W. Frank Shipe, professor emeritus of food science at Cornell and a pioneer in testing milk for its flavor over time, died May 20 at the Alterra Sterling House in Ithaca. He was 88.

Shipe taught and researched the link between food chemistry and the sensory quality of foods at Cornell for almost 50 years. He pioneered milk quality and flavor research at Cornell in 1964, when he found that the flavor and quality of more than half of the milk sold in New York state at that time warranted "consumer complaint" within seven days of processing. Over one-third of the milk he tested bore an "oxidized" flavor. As a consequence, the Tri-State (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) Milk Flavor Program was initiated to identify and correct quality problems through research and extension efforts.

Shipe first came to Cornell in 1946 to earn his Ph.D. in dairy science, which he received in 1949). He created the popular Food Facts and Fads course and mentored more than 100 master's and Ph.D. students. He received an outstanding teacher award at the American Dairy Science Association convention in 1982.

Born March 8, 1920, in Middletown, Va., Shipe graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, now Virginia Tech, in 1941. He entered the army as a second lieutenant and was one of the first troops to arrive in Hawaii after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He saw action in the Gilbert Islands and on Iwo Jima, rising to the rank of major.

Shipe is predeceased by his wife, Margery (Morris) Shipe, and is survived by two daughters, 11 grandchildren and extended family.

A memorial service was held May 31 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. Donations in Shipe's memory can be made to St. Paul's UMC, 402 N. Aurora St., Ithaca, NY 14850, or American Red Cross, 201 W. Clinton St., Ithaca, NY 14850.