The Science of Alt Protein: The mechanical signature of plant-based meat
Ellen Kuhl, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Event description
Eating less meat is associated with a healthier body and planet. Yet, we remain reluctant to switch to a plant-based diet, largely due to the sensory experience of plant-based meat. Food scientists characterize meat using a double compression test, which only probes one-dimensional behavior.
In this talk, Dr. Kuhl will share her experience of using tension, compression, and shear tests—combined with constitutive neural networks—to automatically discover the behavior of eight plant-based and animal meats across the entire three-dimensional spectrum. Dr. Kuhl and her team published a study that showed plant-based sausage and hotdog, with stiffnesses of 96kPa and 39kPa, successfully mimic their animal counterparts, with 64kPa and 44kPa, while Tofurky is twice as stiff, and tofu is twice as soft.
Strikingly, their complementary food tasting survey produced in nearly identical stiffness rankings for all eight products. They anticipate their models to be a first step towards using generative artificial intelligence to scientifically reverse-engineer formulas for plant-based meats with customer-friendly tunable properties.
Meet the speaker
Ellen Kuhl, Ph.D.
CATHERINE HOLMAN JOHNSON DIRECTOR OF STANFORD BIO-X
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Ellen is the Catherine Holman Johnson Director of Stanford Bio-X and the Walter B. Reinhold Professor in the School of Engineering. She is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
Her area of expertise is Living Matter Physics, the design of theoretical and computational models to simulate and predict the behavior of living systems in the benefit of human and planetary health. Her recent work focuses on Automated Model Discovery and integrates mechanical testing, mathematical modeling, and custom-designed physics-based neural networks. Ellen’s lab applies these technologies to characterize the mechanical signature and plant-based and animal meats. She has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and edited two books.
Ellen is an All American triathlete, a multiple Berlin, Boston, and New York marathon runner, and a three-time Kona Ironman World Championship finisher.
Upcoming events
View all events
Alt Protein Pipelines: Training for commercialization with production facility partnerships
Join us to explore an innovative partnership that is helping students turn classroom learning into commercial-ready innovation.
Amino acid cost and supply chain analysis for cultivated meat: Pathways to more affordable, scalable, and sustainable protein production
Explore new findings from a first-of-its-kind analysis.
The Science of Alt Protein: Glycoengineering fungal cell factories — Implications for recombinant protein production
Join us to learn how using advanced gene-editing tools to reprogram fungi opens new possibilities for recombinant protein production.
Sensory evaluation of alternative proteins: A best practices guide
Learn how sensory science can drive the adoption of alternative proteins.
Building Your Alt Protein Career: Shaping the Future of Food as a Plant Protein Scientist
Explore the path from food science to product innovation in this conversation on building a purpose-driven career in alternative proteins.
Foods of the Future: Science and Engineering Approaches (Gordon Research Conference)
The focus of this conference is to bring the multi-disciplinary future food community under one roof with a singular focus: collaboratively advancing the science and engineering of safe and scalable…
