On June 19-21, Professor Leonard M. C. Sagis and Elke Scholten from Wageningen University in the Netherlands visited our school and carried out an in-depth discussion with the leaders and faculty representatives on the collaborations in the research and student education. The Wageningen University is one of the best research universities on the agricultural and life sciences in Europe, ranking first in the world for agricultural science for the last three consecutive years. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2017, the food science and engineering discipline of Wageningen University ranks the first in the world.
First, Prof. Sagis introduced the general situation of Wageningen University and the main research fields of the Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences. He also warmly welcomed the students to go for further studies. In addition, he gave an academic report titled “Dynamics of Soft Interface Dominated Materials: A Multiscale Approach” to explain the profound topics including the soft interface-dominated food materials, interfacial stabilizer types, interfacial microstructure, complex interfaces and their rheology, and the modelling interfacial behavior in a simple way. His talk gave us a deeper understanding of the relationship between the interface-dominated food properties and the interfacial behavior.
Prof. Scholten further introduced the mission and research topics of the Food Physics Group in Wageningen University, as well as the undergraduate, graduate, and PhD education in Wageningen University. In addition, she gave an academic report entitled “Food Structuring Approaches for Reformulation of Foods” to share her recent researches on the fat distribution, double emulsions, and solid fat replacement by structured oils. She rationally designed the food structure to control the food texture and reduce the intake of fat, providing a new way for the preparation of healthy food.
After the meeting, Prof. Sagis and Scholten visited some research groups and laboratories in our school. Their visiting has laid the foundation for the future cooperation between Wageningen University and our school in the fields of agricultural and food science.（by Zhili Wan）
