Radhika [Team Lead] is a third-year Ph.D. student in Food Science, in the Carbohydrate Processing and Cereal Chemistry Lab advised by Dr. George Annor, at the University of Minnesota. She is an international student from India.

Her research is focused on optimizing targeted processing strategies to improve the functionality and end-use characteristics of Kernza flour, the first-ever perennial grain to be commercialized for food use. She is actively involved in product development competitions and has held leadership and volunteer positions with different national organizations. Radhika is very passionate about building sustainable food systems and enjoys applied food science research. Post-grad school, she wishes to work in the area of Food Product Development.

Sonali Raghunath [Team Engineer] is a 2^nd year PhD student at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, USA, working on the application of pulsed electric field as a treatment for dairy proteins. She has a Master’s degree in Food Science from the University of Minnesota (2019) and a Bachelor’s degree in Food Technology (2017) from Anna University, India. She has also worked as a researcher during her Bachelor’s at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT), India. Sonali concentrates on food chemistry, food engineering, food proteins, food packaging, and dairy chemistry. She has been presenting her work in many national as well as international conferences like ICEF, IFT, CoFE, and ADSA. Sonali has been the recipient of various outstanding achievement awards and scholarship recipient from multiple organizations, including IFT feeding Tomorrow Graduate Scholarship for her research and product development competitions due to her passion towards finding solutions for real world challenges. After graduation, Sonali plans to work as a R & D Engineer and Scientist to face existing challenges in the food industry.

Steven [Team Chef] is currently a senior at the University of Minnesota, where he is majoring in Food Science with a minor in Nutrition. When he is not busy with schoolwork, he enjoys spending his free time cooking with his wife and gardening. Upon graduation, his goal is to pair his past chef experience with his new degree, and work in product development creating flavorful options to suit people’s dietary needs.

Brigitta Yaputri [Team Designer] is a food science master’s student at the Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC) at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the characterization & texturization of chickpea and pea protein to form meat-like fibers. She graduated in Spring 2020 with two bachelor’s degrees in Food Science and Nutrition. She is an international student from Indonesia, one of the global inspirations for ReToast. Driven by her three core values – sustainability, health, and innovation – her ultimate goal is to have a role in R&D to develop sustainable food products through creative innovations.