To increase the academic attainment of studentsfrom the College of Biosystems engineering and Food Science, a series of onlinelectures related to digital agriculture and future food was held in 2021. OnAugust 10^th, Dr. Yun Yin, an assistant professor from the Departmentof Food Science and Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and StateUniversity, gave an academic report entitled “Flavor Science 101: Principles,Application and Implications”. The event was host by professor Hui Zhang’sresearch assistant Meiyu Chen.

Dr. Yin’ s research interests focus on (1) characterizingflavor compounds in food systems and (2) identifying their formation pathways, (3)applying novel engineering solutions to existing difficulties in flavormanufacturing, and (4) convenient synthesis of highly unstable odorants. Hercurrent research interest also extends to the correlation between aromaattributes and genetic expression in plants.

Flavor is the key driver of consumer acceptancefor food products from multi-dimensional aspects and largely determines thecommercial success of newly launched food products. However, understanding theformation mechanisms and experience of flavors is difficult. One the one hand,flavor covers aroma, taste and chemical feeling from multi-scale sensations,and the inner neurobiological process and their relationships withphysiological stimulation are still under study. On the other hand, the aromasystem of food products is complicated and it is difficult to find the exactchemical compounds that contribute the most to the flavor. For, example, morethan 1,000 volatile compounds contributed to the perception of hop aroma.Moreover, the low concentration and inequal contribution of each aroma compoundmakes it difficult to isolate and analyze. Subsequently, Dr. Yin introducedsome widely-used aroma extraction methods, including solid-phasemicroextraction (SPME), simultaneous distillation solvent extraction (SDE), directsolvent extraction (DSE), and solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE),separation and characterization methods (GC/MS). She also gave some casestudies on quality control of crackers, off-flavored UHT milk, and nonfat drymilk.

Apart from research work, Dr. Yin shared herexperience on living and studying abroad at University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign. She also gave some advices on maintain excellentsupervisor‒graduate relationships.

After report, Dr. Yin had a communication andinteraction with students regarding questions on the data processing andanalytical methods for results acquired from GC/MS. Students all displayed appreciationto Dr. Yin’ s report and her kindly advices on studying abroad.