Figen Tokatlı

Prof. Dr. Figen Tokatlı is a Professor in the Department of Food Engineering at Izmir Institute of Technology (IYTE), Turkey. Her research and teaching focus on enhancing food quality and productivity through advanced statistical and analytical methodologies in food systems engineering.

Her core research interests include statistical process monitoring, multivariate data analysis, and design of experiments for quality control and process optimization. She applies these techniques primarily to food authentication, with specialized expertise in olive oil and wine characterization using vibrational spectroscopy (FTIR, UV-Vis, mid-infrared) combined with chemometrics for detecting adulteration and verifying geographical origin.

Analysis of her recent publications (2014-2024) reveals a dominant trend in spectroscopic food authentication, particularly for Mediterranean products like olive oils and wines. Her work increasingly integrates alternative ingredient development, especially gluten-free products using legume and nut flours, while maintaining strong emphasis on statistical quality control frameworks for food manufacturing processes.

Dr. Tokatlı has received recognition for her research contributions:

• 2nd Best Poster Award at the 3rd International Conference on New Trends in Chemometrics and Applications (2016)

She has supervised 15 graduate theses (10 MSc, 5 PhD) covering olive oil quality, wine characterization, and novel food product development. Her research is supported by significant grants including the EU-funded LOCALNUTLEG project and multiple national projects from IYTE and TUBITAK.

• Thesis Supervision: 15 theses (2003-2023) on olive oil chemistry, wine authentication, and gluten-free product development
• Current Funding: LOCALNUTLEG project (PRIMA programme, 2021-2024) on Mediterranean nut/legume crops
• Past Projects: 10+ IYTE/TUBITAK projects on olive oil phenolic profiles, wine characterization, and lactic acid production

Her collaborative research involves national and international partnerships, as evidenced by multi-institutional projects like LOCALNUTLEG (coordinated by IRTA Spain) and extensive co-authorship networks across food science disciplines.