From the Food Science Program...


In the photo above, Fadi Al Jorf relaxes with his wife, Jamal.

This week’s international student of the week is Fadi Al Jorf. He is a PhD candidate in Food Science. Fadi was born in Damascus, the capital of Syria. He speaks Arabic, French as his second language, and English.

Fadi is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists, and the American Association of Cereal Chemists International. In 2005 Fadi and his team got first prize in the NASA Food Technology Commercial Space Center Product Development for developing a space muffin “Nutraffin.” In 2006 he won the Best Student Poster Award, Protein Division, at the AACC International Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA.

Fadi spends his free time reading, listening to music, and watching TV. He spends weekends with his wife hanging out and enjoying and admiring nature while they hold a cup of coffee in their hands.

He came to the U.S. to continue his higher education because of the advancements in technology available to all students. He thinks that the U.S. is the land of opportunities. Fadi states “once you set your mind on something, you can achieve it as long as you work hard for it.” Previous to his arriving at OSU he heard a lot of positive things about it from his colleagues, then he did his own research and found out that OSU is the perfect university for his area of studies.

Fadi’s future plans are many; however, for the near future, he plans to graduate and find a job in his field where he can excel and show off OSU.

Fadi comes from a family of five, he is the middle of three siblings.  He has one sister and one brother. His sister is a journalist who graduated with a French literature degree. His brother has completed his education in mechanical engineering and went on to further his career in Dubai.  His parents have always been hard working and instilled a value for education in all his family.  They wanted them to be educated like they are.  His mother is now retired, and his dad passed away during Fadi’s freshman year at OSU.  Unfortunately, he did not get the chance to see him. 

Fadi met his wife in Texas while he was visiting a friend; that was very unexpected, and they have been together for over three years now.  When they met, she was a student dentist at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, TX and he was doing a PhD at OSU.  She recently graduated and joined her sister in practice, and he is in the process of graduating and finding a job.

Advisor: Dr. Praticia Rayas-Duarte

Fadi's Advice To all the students: "Study and work hard, set your minds to your goals, and you can achieve all your dreams."

Fadi Al-Jorf enjoys the beach in Syria (above)

Fadi Al-Jorf (center) with Dr. David Henneberry, Director of International Agricultural Programs (left) and his major advisor, Dr. Patricia Rayas-Duarte (right).