Aleixandre-Tudo José Luis

The final research project at the end of my studies in Agricultural Engineering was the first contact with the world of wine. The project was awarded by the Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineers of Valencia as the best final project of the 2007/2008 promotion. During the realization of my Oenology degree, I was also awarded with the best academic record for the 2010-2011 promotion granted by the Higher Technical School of Rural Environment and Oenology of Valencia. In addition, I also obtained the Bancaja-UPV award for the best final project of the mentioned studies. Finally, the PhD work completed at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) in 2012, thanks to a 4-year FPI grant, entitled: “Effect of the addition of co-pigments on the phenolic composition of Tempranillo red wines produced with different vinification techniques” represented my first real challenge as researcher. During this period, research in foreign centres in countries such as: Hungary, Greece, Chile, USA, and South Africa was performed. In 2013, I was awarded with a postdoctoral fellowship by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa (SFP1208239983, 85242). I then started to develop a prolific research portfolio in the field of spectroscopy and chemometric data analysis. In 2014, I obtained a two-year postdoctoral fellowship (APOSTD / 2014/035) from the Generalitat Valenciana, continuing research in the same topic with the same research group at Stellenbosch University (SU). In 2017, I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Grape and Wine Science (IGWS) in South Africa, obtaining the same year the Postdoctoral Fellow Award for Exceptional Achievement by the Vice Rectorate: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate. From 2018, I was appointed as Academic Researcher at the Department of Oenology and Viticulture of Stellenbosch University. In 2021, I started a new position at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia after the obtention of a Beatriz Galindo award by the Spanish government (BG20/00021). Finally, I obtained the positive evaluation as Profesor Titular de Universidad by the ANECA (National Agency for Quality Evaluation and Accreditation). The development over the past years of accurate spectroscopic calibrations for the quantification of important compounds in wine made the implementation of this technology during the winemaking possible. The research focus moved towards the establishment of monitoring, optimization and process control techniques applied to winemaking. The most relevant research results appeared in the 50 articles published in indexed journals (JCR) with impact factor. Most of them were published in first and second quartile journals. Some of the articles are published in Viticulture and Oenology journals, such as the South African Journal of Oenology and Viticulture, Oeno One, or the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, while others have been published in multi-disciplinary journals of reference in this field of research (Food Science and Technology and Agricultural Science). I very often acted as first author, with a significant number of them signing as corresponding author. I have also published three chapters in research books with external review process. The published articles have received 756 citations until today, reaching an H index of 15. In addition, some of the most relevant results have been presented in national and international conferences, including SASEV (South African Society of Oenology and Viticulture), IVAS (In Vino Analytica Scientia), MACROWINE, ENOFORUM, GIENOL (Oenological Research Groups), SENSORFINT, FRUTIC or CAC (Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry). Oral presentations were made in addition to written contributions. I have also actively published in non-indexed journals as well as in the edition of 2 teaching books, covering a variety of topics related with Viticulture and Oenology. During my research career I have participated in a total of 15 research projects (four of them as principal investigator) financed by various institutions, as well as by private entities. On the other hand, I have actively participated as an external reviewer of several specialized journals. Moreover, I have been responsible for the management of several final year projects. I have graduated 11 master students (7 (SU) + 4 (UPV)) and a PhD student (SU). Another 4 master students (3 (SU) + 1 (UPV)) and 3 PhD student (SU) are in the process of graduating. It is important to mention that the Master’s degree at the Department of Viticulture and Oenology at Stellenbosch is a research focussed degree consisting only in research activities of two years of duration. The product PhenoLAB (www.phenolab.co.za) is commercially available and allows for the quantification of phenolic compounds in an efficient and accurate manner. The research work is complemented with teaching activities in the bachelor’s degree at SU and at the Oenology Master’s degree at UPV.