CONSORTIUM & TEAM
Our Partners
OliVR brings together leading institutions and researchers from Türkiye, Greece and Spain, united by a shared commitment to innovative, technology-driven olive cultivation training.
Partner Organizations
Five partner institutions form the backbone of the OliVR consortium. Visit each organization’s website to learn more.
Project Team
The experts driving OliVR forward across agriculture, horticulture, engineering and computer graphics.
Kıvanç Özkan
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Kıvanç Özkan serves as the Coordinator of the OliVR Project. He completed his undergraduate studies at Ankara University, Faculty of Agriculture. He holds an MSc in Agricultural Economics from Akdeniz University and an MA in English Language Teaching. He has been working as an Agricultural Engineer and subject-matter expert at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye for 15 years. In addition to his technical duties, he provides professional training at UTEM/IATC on “Project Cycle Management” and “English Text Analysis and Translation Practices in the Field of Agriculture.”
Petros Roussos
LABORATORY OF POMOLOGY, AUA
Petros A. Roussos is a Professor and the Director of the Laboratory of Pomology at the Agricultural University of Athens. His academic background includes a BSc, MSc, and PhD in Crop Science from the same university, with research focused primarily on olive propagation, fruit tree physiology, and cultivation techniques. He has authored numerous scientific publications on fruit quality, biochemical profiling, and innovative horticultural practices, and he teaches courses related to pomology and perennial crop production. His work is widely recognized within Mediterranean horticultural research, particularly in the areas of olive and fruit tree biotechnology.
Sara Rodrigo-Gomez
PLANT HEALTH TECHNICIAN, JCCM
Mrs. Rodrigo-Gómez holds a PhD specializing in plant health of woody crops and has authored more than 25 scientific papers, popular science articles, and conference communications. She currently works as a Plant Health Technician at JCCM, where she contributes to monitoring, management, and prevention programs related to crop health. In addition to her technical work, she has significant experience as an instructor, delivering both in-person and distance-learning courses for farmers, agricultural technicians, and the general public.
Nicoleta Denaxa
LABORATORY OF POMOLOGY, AUA
Nikoleta-Kleio Denaxa is an Assistant Professor at the Laboratory of Pomology, Faculty of Crop Science, at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), where she specializes in pomology, olive cultivation, fruit tree physiology, and plant stress physiology. She has authored nearly 30 peer-reviewed publications, investigating topics such as rooting and vegetative propagation of olive cultivars, effects of abiotic stress (drought, heat, salinity) on crop physiology, and the quality and biochemical composition of the fruit of various tree-crops.
Haşmet Gürçay
COMPUTER GRAPHICS, HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY
Haşmet Gürçay is currently the director of the Computer Graphics Department at Hacettepe University, Türkiye. He received his PhD degree in Mathematics in 1991 from Hacettepe University. Several times he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tübingen in the WSI-GRIS group. His research interests include computer animation, visualization, computational geometry and VR.
Francisco Jose Castillo Ruiz
RURAL ENGINEERING, UCO
Francisco José Castillo Ruiz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Rural Engineering at the University of Córdoba (UCO), specializing in agricultural mechanization, precision agriculture, and sustainable engineering solutions for Mediterranean cropping systems. His work focuses particularly on mechanized olive production, harvesting technologies, and the development of innovative machinery for improving efficiency and resource management in perennial crops. He has contributed to numerous national and international research projects, authored peer-reviewed publications on precision irrigation, mechanized harvesting, and digital tools for orchard management, and actively teaches in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, including UCO’s Digital Agriculture master’s programme.
Francisco Jimenez Jimenez
FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, UCO
The researcher, who holds a Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering, is currently working as a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Food Science and Technology (AGR-170) at the University of Córdoba. He holds the accreditations of Assistant Professor, Contracted Professor, and Private University Professor granted by ANECA. Currently, he holds a research doctor contract under the grants awarded to universities and public research entities through the Resolution of December 30, 2019, within the scope of the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development, and Innovation (PAIDI 2020).
Antonio Rodriguez-Lizana
AGRO-FORESTRY ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE
Antonio Rodríguez-Lizana is a Full Professor (Dr. Agronomist / Agricultural Engineer) at the University of Seville (Spain), affiliated with the Department of Agricultural Mechanization / Agro-Forestry Engineering and connected to the Centre for Mechanization, Rural Technology and Olive Research (CEMTRO). His main areas of expertise are conservation agriculture, sustainable soil management, mechanization and application machinery (especially in olive orchards), soil erosion, and water and nutrient loss mitigation. Over his career he has authored or co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on topics such as mulch covers of pruning residues, cover crops in olive groves, pesticide application optimization, soil carbon sequestration, and sustainable mechanization.
Gregorio L. Blanco-Roldan
RURAL ENGINEERING, ETSIAM . UCO
Prof. Dr. Blanco-Roldán is a University Professor (2023– ) at the Department of Rural Engineering of the School of Agricultural and Forest Engineering (ETSIAM) of the University of Córdoba (UCO), in the Agricultural and Forest Mechanization Unit. He has been a professor at different public universities: Almería (2000–2002), Sevilla (2002–2003) and Córdoba (2003– ), lecturing on agricultural and forest mechanization and on safety and health at work, in degree, master and PhD programs. His research, organized around three areas — mechanical harvesting of fruit, application equipment for phytosanitary products, and characterization of mechanized operations — is dedicated especially to the olive grove. He has published several technical books and JCR articles, more than 50 technical and dissemination articles, and has given more than 50 lectures in courses and technical conferences.
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