The Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Food Science has received a $200,000 estate gift to establish a food safety endowment, which will support research in areas of microbial food safety and food safety education.

The Nettles Cutter Food Safety Endowment is named after Catherine Nettles Cutter, Ph.D., a longtime professor of food science in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, and her husband, Lester Cutter, who pledged the gift.

Funds from the future endowment may help cover expenses for undergraduate and graduate students working in a lab, travel, and materials and supplies. Its resources also can be used for undergraduate student support, such as scholarships and awards.

A career food technologist, during her tenure at Penn State, Dr. Cutter’s research and extension programs focused on food safety, food processing, and meat microbiology, with an emphasis on food safety programs benefiting the Pennsylvania meat and poultry industries.

Dr. Cutter hopes the endowment will provide opportunities for future students to have a chance to explore hands-on research and find their passion. “Research teaches you how to think critically, evaluate outcomes, and adapt and expand your work,” she said. “These are skills that translate across industries and make you a stronger contributor in any field.”