Rank/Position: Associate Professor National Technical University of Athens

Scientific Field: Technology and Quality of Fruits and Vegetables

Faculty/Department/Research Institution: Department of Chemical Engineering NTUA

Dr. Maria H. Giannakourou is a Doctor of Chemical Engineering and the title of her doctoral thesis was “Prediction of food shelf life with reduced water activity: application to frozen vegetables”, focusing in particular on: (a) the application of mild, non-thermal techniques (osmotic dehydration) to food tissues for the production of new products, with improved characteristics and extended shelf life, (b) the application of shelf life studies based on the accelerated shelf life testing (ASLT) methodology and (c) mathematical modeling as a predictive tool for assessing the quality status. She currently works as an Associate Professor in the field of “Food Engineering”, at the National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Food Science and Technology. She has extensive experience in food science and technology and has worked systematically in many research programs. In addition, she possesses high-level expertise in analytical and instrumental food analysis techniques, based on her 8-year employment in an analytical chemical laboratory at the General State Chemistry Laboratory. Her main areas of scientific interest, as documented by her published works, include food processing methods, shelf life studies and quality assessment, non-thermal processes, osmotic pretreatment of animal (meat and fish products) and plant tissues for shelf life extension, “smart” packaging (Time Temperature Indices, TTI), application of barrier technology, production of novel foods, organoleptic evaluation, etc.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
(current position) 07/2022 -present: Associate Professor, National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Food Science and Technology
02.2012 – 07.2022: Academic staff, Professor (A’ level) at the Department of Food Science and Technology, University of West Attica (former Technological Educational Institute of Athens)
12.2004 – 02.2012: Analyst (Grade A), General State Chemistry Laboratory (food and beverage analysis, participation and organization of SCHEMA (Scheme for the Evaluation of Chemical Measurements) interlaboratory schemes, chemical metrology, training and practice for numerous analytical procedures for food analysis (PLH), GC-MS, IR-MS, LC-MS, etc.), responsible for quality assurance procedures, method validation, etc.)
2003-2004: Postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, Branch IV, National Technical University of Athens, Department of Chemical Engineering

EDUCATION
11.1997 – 03.2003: PhD at Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, National Technical University of Athens, Department of Chemical Engineering, Thesis title: “Prediction of food shelf life with reduced water activity: application to frozen vegetables” (Supervisor: Prof. Petros S. Taukis).
09.1992 – 11.1997: Degree in Chemical Engineering: 8.79/10 (top 3%), National Technical University of Athens, Department of Chemical Engineering.

Supervision of (5) PhD Candidates, (13) postgraduate students and over 30 undergraduate students

Publications: 52 publications, Citations: (A) (total): 1588: (B) (excluding self-citations of all authors): 1223 (SCOPUS), h-index: 18, 12 chapters in scientific books, >70 presentations in Greek and International Conferences (from 1997-present).

Foreign Language Knowledge: English (Cambridge Proficiency), French (Sorbonne II) and Spanish (Superior)

Computer Skills: Windows, MS Office, Statistica, MATLAB, Fortran, Minitab.