Prof. Dr. Sibel Ozilgen

Sibel Ozilgen, Ph.D, spent her early school years developing an interest in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and arts. After high school, she studied Food Engineering at Middle East Technical University, Turkey, which was her lifelong dream. She completed her MSc and Ph.D. degrees at the same university. During her Ph.D. study, she was accepted to the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. She took classes and continued her research there as a concurrent student. Her doctorate supervisor, Prof. David Reid, was one of the biggest food science authorities in the world. She has been following Dr. Reid’s footsteps in guiding young generations in their learning journey. After receiving her degree, Ozilgen conducted researches and taught classes at the Massey University, New Zealand. She then started to work at Istanbul Yeditepe University in 2005 and has been the Head of the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Department of Yeditepe University since 2014. Ozilgen is the author or coauthor of numerous refereed publications, book chapters, and six books. The most significant of these is her book “Cooking as a Chemical Reaction: Culinary Science with Experiments”, published by CRC Press, since that it is the first International Culinary Science textbook written by a Turkish academician. The book is taught as a compulsory textbook and as an educational reference at academic institutions all over the world. Her research interest lies in the area of culinary science, food safety, food product development, food perception and consumer behavior, and innovation of tradition foods for food security. She holds the only patent developed at a department of Culinary Arts and Gastronomy in Turkey. She teaches culinary science, culinary science laboratory, food hygiene and safety, foods and their specifications, food product formulations and sensory evaluation, food systems, food politics and regulations, menu planning and development, and food systems courses.