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The label “Sensory Science”
is used to subsume a set of related scientific and technological disciplines
that are concerned with the sensory reception of sundry high quality
consumer products, such as, among many others, wine, perfumes, cars or
computers.
The choice of disciplines
that are normally attributed to Sensory Science is still a matter of
discussion, even their scope could be defined by appealing to a “virtual”
pyramid whose vertices would be sensory analysis, neurophysiology, psychology,
computer engineering and analytic chemistry.
The problem in identifying
the sensory “sciences” may be traced back to the difficulty in listing the
phenomena, methods and technologies that Sensory Science should be concerned
with. One could include here issues in basic science, such as the study of the
sensory mechanisms that allow the detection and transduction of the
environmental information, all the way down to the perceptual representations
that are formed at a central level; applied sciences, such as sensory analysis;
technology, such as industrial engineering; and even theoretical disciplines,
such as the development of computational models of sensory processing.
Lately, there have been
serious attempts to turn this “virtual” community of Sensory Sciences into a real
one. The reason behind these attempts is twofold. On the one hand, the
knowledge, methods and applications within Sensory Science have reached a
degree of excellence and development that each discipline can be greatly benefited,
and benefit at the same time, by interacting with other sensory sciences. On
the other hand, the consumer oriented industry is progressively
interested in providing products at the highest level of quality, and this
obviously includes taking care of its sensory qualities.
Rubes Editorial has identified this situation and has
decided to undertake the enterprise of contributing to create an active
community of Sensory scientists. As the different Sensory Sciences look forward
to a rapidly developing 21st century, Rubes Editorial has recognized the need
to pause and reflect on how the directions and priorities throughout the
Sensory Sciences must be shaped by the needs of the industry, in particular,
and by the needs and expectations of the society, in general.
The fact is that during the
tremendous period of expansion of the Sensory Sciences in the last twenty
years, the sensory community has never lost sight of its objectives, but the
specific choices of new and expanded programs of research and development will
be made easier by the steady growth of fruitful interactions among sensory
scientists. If the interaction is established in a common ground, Sensory
Science can move toward a practice of interdisciplinary development. Over time,
this will allow the creation of a working community with common goals and
strategies, rather than a collection of isolated and underdeveloped
disciplines.
The aim of Rubes Editorial
is to contribute, in close collaboration with Freixenet, S.A., to the creation
of a Sensory Science community along three different lines. First, Rubes
Editorial has created Percepnet, which has already been presented. Secondly,
Rubes intends to organize a number of Professional Meetings in Sensory Science
and, lastly, it wants to participate closely in the creation of the
institutional framework that will allow the future functioning of the
community.
As for the organization of
professional meetings, the first step is the organization of a Sensory Science
Meeting in 2002, which has been already accorded by Rubes Editorial and
Freixenet. The Meeting is therefore on the way and is expected to be held in
Barcelona, Spain, the 26th and 27th of July 2002.
The objectives of the
meeting are:
1. Provide the place and means
for bringing together the members of the ‘virtual’ community of sensory
scientists.
2. Create a forum of
professional interaction in Sensory Science, with knowledge transfer and
discussion.
3. Promote the development of
interdisciplinary research or applied projects among sensory scientists.
4. Define and establish the
institutional framework necessary to create a working community of Sensory
Science.
The Meeting will cover the
following areas:
A. Basic
Science
In this section, the
Meeting will address the science underlying how humans recognize, perceive and
respond to tastes, odors and chemical substances. In other words, the section
will be concerned with the chain from chemical/physical properties of food to
sensory perception, including physiological, psychological and cultural factors
of sensory perception, and even physiological, psychological and cultural
factors of food choice. The section will also focus on other issues such as
genetics, age, gender, experience, and the environment influence sensory
capabilities.
B. Sensory
analysis
The objective of this area
is to discuss sensory methods in general and particularly advanced profiling
methods are explored with regard to measuring and understanding sensory
quality, including studies of sensory panel training in industrial and research
projects. Other related interests are
sensometrics and qualimetrics methods as tools for analysis and interpretation
of data to enhance reliability and validity of sensory data, statistical
approaches to sensory data management, etc.
C. Engineering
The aim of this area is to
discuss, among other things, the development of artificial versions of entire
perceptual organs (either in hardware or software); biologically-motivated
perceptual models and their implementation in hard or software;
biosensor technology; theoretical analysis of perceptual architectures, etc.
D. Industrial applications
The purpose of this area is
to share concepts, methodologies, technologies, and tools for the
implementation of new sensory-focused manufacturing paradigms in the industrial
process. Other issues the discussion of how already implemented sensory
applications affect the routine design and production systems.
The details for the
program, registration will be posted as soon as they are available.
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