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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline DECEMBER 06, 2024 | The Indian Eye 24

Dharmendra Mishra led Purdue’s new institute to help

farmers develop market ready food & beverages

OUR BUREAU safety factors they need to control,
and assessing their potential market.
West Lafayette, IN
Also providing resources to the
harmendra Mishra, an Indian new institute is the food science de-
American associate professor partment’s Pilot Plant. After entre-
Dof food science, has been se- preneurs develop their recipe, they
lected to head the newly established need a pilot test before they begin
Institute for Food Product Innovation full-scale commercial production.
and Commercialization at Purdue “That’s where our Pilot Plant is
University, which focuses on assisting important,” Mishra said. “We can cre-
farmers in converting raw agricultural ate or simulate a commercial process
products into market-ready food and in our Pilot Plant to know how this
beverages. is going to behave in a larger-scale
The newly formed institute at manufacturing environment.”
Purdue University will be offering In addition to benefiting the eco-
training and development support nomic well-being of the region, “we
to agriculture producers with nov- also want to create impact for the
el food and beverage product ideas. uct,” said Dharmendra Mishra, insti- A joint effort of Purdue’s depart- farmer participants and our students
The new Institute for Food Product tute director and associate professor ments of Food Science and Agricul- as well as the broader program of
Innovation and Commercialization is of food science. Entrepreneurs face tural Economics, the institute is part Food Entrepreneurship and Man-
funded by a $1.5 million grant from many steps and challenges in con- of the USDA Agriculture Innovation ufacturing Institute, FEMI,” Mish-
the U.S. Department of Agriculture verting commodity crops into new Center Program. The new institute ra said. “At any given time, we have
Rural Development. products for retail sales. “We want to can help train rural entrepreneurs many undergraduate students and
“This grant is focused on farmers remove those hurdles for farmer-en- in developing a recipe, making their graduate students working on re-
who want to add value to their prod- trepreneurs,” he said. product, educating them about the al-life projects.”

SBU’s DePerro School of Health Professions

appoints Swagata Banik as new dean

OUR BUREAU Dr. Banik, not only for his wide range
of expertise in the health professions,
St Bonaventure, NY
but for the passion he conveyed when
wagata Banik, Ph.D., has discussing the initiatives that matter
been named the new dean most to him,” said Dr. David Hilmey,
Sof the Dennis R. DePer- SBU’s provost and vice president for
ro School of Health Professions Academic Affairs. “His research on
at St. Bonaventure University. health disparities among marginal-
Banik, who serves as the Medi- ized communities couldn’t be better
cal Mutual Endowed chair for Public aligned with our Franciscan mission.”
Health and Population Health at Bald- Located in iconic Francis Hall, the
win Wallace University in suburban School of Health Professions offers
Cleveland, was selected dean of the four undergraduate programs (Health
DePerro School after a national search; Science, Public Health, RN to B.S. in
he begins work at SBU January 21. Nursing, and a Dual Degree Nursing
A faculty member and academic Program) and four graduate programs
administrator at Baldwin Wallace since (Master of Public Health, Master of
2011, Banik also held prominent roles Science in Physician Assistant Stud-
as dean of Graduate Education and to care, eliminating disparities, and empowering our students to make a ies, Master of Science in Occupational
Research, director of the Center for fostering culturally responsive insti- meaningful impact in the lives of those Therapy and Master’s Entry to Nurs-
Health Disparities Research and Edu- tutions and providers who genuinely they serve,” he said. ing Practice).
cation, and chair of the Department of value and compassionately serve their An active scholar, Banik has pub- The nation’s first Franciscan uni-
Public Health and Prevention Sciences. communities,” he said. lished extensively, serves on editorial versity, St. Bonaventure University
Banik said he’s “deeply grate- “Inspired by Bonaventure’s boards for leading journals, and holds is a community committed to trans-
ful for the opportunity to join St. mission of compassionate service, I leadership roles in various civic and forming the lives of the students inside
Bonaventure” as dean of the De- am committed to creating a culture professional organizations. and outside the classroom, inspiring in
Perro School. “The future of health where service and compassion are at “People here who had a chance them a lifelong commitment to service
and wellness lies in expanding access the heart of health care education, to meet him were so impressed with and citizenship.

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