32. Life as a PhD student and research in Food science and food engineering

Science on surfaces - Tips, Tricks and Tools

What is life in research like? How ambitious and performance-oriented do you have to be to do a PhD? And - what is the difference between Food science and Food engineering?

I this episode, we talk to Dr. Holly Huellemeier, Graduate Research Assistant at the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering at the Ohio State University, to learn more about what it is like to spend years in research to earn a doctoral degree.

At the time of the recording, Dr. Huellemeier had just graduated and was preparing to take on a postdoc overseas. With the experience fresh in mind, she generously shared some of her insights and perspectives on her years as a PhD student. We talked about why she decided to go for a career in science, what a typical day looked like, what aspects she enjoyed the most and what she found challenging. We also talked about her research project which was on the mechanisms of fouling and cleaning during thermal milk processing, and she also explained what the difference between food science and food engineering is. Finally, Dr. Huellemeier shared some advice to those of you who are considering doing a Ph.D.

Thanks for listening! If you are interested in surface and interface science and related topics, you should check out our blog - the Surface Science blog