body, include the following information:
1.        Paper/abstract ID#
2.        Full Legal Name
3.        Home address
4.        Country of citizenship (If you do not have a US SSN)
5.        Email address
6.        Name and Email of your supervisor/PI who will send the confirmation Email
Travel Scholarships: Travel scholarship amounts, based on actual expenses, will be awarded up to $1,500 depending on the quality and number of applications. Awardees will be notified via email no later than September 25 (Fri), 2009.
Registration: Registration and payment of the registration fee is required for all awardees. Note that the cancellation policy applies. For details, see BIOT-2009 website: http://www.biotconf.org/
**Foreign applicants, not in the US: Foreign individuals, not in the US, should email the BiotechPSIOffice@unlnotes.unl.edu their interest in the Travel Scholarships as soon as possible for additional information.

Applications that do not follow the above procedure will not be considered for the Travel Scholarship. Note also that we may invite a few awardees for oral presentation. For more information on BIOT-2009 visit our website at: http://www.biotconf.org/