In addition to sponsored work, our lab is involved in collaborative projects both within the University community and with the food and consumer products industries.
Additional information about these roles can be obtained on our testing center page, or by contacting Harry Lawless, or Kathy Chapman directly.
Finally, as part of the larger University mission, the lab has an important teaching function for undergraduates enrolled in sensory science and related courses, for the graduate students that are part of the lab and for sensory professionals working in the industry. At least one short course is held here every summer for the benefit of this latter category.
Recent and ongoing projects:
A series of Experiments investigating the nature of metallic taste and whether or not it can be attributed to the development of a retronasal smell.
A positive correlation of instrumental measures of saliva turbidity was made with perceived astringency of metallic salts.
A study aimed to identify the volatiles rewsponsible for ortho- and retru-nasal metallic sensations of solutions of ferrous sulfate, as well as understand the conditions under which these sensations occur.
A study to better understand metallic aroma in relation to a myriad of odor active compounds.
Recent collaborative projects have included sweetener research; effects of porcine somatotropin on pork texture and flavor; milk, ice cream, cottage cheese and cheddar cheese evaluation; ingredient substitutions an shelf-life studies of a nutritional dairy-based beverage; studies of fat level perception in fluid milk; descriptive and consumer analyses of exotic tropical vegetables; consultation on wine quality evaluations; meat snack consumer assessments; evaluations of cob corn as a function of harvest data and moisture content; and participation in milk shelf-life assessments.
Past Projects:
Perception of low fat foods. Development of model systems for study of texture perception and flavor release in fat-substituted foods.
Investigation of qualitative and intensive properties of astringent materials: Psychophysics, structure-activity and time-intensity studies.
Evalation of hot pepper principals: Including investigations into time-course and structure-activity relationships, and perception differences among different ethnic populations.
Updated methods for sensory evaluation of dairy products: Alternative descriptive procedures to traditional dairy evaluations. Effect of blind vs. brand testing on perception of low fat foods.
Sensory Classification and categorization of terpene aroma materials: Perceptual models and mapping of odors; contextual biases, effects of training on nasal performance.
Individual differences in odor perception (specific anosmia) potentially associated with differences in food and flavor or aroma perception.
Psychological biases in time-related sensory measurements. Other contextural effects and biases introduced by information and expectations.