Karen Schmidt, professor of animal sciences and industry at Kansas State University in Manhattan, assumed the role of president of the American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA®) during the 2017 ADSA Annual Meeting held June 25 to 28 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She will serve as president of the association for one year. Dr. Schmidt served as vice president of the organization for the past year and as director from the Dairy Foods Division of the organization prior to that.
Schmidt received her BS degree in food science from The Pennsylvania State University (1979) and her MS and PhD degrees in food science from the University of Minnesota (1986, 1989) She joined the faculty at the University of Georgia in 1990 with a research and teaching appointment. She taught several classes, such as Dairy Products Evaluation, Dairy Products Processing, Introduction to Food Science, and Food Quality Control. In 1994 she moved to Kansas State University to an appointment of teaching and research. From 1994 she has taught numerous classes, including Dairy Foods: Products and Processing, Food Plant Management, Food Product Evaluation, Fundamentals of Milk Processing, and Quality Assurance of Food Products.
She was the recipient of the Milk Industry Foundation Teaching Award in 2011. Her research area has focused on the quality and functionality of dairy foods, dairy proteins, and functional foods. During her time at Kansas State, she has served as an adviser to the Food Science Club and Dairy Science Club and coached seven Food Science Quiz Bowl teams and eight Dairy Products Evaluation Teams. She is a member of the Kansas State University Food Science Institute, Institute of Food Technologists, the International Association for Food Protection, and the American Dairy Science Association. Within ADSA, she has served as the chair of the Dairy Foods Division and a trustee of the ADSA Foundation an ADSA board member and most recently Vice President of the organization.
During the coming year, the Board plans to develop the strategic plan and initiatives that will ensure a great annual meeting next year and in future years. We will also consider ways to most effectively utilize the superfund to support the success of the Journal of Dairy Science and thus, ADSA.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN DAIRY SCIENCE ASSOCIATION® (ADSA)®
The American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) is an international organization of educators, scientists, and industry representatives who are committed to advancing the dairy industry and keenly aware of the vital role the dairy sciences play in fulfilling the economic, nutritive, and health requirements of the world's population. It provides leadership in scientific and technical support to sustain and grow the global dairy industry through generation, dissemination, and exchange of information and services. Together, ADSA members have discovered new methods and technologies that have revolutionized the dairy industry. www.adsa.org
