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Daniel Burd SEBS’26 using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to identify and analyze the materials used in food packaging in Dr. Kit Yam’s laboratory in the Rutgers Food Science Building.
Two semesters of experiential learning in Rutgers’ food packaging laboratory helped Daniel Burd transform classroom knowledge into award-winning research with real-world applications for the food industry.
When Daniel Burd first arrived at Rutgers after earning an associate degree from Brookdale Community College, he knew he loved food science because it brought chemistry and biology to life. What he didn’t yet know was how much he would enjoy asking research questions that didn’t have obvious answers.
During Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, Daniel spent his senior year at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) immersed in undergraduate experiential learning through the laboratory of Kit L. Yam, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food Science. The two-semester experience gave Daniel the opportunity to apply engineering, chemistry and food science to solve practical challenges facing the food industry while working alongside faculty, graduate students and industry partners.
The experience proved transformative.
Daniel’s contributions in Yam’s Packaging Laboratory—from supporting industry-funded packaging studies to advancing graduate research on controlled-release systems for fresh produce—earned him the prestigious Virginia Dare Award in Spring 2026. The award recognizes undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional potential for a future career in food science through research excellence and reflects the impact of Daniel’s experiential learning journey.
Daniel Burd SEBS’26, food science major.
Today, Daniel is a 2026 SEBS graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Food Science and is continuing at Rutgers in the Master of Business and Science program in Applied Food Science and Technology.
“The chance to gain hands-on experience in a laboratory specifically focused on food science inspired me,” said Burd. “This experience allowed me to become much more involved in research and see how concepts from class are applied to real problems.”
Through the SEBS Experiential Learning (EL) program, Daniel joined one of the nation’s leading food packaging research laboratories, working alongside Rutgers graduate researcher Eric Chan, who provided day-to-day mentorship and guided Daniel’s development as a researcher while introducing him to increasingly sophisticated laboratory techniques, experimental design and scientific problem-solving.
Daniel began by assisting graduate researchers with experiments, preparing samples and collecting data. As Daniel’s confidence and technical skills grew, so did his responsibilities. He became proficient in a range of analytical techniques, including gas chromatography (GC-FID), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), microbiological testing, oxygen transmission rate testing, water activity analysis, and texture and color analysis.
Before long, Daniel was contributing directly to research focused on active food packaging technologies, shelf-life extension and food quality.
One major project involved helping develop controlled-release delivery systems for 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), a compound that slows the ripening of climacteric fruits such as apples, pears and bananas by inhibiting the effects of ethylene. Working with Chan, Daniel helped evaluate a novel dual-satchel controlled-release system designed to regulate the release of ethylene and 1-MCP, ultimately helping fresh produce reach consumers at its optimal stage of freshness while reducing food loss during transportation and storage.
Daniel also contributed to industry-funded studies evaluating modified-atmosphere packaging for fresh produce, investigating how factors such as heat-seal integrity, oxygen transmission and packaging defects influence product quality over time. In another research project, he helped evaluate antimicrobial packaging films for ready-to-eat foods by comparing shelf life, product quality and microbial activity between treated products and control samples.
For Daniel, the work demonstrated how research can have immediate practical applications.
“I’m particularly proud of working with real products you can find in the store and contributing data that influences commercial decisions,” he said.
The laboratory experience also transformed the way Daniel approached scientific problems.
“One of the biggest lessons I learned is that experiments rarely work exactly the way you expect them to the first time,” Burd said. “I learned to troubleshoot, analyze what was happening, adjust my approach and understand why something wasn’t working instead of simply repeating the same procedure.”
Daniel Burd preparing agar media for microbiological testing used to evaluate food safety and shelf life as a part of Dr. Kit Yam’s food packaging research in the Rutgers Food Science Building.
Those experiences reinforced concepts Daniel had encountered in courses such as Food Chemistry, Food Engineering, Food Microbiology and Food Analysis.
“In class, I learned why oxygen, moisture, temperature, microorganisms and packaging properties affect food stability,” Burd said. “In the lab, I was able to see those relationships directly. Concepts I learned in class became working knowledge that affected the decisions I made every day.”
Ironically, one of Daniel’s most challenging classes became one of the most valuable.
“Food Analysis was probably my least favorite course because it was difficult to understand why so many analytical techniques mattered,” he said. “Working in the lab with those same instruments gave me a completely different appreciation for what I had learned.”
Beyond technical expertise, Daniel says experiential learning strengthened skills that are difficult to develop in a traditional classroom.
“Besides developing technical skills, I learned how to communicate with my teammates, solve problems systematically and collaborate on decisions that affected not only my work, but the entire lab and the companies we worked with.”
One of Daniel’s proudest accomplishments wasn’t an experiment at all.
While working in the laboratory, Daniel helped mentor high school interns conducting research projects for the Regeneron Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF), one of the nation’s largest regional science competitions.
“It was incredibly rewarding teaching them and watching them gain independence in the laboratory,” he said.
Yam says Daniel’s experience illustrates the purpose of experiential learning at Rutgers.
“Daniel’s growth reflects the value of experiential learning in building curiosity, confidence and the ability to tackle real-world challenges,” said Yam.
That undergraduate experiential learning experience continues to shape Daniel’s career. He remains involved with Yam’s laboratory while pursuing his graduate studies and is contributing to the next phase of a USDA-backed research project focused on food-grade antimicrobial disinfectant technology designed to improve food safety during the pre- and post-harvest handling and distribution of fresh produce.
Looking ahead, Daniel hopes to build a career in food research and development where scientific discovery leads to practical innovations.
“I want to contribute to technologies that make food safer, higher quality and more sustainable,” Burd said. “This experience showed me that research isn’t about immediately finding answers. It’s about asking questions, working with others, testing ideas and continually improving. That’s the skill set I know I’ll need throughout my career.”
Filed Under: Academic Excellence, Alumni, Experiential Learning, Food Science, Food Science, Research, SEBS, SEBS Departments, SEBS Majors .
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