AI in Food Innovation

Food tech bench with vegetables, microscope, monitor, etc

Event Date

Location
392 Old Davis Road, Davis, CA 95616

About the Event

Every food product that you have enjoyed started with an idea and a recipe. But designing a product that consumers enjoy and bringing it to market can take a long time. Digital AI assistance is emerging as a tool for food product development that could reduce costs and time to bring new foods to grocery store shelves. Savor will bring together experts in the field to discuss the possibilities, limitations and the importance of including social and cultural perspectives in food innovation. 

Registration:

The event will be presented in person at the Sensory Theatre, Robert Mondavi Institute, UC Davis Campus.

  • Tickets are $25 per person, $15 for students.
  • Includes a welcome reception with a hosted bar and appetizers.
  • Limited seats are available. Parking details are below.
  • A pop-up exhibit from the UC Davis Library Archives and Special Collections will be displayed in the lobby.

Speaker Biographies

 
Carrie Alexander

Carrie Alexander is a postdoctoral scholar for Socioeconomics, Ethics, and Policy at the USDA-NIFA/NSF AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS), and a lecturer in Science and Technology Studies at UC Davis. Her research areas include AI technologies and policy, food system adaptation, corporate law, liability frameworks, negotiation, risk, and governance in contexts of intense cultural and technological change and high-stakes political and economic decision-making. Drawing on computational and qualitative methods including regression and topic modeling, textual analysis, interviews, focus groups, and surveys, she works across disciplinary lines and sectors to identify, define, and propose solutions for pressing societal problems. She is a prior Mellon Public Scholar and a research consultant for the State of California. She has lectured, published, and presented on AI technologies, law and policy, negotiation strategies, cultural and technological change, and built and natural environments.

Justin Shimek

Justin Shimek is CEO and Chairman at Mattson & Co., an independent developer of food and beverage products that is creating and shaping the future of food. His clients range from Fortune 500 CPG companies to emerging start-ups and are working across every category, consumer need state, technology, and channel of distribution in food & beverage.  For nearly 50 years, Mattson has conceptualized, developed, branded, and scaled hundreds of product lines and, in the process, created billions of dollars in revenue for clients. Prior to joining Mattson, Justin held multiple roles at some of the food and beverage industry’s most recognized firms, including Del Monte Foods, E. & J. Gallo Winery and General Mills. He has developed and commercialized new products for both the US and global markets and has numerous patents and technical publications. Justin has a Ph.D. in food science from UC Davis and Bachelor of Science degrees in both food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota. Currently, Justin serves on the UC Davis Department of Food Science & Technology Leadership Advisory Board and the Google Innovation Lab for Food Experiences.

Julien Delarue

Julian Delarue is an associate professor in sensory and consumer science in the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis. His research focuses on methods to measure sensory perception and preferences and on their effective use in food design. He seeks to develop high validity consumer-oriented methods. In particular, his research explores the role of context in hedonic measures using immersive environments and digital technologies. He also works to develop and validate rapid and flexible descriptive analysis methods with application to new product development and consumer research. Using these methods, he seeks to understand the sensory determinants of food preferences and to find levers to drive healthy and sustainable food behaviors. Formerly an associate professor at AgroParisTech in the food science and technology joint research unit with INRA and Université Paris-Saclay, he has served as the Chair of the French Society for Sensory Analysis (SFAS) and of the European Sensory Science Society (E3S).

About:

Savor: Lectures on Food and Wine hosts thought leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and scientific experts for evenings of illuminating discussion on some of the biggest topics in food and wine being studied at UC Davis today. The Robert Mondavi Institute and UC Davis Library have embarked on this partnership to advance our shared commitment to supporting scholarship about food and wine, at UC Davis and beyond.

Venue & Parking:

This event will be in-person in the Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater at the Robert Mondavi Institute, Sensory Building. Parking is available at the Gateway Parking Structure. Parking payment is enforced on weekdays. There are three options for parking payment:

  1. UC Davis uses AggiePark. Download the free AMP Park app on your iPhone or Android beforehand. When you park, you will enter the Zone (listed on the nearby sign) into the app and follow the instructions to pay for parking. This is the preferred and easiest method.
  2. If you do not have a smartphone to download the app, you can also sign up for an account online and follow the steps on the website: https://aimsmobilepay.com/
  3. Alternatively, permit machines in the Gateway Parking Structure accept credit cards. You will need to enter your license plate number into the machine to purchase a permit. We recommend this option as a last choice.

Questions?

If you have questions about this event, please email savor@ucdavis.edu.