Food Research & Development Resources in the North Central Region
Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Name: Center for Crops Utilization Research


URL: http://www.ccur.iastate.edu


Address: Room 1041 Food Sciences Building, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011

Communication:
Administrative office phone: 515-294-0160
Administrative office FAX: 515-294-6261
Pilot plant manager's office phone: 515-294-35 72
E-mail: ljohnson@iastate.edu

 

Administrator: Lawrence A. Johnson, PhD, Professor-in-Charge

Contacts:
Nan Morain, Administrative Assistant (515-294-0160)
Mark Reuber, Pilot Plant Manager (515-294-35 72)
John Strohl, Fermentation Facility Manager (515-294-0306)
Connie Hardy, Project Coordinator, Sensory Facility and Test Kitchen Manager (515-294-3394)
Dan Burden, Communications Specialist (515-294-2342)
Corn Milling Specialist (515-294-3250)

 Focus area: Adding value to grain, especially corn and soybeans, through:

Services available:
Contract research:
The center seeks grants and contracts for research funding from industry, small businesses, state agencies, and federal agencies. Regularly conduct over $2.5 million in extramural grants and contracts.
Intellectual property provisions:
Any intellectual property developed under grant or contract will belong to the university, and the sponsor has first right of refusal to acquire a non-exclusive license.
Capabilities:
All aspects of adding value to grains (corn, soybeans, oats, and other cereals and oilseeds) and processing and product development of commodity and genetically modified grains.
Fee:
Direct costs plus 44.5% modified indirect costs (less equipment purchases).
Equipment:
Access to all CCUR pilot plants at preferred rates, access to all campus service facilities.
Pilot plant processing:
Capabilities:
As well as supporting its own research, CCUR rents equipment and provides operators to industry and entrepreneurial clients to develop their own products and processes under confidential arrangements which do not use faculty. Regularly conduct over $100, 000 in industry services. Primary areas of excellence include: wet and dry corn milling; starch chemistry and processing; soybean oil extraction (only facility in the world for I bu extractions); fats and oils chemistry, refining and conversion; protein chemistry, isolation and modification; fermentation and product recovery; soyfoods; extrusion; crop derived polymers and building materials. Approved for processing transgenic grains. Both high pressure house steam and culinary steam are available. For price quotes and scheduling call Mr. Mark Reuber, pilot plant manager, 515-294-35 72.
Intellectual property provisions:
No university creative component is provided, thus all results belong to the client.
Fee:
Daily user fees depend on equipment used and operators n eeded, typical costs range $500-1000 per day.
Facilities:
5, 000 sq. ft wet processing area; 2,600 sq. ft. dry processing area; 900 sq. ft. hazardous solvent processing area; 3, 000 sq. ft. dry non-foods processing area; 1,000 sq. ft fermentation and product recovery processing area (rated BL-2); 480 sq. ft. refrigerated storage; 320 sq. ft frozen storage; 104 sq. ft refrigerated storage for transgenic material.
Complete processing systems:
Movable and reconfigurable equipment:
Sensory testing:
Capabilities:
Consumer and institutional kitchen, food ingredient preparation and handling areas, and descriptive analysis laboratories. The sensory areas incorporate odor- and light-controlled booths for panelists, and conference rooms for panelist training.
Fee:
A variable fee schedule that considers panelist training, equipment, space allocations and coordinator time, is available upon request.
Facilities:
Two 12-booth sensory rooms, 484 sq. ft. test kitchen, panelist training room, and descriptive analysis room.
Equipment:
AromaScan odor analyzer; Hunter Color Lab color analyzer; convection, microwave and conventional gas and electric ovens; gas and electric ranges, doughnut frying machine, deep fat fryer, mixers, and refrigerators.
Support laboratories:
Capabilities:
Wet and dry corn milling (100g and I Kg); oil extraction (300 g); starch characterization, material testing, oil characterization, protein characterization, and grain quality. Approved for processing transgenic grains.
Fee:
Daily user fees depend on equipment used and operators needed
Facilities:
Several laboratories in close proximity to the pilot-plants.
Equipment:
Supercritical fluid extraction for oil determination; high pressure reactor vessels; Butt tube extraction system; Kjeldahl and Leico N systems; near-inftared reflectance grain analysis; nitrogen grain analyzer; fluidized-bed dryer; table-top spray drier (100 ml/hr); activated oxygen method; continuous steeping system; high-pressure liquid-, gas-, thin-layer-chromatography,- gas chromatography mass spectrometry; tintometer; and Instron Universal Tester.
Entrepreneurial Assistance:
Capabilities:
Referred to allied units (Extension Value-Added Group, Small Business Development Center, Center for Advanced Technology Development).
Fee:
Case by case basis.
Small business incubation:
Facilities:
Limited number of laboratories and offices available; pilot plant space can be used for extended periods for companies to set up their own operations.
Fee:
Annual rates of $22 per sq. ft. pilot plant; $20 per sq. ft. lab; $18 per sq. ft. office.
Personnel resources:
Faculty:
49 affiliated faculty from the departments of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Economics, Forestry, Agronomy, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biochemistry & Biophysics. Approximately 40 graduate students working on CCUR affiliated projects.
Program Staff: 3
Pilot Plant Staff: 4