What does it take to earn $20 million in research funding over just three years? Ask Food and Dairy Innovation Center Director Owen McDougal, who has led the center since its inception in 2021 and transformed Boise State into a hub for food and dairy research in Idaho.
“For 20 years I told people what I do,” said McDougal, who is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “Then I flipped the script and I said, ‘What do you need done?” All of the sudden, we had a wealth of individuals come to us and ask, ‘Can you do this?’”
This new approach, going directly to industry leaders to understand their needs, was transformative for McDougal and his multidisciplinary team of Boise State researchers. “I don’t write many grants that aren’t successful anymore,” he said. “Most of them succeed because they have the endorsement of the industry that has a problem that needs to be addressed.”
In 2024, McDougal built upon that success with a new facility in the Micron Center for Materials Research. This new space has power and ventilation that supports cutting edge new equipment, like a pulse electric field system.
At the same time, The Food and Dairy Innovation Center is working out of space held alongside industry partners. The end result is vastly expanded research capacity. “It’s a whole new world,” McDougal said.
The Food and Dairy Innovation Center isn’t just a boon for Boise State researchers.
“The [food and dairy] industry works on very small margins,” McDougal said. “They don’t have the research and development budget to innovate.”
That’s where the center comes in. Boise State faculty bring the research expertise to drive innovation in the industry. Researchers can explore new, more efficient techniques for food processing, leading to lower prices for Idaho shoppers. Another project studied the effect of wildfire smoke on potato yields, helping farmers grow more bountiful harvests.
“Our scientific depth and our student talent has a benefit across Idaho,” McDougal said. “The Food and Dairy Innovation Center at Boise State has an exponential impact on both the state and national scale.”