University of Wisconsin--Madison

The view from the hotel!

         Similar to California's UC system, Wisconsin has 13 UW schools. Madison is the campus most well-known for Food Science, especially Dairy Research. While I am in the Midwest, my mother and grandfather decided to fly and join me for a tour of this potential graduate school! A fellow intern at Kraft, who is currently an undergrad at Madison, contacted Dr. Rich Hartel and Maya Warren, a Ph. D. candidate to talk with me about their program and show me around the department!

Lake Mendota

         The evening before my morning tour, I went for a run around the campus to get a better look at the area. The campus is HUGE and right by beautiful Lake Mendota. I saw more fireflies, which still surprise me! Midwest charm. Students can go kayaking, sailing, and boating. The lake is bordered by a long trail, called the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path, and is frequented by runners, strollers, and bikes. A popular place to hang out or eat lunch is Picnic Point, a peninsula surrounded by the lake! Madison is also close to 2 other lakes, Monona and Wingra. Funfact: Wisconsin has 15,074 lakes!

This isn't Babcock, but it's just
down Linden Drive!

      I met Dr. Hartel in the morning, who is a confectionary scientist and a professor in Food Engineering. The Food Science Department is in Babcock Hall, which also has a Dairy Store. The Dairy Store sells sandwiches, coffee, and dairy products like cheese and yogurt! Dr. Hartel had just finished organizing a 2 week-long industry course in candy production. Check out one of his videos on the science behind candy corn! First, we got to know each other and he asked me about what my research interests were. After some talking, he was eager to show me the "fruits" of his labor from the candy science course. I sampled gummies, chocolate, toffee, caramels, candy tablets, and nougat! What a sweet tour!
     

Making ice cream with Maya, Rich, and some interns!

         Next, we ran upstairs to meet Maya Warren to make a sweet treat! Maya studied Chemical Engineering for her undergrad, but is now completing her doctorate at Madison with ice cream research! What a delicious project. Naturally, she stands by one of three pilot-scale ice cream makers in her lab and greets me in her GMP/PPE lab apparel, introduces herself, and asks me, "What flavor ice cream would you like to make today?" I choose Mint Chocolate Chip and as the ice cream mixes and freezes, she and I talk about grad student life in Madison. She spoke very positively about the program, students, and opportunities to get involved and assume many professional responsibilities. Her only complaint was Wisconsin winter and added, "It's not the snow, it's the COLD." This is weather that the majority of California never experiences, and would definitely be a huge adjustment. Maya answered a lot of my questions and gave me great advice for choosing schools!

Afterwards, Dr. Hartel and I returned to his office to further discuss future steps towards applying for graduate school, how to choose, and how to contact specific researchers. Dr. Hartel has written a book to answer many of these questions, which I have purchased and I recommend to UCD undergrads interested in pursuing further degrees! The book is available on Amazon.

    In conclusion, this tour and these conversations were a huge step towards my process of choosing a school, a program, and a researcher to work towards pursuing a Masters degree or a Ph. D.!! Life as a student can't end after Davis!