Phi Tau Sigma : The Honor Society of Food Science and Technology

Chapter Advisor:

Dr. Mary K. Schmidl ([email protected])

Executive Board:

The mission of Phi Tau Sigma is to raise the stature and recognize scholarly achievements of the Food Science and Technology profession. This mission is achieved by encouraging outstanding achievement by Food Science students and professionals, and by enhancing Food Science professionals through the Phi Tau Sigma member network.

In 2014, the Minnesota Section of IFT and Phi Tau Sigma agreed to foster excellence in food science and technology through collaboration of two events. The first is to annually co-host a speaker event (preferably early Fall) where Phi Tau Sigma will select a well-known speaker and the second is to co-host “Student Recognition Night” where Minnesota Section scholarships are presented and Phi Tau Sigma will hold its induction ceremony.

The group also organized Building a Science Bridge to Africa and Beyond project. The program aims at improving the access of students and researchers in higher education on the African continent to peer-reviewed research articles and books. View the informational pamphlet (.pdf) to learn more and how you can participate.

Visit phitausigma.org for more information about membership

Eligibility Guidelines

Eligibility and guidelines for student membership:

1. Student nominees for membership should be pursuing a degree program in food science or equivalent, and have a current overall degree Grade Point Average (GPA) equal to or greater than 3.5 out of 4.0, or equivalent.
2. Student nominees for membership should indicate the number of credits completed toward the degree and the total credit requirement.  
3. Student nominees should be pursuing a degree in Food Science, or a closely related field, and have completed at least one course in each of the three core areas of study: Food Chemistry and Analysis, Food Safety and Microbiology, and Food Processing and Engineering.  For courses that are difficult to identify as food chemistry, food microbiology, food processing, etc. from the title, a description of course content should be provided at the bottom of Section Two.  Information on course work and competencies in the core areas of study within Food Science must be included.
4. Graduate students without an undergraduate degree in Food Science or allied field should not be nominated until the student has completed at least two semesters or four quarters of the graduate program.  
5. The statement of qualifications should be written in third person.
6. The statement of qualifications for students should focus on recognitions, honors and other academic achievements. 
7. The statement of qualifications for any student with a GPA less than a 3.5 should provide other evidence of academic achievements to justify the nomination.
8. The statement of qualifications for students pursuing programs of study other than those meeting the IFT Education Standards should provide evidence of the program's content in Food Chemistry and Analysis, Food Safety and Microbiology, and Food Processing and Engineering.  
    

Eligibility and guidelines for professional membership (all except students):

1. Food Science and Technology professionals nominated for membership must be, or have been, employed in a position directly related to Food Science and/or Technology, or Allied field, in industry, government, non-profit, trade association, private practice, or academic institution.
2. The statement of qualifications for professionals should clearly illustrate how contributions of the nominee have distinguished the nominee from other professionals with similar employment. Please write in the third person.
3. The statement of qualifications for professionals should demonstrate the relationship of recognitions, honors and other achievements to the professional strengths of the nominee.  
    

Please read prior to submitting a nomination for membership:

1. This is a nomination process and not an application.  The ΦTΣ Honor Society Nomination for Membership form shall be reviewed by the nominators prior to submission. 
2. The name of the nominee as printed on the nomination form will be used for membership certificate.
3.  An alternate email address of the nominee should be included, if there is one.
4. The nominators must be members in good standing (have paid their dues) in Phi Tau Sigma, and may be professionals, students, or one of each.  
5. The “Other Contact” name and email address should be for the Chapter Advisor, President, representative, or other individual, who will also be notified of the outcome of the Membership Qualifications & Evaluation Committee review. If the nominee will not be affiliated with a local chapter, this field can be left blank.
6. Please do not send attachments; they will be deleted.
7. All nominations from a single institution should be submitted as individual documents (pdf or Word format), not as a single packet. Email the nomination documents to the Executive Director: [email protected]. All nominators must be on the submission email, whether as the sender or copied on the email.
8. The Membership Qualifications and Evaluation Committee reviews all nomination and makes recommendations to the Executive Committee. The nomination evaluation process usually takes a month or so.  Incomplete nominations will delay the evaluation or result in rejection.
9. The nomination fee must be paid prior to review of the nomination material by Membership Qualifications and Evaluation Committee.  Please follow the instructions on page 2 above that are repeated here:

• Send this form as an email attachment to the Executive Director: [email protected] 
• The payment can be by a check drawn on a US bank to:
  Phi Tau Sigma, PO BOX 371, Lombard, IL 60148. 

• OR You may pay online at www.phitausigma.org. Click the gold “Pay Dues” button at the top right of the homepage.  Choose “Nomination Fee” from the drop-down menu. Then follow the prompts to proceed to pay online.

Professional member dues are $40 per year, student member dues are $20 per year. Lifetime membership is $400 with no recurrent billing. Submit nomination fee equal to first year dues at the same time as this form.  If elected to membership, the nomination fee is your first year’s dues or may be deducted from a Lifetime membership. Payment is required with this nomination form. 

1. A nominee who is rejected must wait at least 4 months before reapplying, to allow more courses to be taken, and/or more relevant activities to be accomplished.
2. Membership of anyone can be revoked for non-payment of dues, except Lifetime Members and Emeritus Members.
3. This document is on the Phi Tau Sigma website, subsection Membership. If you have questions or need clarification contact the Executive Director, [email protected] 

New members can send and receive messages via the [email protected] list service that enables direct communication with all members in good standing. Anyone may unsubscribe from the listserv at this link https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/phitausigma 

Thank you for your interest in Phi Tau Sigma.  We wish you continued success in advancing the profession of food science and technology.

Associate Members are eligible for scholarships, awards, honor cords, networking, leadership opportunities and monthly newsletter. Visit the Minnesota IFT website for information on student awards.

Informational pamphlet (.pdf)

Abiy Dadi - 2024
Yash Jagdale - 2023
Priyanshi Chaturvedi - 2022
Leslie Loehr - 2021
Sonali Raghunath - 2020
Yara Benavides - 2019
Vaidhyanathan Anatharamkrishnan - 2017 & 2018
Jenny Hayek - 2016
Chelsey Hinnenkamp - 2015
Ted Labuza - 2014
Mary Schmidl - 2013

Committee for "Building a Science Bridge to Africa and Beyond"

Jawadul Misir, Chair
Abiy Dadi, Co-Chair
Yash Jagdale, Social Media Chair
Dr. Mary Schmidl

Committee for "Speedy Science™ Competition"

Coleman Selfridge, Chair
Abiy Dadi, Co-Chair
Phanatchakorn Sutham, Treasurer
Jawadul Misir, Co-Chair
Yash Jagdale, Social Media Chair