Wolfing Down Food Science

Send us Fan Mail

This episode was recorded live at the BakingTECH 2026 meeting in Chicago with our guest, Heather Simpson.

Heather Simpson has built a diverse career in the food industry, leveraging her Food Science education from Purdue University. Her journey began at Mars Corp's DoveBar plant gaining experience in production. She then transitioned to the dairy industry, working with a hydrocolloid ingredient company to support McDonald's shake and soft serve products, deepening her expertise in food ingredients and applications.

Heather's career path then led her to a sales position with Kraft Food Ingredients, where she honed her skills in client relations and business development. After a hiatus to focus on raising her sons, she re-entered the industry in a sensory role at McDonald's Corporate. Her subsequent work at Jimmy Dean / Tyson Foods involved carrier breads, adding experience in food product innovation. A brief stint at Newlyweds Foods saw her developing English muffins, before joining Tate and Lyle.

Heather is currently a Technical Service Account Manager at Tate and Lyle, focused on snack foods and alcoholic beverages. Her varied background and extensive industry knowledge have made her a valuable asset in her role, on what she affectionately calls the "party team," reflecting her enthusiasm and passion for her work.

American Society of Baking Website: https://asbe.org/

BakingTech Website: https://asbe.org/bakingtech/

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we've "escaped" our ordinary format to talk with three amazing guests at once:

• Clint Stevenson, NC State Professor and Distance Ed Coordinator
• Dave Seddon, Co-Founder and Chief Safety Officer at FoodReady
• David Wilson,  Chief Creative Officer at Intoxicated by Riddles and Co-Founder of the True/False Film Fest

The topic?  Clint, Dave, and David's collaborative project using the concept of escape rooms to teach food safety skills.  For the beta-test, they let faculty and staff try out the escape room on day one (lot's of fun, I must say), then unleashed students into rooms with three unique scenarios on day two.  Can't wait to see what they do with this escape room concept in the future.

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

To start out the new year, we're recapping PodFest 2026, which wrapped in mid January and looking ahead to BakingTECH 2026.  Podcast was about every type of podcast and every aspect of podcasting you can think of, while BakingTECH is really focused in on the commercial baking industry.  In this episode, we talk about some of the surprising and cool things about PodFest, including what Pecha Kucha is and training with stand-up comics.  To our surprise and delight, we were invited to both conferences because of the WDFS podcast.

PodFest 2027 (just in case you'd like to go next year) https://podfestexpo.com/

BakingTECH2026 (in case you'd still like to go) https://asbe.org/bakingtech2026/

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

It has been a great 2025 for WDFS.  We spoke with wonderful, highly accomplished guests who provided a plethora of good advice about food science careers, about professionalism, and about life.  We welcomed Stella as our podcast editor.  We had our first Spanish/English bilingual podcast.  We were pleasantly surprised to be invited to do a live podcast at the American Society of Baking annual conference.  Incredibly (for us, anyway) the podcast is now heard in 107 countries around the world.  So much to be grateful for.

In this episode we decided to interview one another about the year that was 2025.

We hope you enjoy this last WDFS podcast episode of 2025 and look forward to great new interviews in 2026.

Until then, keep Wolfing Down Food Science!

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Arnie Sair is a third generation Ph.D. food scientist, a returning guest to WDFS, and Head of Global Quality & Food Safety at Bunge.  Arnie returns to WDFS with a new endeavor: the Core Ready™ leadership program.  Core Ready is focused on building the soft skills and leadership habits students need to thrive in the workforce from day one using the FORM TUF ABS™ approach.  In this episode, Arnie explains what each letter of FORM TUF ABS™ means and how each skill benefits early career advancement.  With a career path that has allowed him to grow as a leader and facilitate that growth in others, he is uniquely positioned to offer success to those just entering the workforce, as well as those looking to add new skill sets.

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

Join us as we sit down with Dr. Chris Daubert, who brings a wealth of experience from every corner of the Food Science world.

Currently serving as Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri Columbia, Dr. Daubert shares his unique career path—from his roots in agricultural engineering and becoming a recognized expert in rheology (the study of flow), to his pivotal roles as Department Head at NC State (2010-2017) and most recently, President of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

Join us as we explore the evolution of his leadership style, the crucial differences between leading a department versus an entire university college, the major challenges facing food science leadership today, and his top advice for students interested in leading the next generation. Don't miss this insightful look into the forces shaping the future of food!

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

April Hix Morrison is an alumna of our department and has, for the last 17 years, served as our professional Academic Advisor across all three of our Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Science majors.  A big part of April’s job is helping students’ thrive at NC State.  To aid in this, NC State University, and many others, have implemented Clifton Strengths assessments to help students discover and develop their greatest talents.  April became a Clifton Strengths coach this year to enhance her ability to support students. 

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Katie McKee is an Associate Professor and Leadership Educator in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at NC State University. Her work focuses on transformative leadership and its application to solving complex challenges to enable communities to thrive. Her research and extension efforts, including the Agents for Change program, a center on developing leadership capacity among youth, college students, and professionals to address "big, messy challenges" in their communities, with a strong emphasis on the common good in agriculture and education.

Learn more about Dr. Katherine McKee and her work.

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

In our first English/Spanish bilingual episode we talk international science communication with agronomist Dr. Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola.  Malu is equally comfortable giving lectures in university classroom or (out standing) in the middle of a wheat field.

Note: We switch from English to Spanish at 20:20.

Dr. Maria Luz "Malu" Zapiola earned her Master's in Crop Science and Genetics, as well as her Doctorate in Agronomy and Crop Science at Oregon State University.  She has worked as an agronomist for companies including Barenbrug Palaversich and Monsanto industry, focusing on forage trials and crop protection.  She has also worked as a professor at the Catholic University of Argentina, where she taught courses on crop protection and biotechnology, and directed a molecular biology lab.  She now works at Argenbio, conducting "train the trainer" programs and managing the Infoalimentos website, which is designed to combat misinformation and promote sustainable, science-based decision making. She hosts the Presentaciones Fructiferas podcasts, which focuses on improving science communication, the topic of this podcast.  

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Fernanda Santos’ route to food science was not direct.  But one thing is for sure, she has found a home in food science at NC State University.  Dr. Santos teaches 13 classes at NC State, one of which is a project-based class for seniors in food science and bioprocessing.  Through collaboration with faculty and industry, she is giving students real-world experience.  We are excited to hear about her path to food science and her newest collaboration with WDFS!  

We have rebranded Wolfing Down Food Science!  

You may have heard a new voice (and some new tunes, thanks Keith!) in the intro and outro on the podcast.  We welcome Stella Gosek to the team as student producer and the voice in the theme music! Stay tuned to our Instagram and LinkedIn to meet Stella and other students, without whom, none of the WDFS brand would be possible.

Exciting offerings can be found in our blog, launching October 10, 2025 and our Youtube channel.  You can stay in touch with us and all our happenings through Instagram, LinkedIn and Linktree.

Got a questions for us?  Email us at [email protected]
Please take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!