  Julian Ikediala, a biological systems engineering doctoral candidate at Washington State University, is searching for an alternative to fumigation as a way to kill codling moths in cherries and apples. His project is especially urgent, since methyl bromide, the most common fumigant for codling moths, has been identified by the Clean Air Act as an ozone-depleting chemical and will be prohibited in 2001. Instead of creating another chemical, which could take years, Ikediala is developing a thermal alternative that would allow farmers to continue exporting cherries and apples to Japan. A major importer of cherries, Japan has instituted strict quarantine rules to prevent an introduction of the codling moth. Working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, Ikediala is experimenting with a microwave process that would destroy codling moth larvae without affecting the freshness and nutritional value of the fruit. Because the larvae of codling moths burrow to the core of the cherry, it is important to heat the fruit from the inside to kill them. For Ikediala it is necessary to understand not only the habits of codling moths, but also the way microwaves are transmitted and how they circulate during high-temperature heating processes of short duration. This combination of study makes him part entomologist, part food scientist, and part engineer. Ming Lau is also investigating microwave processing, not as a way to kill insect larvae, but as a quick method to destroy bacterial spores and preserve food quality. Lau, also a doctoral candidate in biological systems engineering, is working with the U.S. Army on a way to produce more appealing military rations. Before Lau determines strategies for consistently and thoroughly killing bacterial spores in packaged food, she needs to understand why microwaves don’t heat uniformly. If you’ve ever heated a potato in the microwave, you know that even though it’s supposed to heat from the inside, the center is sometimes firmer than the edges. Lau spent a summer with the Army in Boston, where she learned a method of precise temperature measurement, using chemical markers that reveal the varying temperatures of the entire surface and interior of heated foodstuffs. Lau remains cautious about characterizing the mechanics of microwaves. She and her adviser, Juming Tang, who also works with Ikediala, take this project step by step, seeking a solid understanding of how microwaves work. Nevertheless, she has helped to develop a microwave pressurized vessel to process military rations. Trying to effect solutions to public problems has given Ikediala and Lau the opportunity to consider their respective places in society. Ikediala views the world as a community and himself as a contributor to it by virtue of his ability to think problems through. Growing up in Nigeria, he saw subsistence farmers and their families lose up to 70 percent of their crops due to spoilage. This taught him the importance of having access to methods of food conversion and preservation. In high school he considered a career in medicine, but despite his interest in biology, found it was too difficult to see people in pain. He concluded that making the most of life meant solving problems, and decided to pursue a doctorate for that reason. In addition to her research into microwave processing, Lau, who is originally from Malaysia, is also interested in increasing the safety of packaged food that is shipped to third world countries. Someday she hopes to create a product with a long shelf-life and rigid packaging that resists denting. For now, though, she is not getting ahead of herself. —Kristin Harper |