Project Grant 20246701742557

This $732,000 federal project grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) supports research at Purdue University, with subawards to the University of British Columbia and North Carolina A&T State University, to develop first-principles models for predicting the swelling and rupture of starch granules and their impact on the material properties of starch dispersions. The research aims to overcome current trial-and-error approaches used by industries to tune starch properties in food, pharmaceuticals, and other applications. The project will apply the modeling approach to starches from non-traditional sources like pulses and ancient grains, and examine how additives like sugars affect starch swelling kinetics. Experiments will also visualize granule rupture to identify failure criteria. The award runs from Sep 2024 through Aug 2027 and will produce an open-source software tool to forecast starch behavior during processing. The project also includes educational and workforce development components at the PhD level, with a focus on engaging underrepresented minority students.