Clarkson Chemistry Ph.D. student Oluwatosin Popoola has received an American Chemical Society (ACS) graduate student award from the Division of Agricultural Chemistry (AGRO) for his research on smart antimicrobial food packaging for the 2022 Fall ACS National Meeting.
The award recognizes students who work on projects that promote an understanding of the role of chemistry in agriculture. The selection is based on the student’s resume and extended abstract that describes the candidate’s research and impact on agriculture, food supply, and the environment. The award will cover up to $1000 of conference travel and attendance expenses.
“This award is a recognition of our research and Oluwatosin’s contribution to the development of smart packaging for addressing key challenges in agriculture and food supply,” said Professor Silvana Andreescu, Oluwatosin advisor and Egon Matijevic Chair in the Department of Chemistry & Biomolecular Science at Clarkson.
Oluwatosin’s presentation will discuss the development of 3D-printed nanocomposites with antimicrobial and sensing functions for food packaging. Post-processing food wastage is still one of the major pressing challenges to food supply all over the world as a result of food spoilage by actions of microorganisms such as bacteria. Achieving sustainability within the food system requires solutions to both extend the food shelf life and create biodegradable packaging to reduce the environmental food-print.
Andreescu and her research team are developing smart antimicrobial packaging from sustainable sources to maintain and monitor the quality and shelf-life of food, thereby reducing food loss and food waste.
Several other students from Andreescu’s group, including Reem Khan, Aqsa Khan, Aaditya Deshpande, Abd Ur Rehman and Mohamed Hassan will also attend and present their research at the ACS Fall ’22 Conference.
