Course Instructors
FST 298: Design Thinking for Food is generously supported by a grant from the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health.
Professor Charlotte Biltekoff, Associate Professor of American Studies and Food Science and Technology
Charlotte Biltekoff is an Associate Professor of American Studies and Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on the cultural politics of dietary health and the values and beliefs that shape American eating habits. She is the author of Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health, a book that rethinks what dietary advice is and does, while challenging the conversation about food and heath. She contributes to discussions about the meaning of food, health, and American culture as an author, educator, consultant, and public figure.
Charlotte Biltekoff is an Associate Professor of American Studies and Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on the cultural politics of dietary health and the values and beliefs that shape American eating habits. She is the author of Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health, a book that rethinks what dietary advice is and does, while challenging the conversation about food and heath. She contributes to discussions about the meaning of food, health, and American culture as an author, educator, consultant, and public figure.
Professor Lauren Shimek, Founder and CEO Food.Tech.Design, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Food Science and Technology
Lauren Shimek is the Founder and CEO of Food.Tech.Design and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. As a Ph.D. food scientist with over 13 years of food design and innovation at IDEO and product development expertise at General Mills, she creates breakthrough food and beverage products that tap into people’s unmet needs and desires while being grounded in manufacturability. Lauren’s personal passion for food, deep technical expertise and design thinking know-how place her at the innovation intersection of food, science and technology, and design.
Lauren Shimek is the Founder and CEO of Food.Tech.Design and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. As a Ph.D. food scientist with over 13 years of food design and innovation at IDEO and product development expertise at General Mills, she creates breakthrough food and beverage products that tap into people’s unmet needs and desires while being grounded in manufacturability. Lauren’s personal passion for food, deep technical expertise and design thinking know-how place her at the innovation intersection of food, science and technology, and design.