Dr. Mercedes Bertotto stands out as an exceptionally qualified candidate for the “Women Researcher Award” due to her profound scientific expertise, leadership, and innovation across multiple sectors. With a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering and a strong academic foundation in Food Science and Technology, she exemplifies excellence in applied and theoretical research. Her 12+ years of impactful work—from Argentina’s SENASA National Reference Laboratory to the Netherlands’ Wageningen Food and Biobased Research—reflect her global research footprint. She has made significant contributions in spectral sensing, chemometrics, machine learning, and food quality control. Moreover, her entrepreneurial initiative as the founder and CEO of Vibralytics.nl demonstrates her commitment to translating science into real-world, sustainable solutions. Dr. Mercedes Bertotto is highly suitable for the “Women Researcher Award’. Her multidisciplinary achievements, pioneering role in spectral analytics, dedication to sustainable food systems, and entrepreneurial leadership in a male-dominated field exemplify the qualities the award seeks to recognize. Her career reflects not only scientific merit but also her inspirational impact as a woman in science, making her a deserving and empowering candidate for this honor.
🎓Education:
Dr. Bertotto holds a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, where her thesis focused on modeling drying and tempering processes of rice (IRGA 424). Her research included dynamic mechanical analysis and mathematical modeling of glass transition temperature, achieving an outstanding score of 10/10. She also holds a Master’s in Food Science and Technology from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires. Her academic formation enabled her to work on food preservation, quality control, and raw material analysis using both physical and chemical techniques. Her educational foundation is rooted in experimental precision, mathematical rigor, and industrial application. This robust background has allowed her to seamlessly bridge theory with practical laboratory and industry-based problem-solving. Her education reflects interdisciplinary training, combining engineering, food science, and analytical chemistry—providing her with the ideal base for impactful research in sustainable biobased materials and food safety.
🏢Work Experience:
Dr. Bertotto brings an extensive and diverse professional background. She currently lectures in Information Management and Data Analytics at Wittenborg University and leads Vibralytics.nl, a company pioneering AI-driven spectroscopy for agri-food applications. Between 2022–2024, she was a spectral sensing researcher at Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, using hyperspectral imaging and chemometrics (PCA, PLS, CNN) for quality control. From 2010 to 2022, she worked at SENASA in Argentina, specializing in NIR/FTIR microscopy, GC-MS, and regulatory compliance in food safety. As a university professor, she taught chemometric tools for doctoral candidates, and she also served as a consultant at SoftLab, contributing to petroleum industry applications of NIR. Her expertise encompasses spectroscopy hardware (Specim FX10/17, MicroNIR, LabSpec), data tools (R, MATLAB), and AI-based modeling. This blend of research, teaching, and consulting makes her a well-rounded scientist, with real-world and academic impact across multiple industries.
🏅Awards:
While specific awards are not explicitly listed, Dr. Mercedes Bertotto’s recognitions include multiple peer-reviewed publications, oral and poster presentations at prestigious conferences, and leadership roles in top-tier research institutions like Wageningen University. Her work was accepted for presentation at the 38th EFFoST International Conference (2024) and ICNIRS 2023, both internationally acclaimed events in food science and spectroscopy. She has also contributed to publicly recognized innovation efforts in Argentina, featured in national science communications (e.g., Argentina.gob.ar and API-Portal). Her appointment as a doctoral-level professor and selection as a founder and CEO of a research-driven company demonstrates academic and entrepreneurial recognition. Moreover, her trilingual fluency and international engagement serve as indicators of her global scientific outreach and influence. These distinctions—academic, institutional, and professional—reflect her commitment to innovation, research excellence, and interdisciplinary problem-solving in chemical engineering and food safety.
🔬Research Focus:
Dr. Bertotto’s research is grounded in analytical chemistry, spectral sensing, and chemometric modeling applied to food and agricultural systems. Her focus lies in leveraging Near-Infrared (NIR), Mid-Infrared (MIR), FTIR microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to improve food quality, detect contaminants, and enable circular and sustainable material flows. She specializes in multivariate analysis (PCA, PLS-DA, ANN, CNN) for interpreting complex spectral data in real-time monitoring systems. Her work integrates hyperspectral imaging with AI-driven tools to predict physical and chemical properties of biological materials, such as fungal susceptibility in tomatoes or nutrient profiling in dairy. She is also deeply involved in modeling moisture and thermal behavior in grains like rice. Her research bridges fundamental science with applied industry solutions—creating novel analytical frameworks that optimize safety, quality, and sustainability in bio-based materials, food systems, and environmental monitoring.
Publication Top Notes:
1. Predicting fungal infection sensitivity of sepals in harvested tomatoes using imaging spectroscopy and partial least squares discriminant analysis
2. Comparison between Chemometrics and Machine Learning for the Prediction of Macronutrients in Fresh Cheeses Using Imaging Spectroscopy
3. Detection of Animal By‑Products in Bone Ashes by Near Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled with Microscopy
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