MARY AN GODSHALL

MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SPRI

In 1971, Mary An Godshall received her bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of New Orleans (at that time still called Louisiana State University of New Orleans), and, a Masters Degree in biological sciences and biochemistry from the University of New Orleans in 1984.

Mary An came to work for the Cane Sugar Refining Research Project, Inc., in May 1971. At that time, a major research area was the isolation and identification of minor constituents from the sugarcane plant that contributed to color in raw sugar. Thus began a career-long involvement with the study of sugar color. Thin layer chromatography, high voltage paper electrophoresis and the still-maturing technique of gas chromatography were the tools of the trade. Work on color continues today with the addition of gel permeation chromatography and mass spectroscopy.

Around 1978, answers were being sough for questions about flavor quality in sugar products, and Mary An was given the assignment to study flavor in sugar. This came at a particularly good time because a new headspace device had just developed by scientists at the Southern Regional Research Center, which allowed gas chromatographic profiling of volatiles that contribute to flavor and odor. The combination of volatile profiling, mass spectral identification, and taste panels proved to be a powerful tool for understanding factors that contribute to flavor quality. This work led to the identification of many important flavor components in products such as molasses and soft sugars.

In 1981, Mary An entered graduate school, while still working for the Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc., to obtain a Master's degree. For her research project, she worked on the red rot disease of sugar cane, and showed how the red pigment developed during the course of the disease and how it inhibited the growth of the infecting microorganism, Colletrotrichum falcatum, at the same time that factors from the sugarcane plant stimulated growth. Several fractions of the pigment complex were identified.

She has been active in the U.S. National Committee on Sugar Analysis for many years, serving as secretary- treasurer, and in the capacity of Referee for various subjects. In 1990, Mary An headed a committee of the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA) that reviewed the status of all methods, leading to the adoption by ICUMSA of standardized procedures for testing and accepting methods. She serves as an Associate Referee on Sugars and Sugar Products for the AOAC, and is a she Vice President of ICUMSA.

Besides being a member of Sugar Industry Technologists and the American Society of Sugarcane Technologists, she is a member of the American Chemical Society, Sigma Xi, and the Institute of Food Technologists, where she served as Chairman of the Carbohydrate Division in 1993. She has about 200 publications and has lectured in many countries.

In 2000, she became the Managing Director of Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc.