How is this done? You may ask; the Christian university does this by challenging its students to discover what exactly they are called to do. After one discerns what it is, they are called to do, the university teaches the student to live his or her life according to that calling. For more information, interested students are gladly welcomed to visit the school’s premises or the school’s website.

With the threat of disease and famine, scientists are always discovering new technologies that help humanity and the world. Due to diseases such as cancer and AIDS, money is constantly poured into studies that are devoted to developing cures and treatments. Not only that, but alternative energy is a fast growing market and as carbon-based fuel becomes more scarce, the world turns to scientists to discover alternative energy sources.

Food science is the study of every aspect of food. It covers every step – from the harvesting and slaughtering to the cooking and consumption of food. It is classified as a life science, and scientists specializing in food science study microbiology, chemical engineering, and biochemistry, among others. They are responsible for the best way to grow crops, raising animals, preserving our food, and even the way we eat our food.

Food science majors can get jobs in many different places. Some of them include laboratories, pet food manufacturers, supermarkets, and food ingredient suppliers.

Let’s take a look at just some of the jobs that food scientists are responsible for.

- Food Safety
The area of food safety is concerned with the causes of and the prevention of foodborne illnesses. They study the best ways to handle, store, and prepare food to prevent foodborne illness, such as E. Coli and Salmonella. Important and meticulous routines must be followed to ensure that people do not fall ill due to food poisoning.

- Food Preservation
Many foods today are stored to prevent them from going bad, or spoiling. Food preservation is the study of the treatment and handling of food to stop or slow food spoilage. Food spoiling is usually caused by micro-organisms. Sometimes yeasts and benign bacteria is used to preserve foods such as cheese and wine. Methods of preservation include drying, freezing, pickling, vacuum packing, smoking, and canning.

- Food Packaging
Food packaging is just that – packaging for food. Scientists dealing with food packaging are aware of the special physical, biological and chemical needs of different foods that are packaged. Tamper resistant packages are necessary to ensure that no one is able to contaminate the food. The food is also required to have any nutrition information and ingredients on the package. Other uses of food packaging include marketing strategies, portion control, and convenience.

Other areas of food science involve food microbiology, food engineering, sensory analysis, and product development.

‘This is a vast electronic resource and we need new methods to mine it for useful information,’ said Professor Dietmar Müller of the University of Sydney.

Professor Müller and his team are developing electronic tools to access and compile the data so that the changes over geological time in the Earth’s crust can be tracked and simulated. Known as the Virtual Geological Observatory (VIRGO), it is one of the new-generation tools Australia will need for future mineral exploration.

‘Accessing these distributed data sources is essential, bringing it to the fingertips of just about anyone. Infrastructure such as the national broadband network will radically accelerate this,’ he said.

He is a keynote speaker at the Theo Murphy High Flyer’s Think Tank beginning at the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra today.

The High Flyers Think Tank 2010, Searching the Deep Earth: The Future of Australian Resource Discovery and Utilisation, is gathering of about 60 of the country’s brightest early-and mid-career research scientists from a range of disciplines relating to exploration and mining. They will be discussing questions such as: How are we going to find the next giant deposits to mine? What new technologies will we need to exploit them in a low-carbon future?

On the first day leading scientists will speak on a range of highly relevant topics including:

The challenge of discovering deeply buried ore deposits – Dr Neil Williams PSM FTSE
Knowledge discovery via a virtual geological observatory – Professor Dietmar Müller
Giant ore deposits: Why they are important! – Richard Schodde
Giant ore deposits: How do we get better at targeting them? – Dr Jon Hronsky
Society and exploration: Considerations for now and in the future – Peta Ashworth
Current issues for the future of innovation and new technologies in minerals exploration – Dr Tom Whiting.
Further information and program: www.science.org.au/events/thinktank2010/index.html

Event: 2010 High Flyers Think Tank

Date: 19-20 August 2010

Venue: Shine Dome, Gordon Street, Acton, Canberra

Contact: Tim Thwaites at Science in Public on (03) 9398 1416, 0422 817 372, tim@scienceinpublic.com.au

or Mona Akbari, Australian Academy of Science on (02) 6201 9452, 0447 679 612, mona.akbari@science.org.au

We know more about the surface of Mars than we do of the earth beneath our feet. Australian earth scientists are calling for a national program to map our country – 300 metres down under.

By mapping the surface of the continent last century, Australia’s geologists helped to locate the minerals that underpin our economy today. Now most of the surface deposits have been discovered and are being mined. To find more, researchers argue that we need to go deep into the Earth to understand where ore bodies are formed.

A long-term national project to map the crust of Australia in three dimensions down to more than 300 metres is needed. This ambitious initiative emerged from a Think Tank involving 60 of the nation’s brightest young earth scientists held at the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra last week. The plan is to provide information which will boost exploration by helping to predict where to look for natural resources all over the continent.

‘In effect, it is all about providing the essential data to help us understand our continent, so that we can manage it better’ says Dr Jon Hronsky, Director of Western Mining Services and Chairman of the Board of the Centre for Exploration Targeting in Western Australia.

‘Not only will this initiative assist the mining industry, but it will also allow us to discover resources such as new supplies of ground water and hot rocks for energy.’

‘The next Australian Government needs to face this issue of where the mineral deposits which will grow our future economy are to be found. At present we know more about the surface of Mars, than we do about what lies 10 metres under our feet.’

Some of the important elements of the initiative include:

• a national map of the loose, weathered material which covers solid ore-bearing rock

• the development of innovative new technologies for mapping the rock

• a strategic deep drilling program to verify the results

• a national program of technology transfer from research into exploration companies

The multidisciplinary discussions that led to these conclusions will be summarised along with further details of the initiative in a report of the proceedings of the Think Tank.

For further information contact:

Dr Jon Hronsky on 0417 992 518 or jon.hronsky@wesminllc.com

or Mona Akbari, Australian Academy of Science on (02) 6201 9452, 0447 679 612, or mona.akbari@science.org.au