Congratulations to Lydia Balogh for taking home 3rd place in the PhD Research Category at the Graduate Research Symposium. The Graduate Research Symposium is an annual event hosted by the HCS Graduate Student Association that provides HCS students and faculty from both our Wooster and Columbus campuses to come together to share their research!
Lydia is currently pursuing her PhD degree under the advisement of Dr. Jessica Cooperstone. In her words "the goal of my project is to, in collaboration with local apple growers, evaluate up-and-coming apple selections for their taste, flavor, and texture attributes that will provide value to local producers and consumers. With my collaborators, we will model how each of these apple traits relates to consumer 'liking' and intent to purchase to have a data-driven understanding of apple liking and willingness to purchase. We will then communicate our findings into easy-to-use material to share with growers, extension agents, and consumers."
We're thrilled to have Lydia in our department and fortunately she had a few moments to shed some further insight into her experiences at the 2024 Graduate Research Symposium...
WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON WINNING THIS AWARD?
I'm so happy to win a GRS PhD research category award! Last year I won an award in the proposal division, which was smaller, so this year I knew I had a lot more fantastic people to compete with. I feel honored to have received an award alongside some really amazing, accomplished people who have been working on their research for a lot longer than I have. I love presenting so I am happy that my joy for it came through for the judges to see!
HOW WAS THE GRS OVERALL?
My research in the fall focused on food sensory science tests. I needed a lot of participants to do this research, and a lot of people from the HCS community came to do tastings or participated in the descriptive analysis panel. It was really rewarding to be able to share research with people who were actually a part of it! I had some great conversations with tasters after my presentation on how they felt about the experience and results.
HOW’S YOUR RESEARCH GOING CURRENTLY?
Right now, my research is going well! I spent this semester helping supervise an undergraduate project and have been focusing on data analysis, classes, and am starting to prepare for my candidacy exams this summer.
CLOSING THOUGHTS?
I really appreciate the work the GRS committee and everyone involved put into organizing the event! Shout out to Madison Dahn for setting me up with a hands-free mic so I could do my breaking an apple in half trick!
Eager for more news from our 2024 Graduate Research Symposium? You're in luck - check out all the articles here.