Graduate student receives Janet L. Cameron Scholarship
Margo Duckson of Sanford, N.C., a second year doctoral student in the Department of Food Science and Technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, received the Janet L. Cameron Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship endowed by the Peacock-Harper Culinary History Collection Friends and administered by the Virginia Tech Graduate School.
Duckson has research interests in food microbiology, the history of food, and food preservation. In 2009 She completed two bachelor’s degrees at Virginia Tech — one in biological sciences from the College of Science and a second in Spanish languages and literature from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. She continues to work on a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, combining her research agenda in food sciences with her love of history.
This fall, Duckson will use the Peacock-Harper Culinary Collection for research on preservation methodologies. She is a member of the Virginia Tech Food Product Development Team and the Institute of Food Technologists and the International Association for Food Protection.
This scholarship is named in honor of Janet L. Cameron, a food and nutrition specialist who served Virginia Tech and the Virginia Cooperative Extension from 1931 to 1964. In addition to teaching, Cameron traveled across Virginia offering training in nutrition and food preparation and published extensively on a broad list of topics including nutrition, weight control, and the use of Virginia produce in cooking.
The Harper-Peacock Culinary Collection is housed in the University Libraries Special Collections Department. The collection includes three centuries of publications on the culinary arts. The Harper-Peacock Culinary History Collection Friends and Steering Committee began 10 years ago to support the collection by adding to its more than 3,500 relevant books and manuscripts.
