The inventor of puffed rice

As I read the July 2018 issue of Physics Today, the Quick Study “Engineering puffed rice” by Tushar Gulati, Mayuri Ukidwe, and Ashim Datta (page 66 ) immediately caught my attention.

During the last 15 years of my career, I had the opportunity and privilege to teach physical science to students at the Tower View Alternative High School here in Red Wing, Minnesota. The school is housed on the campus of the Anderson Center for the Arts, the legacy of Alexander Pierce Anderson (1862–1943).

Anderson invented a process to make puffed rice. The invention led to a successful exhibit and demonstration of the process and the product at the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis, Missouri. The Quaker Oats Company eventually used Anderson’s process to manufacture puffed rice for public consumption.

The Anderson Center staff always encourage teachers, students, and school personnel to utilize the center and to interact with visiting artists and writers as part of their daily experience. Anderson’s inventiveness and spirit carry on today in the lives of those who are part of this vibrant family.