BOJAN BUTINAR, PhD, Research Associate

Tel.: +386 5 663 79 34

Research areas:

  • Chemistry and analytics of Olive and Pumpkin seed oil
  • Minor compounds in oils (biophenols, tocopherols, …)
  • Metrology
  • Organic pollutants

 Biography:

After completing the grammar school in Koper, I headed for the chemistry studies to Ljubljana. After my experience at Radio Študent, I graduated in inorganic chemistry in 1981. I was employed at the Iplas factory and published a patent with my colleagues Marko Joksić and Milena Bučar-Miklavčič. In 1989 I gained the title of Specialist in Physical Chemistry at Josef Stefan Institute. For a brief period, I was a freelancer – at that time already professionally united with Milena Bučar‑Miklavčič – starting my first research projects with the Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper). It was in 1998 when my steady era with ZRS started. I was observing the Centre’s growth, so I am still aware of the truth from the Ivan Cankar’s drama Servants (Hlapci). With my doctoral dissertation (2012) The establishment of an analytical procedure for assessment of the genuineness and the degree of processing of pumpkin seed oil I transferred the excellence of research & analytical approaches from the field of olive oil to the field of teaching, which was severely interrupted by University (UP) arbitrariness.

My areas of activity are closely linked to the entwined sphere of research and expert work; with my colleagues at the Laboratory of the Institute of Oliveculture we study and measure minor components in olive and sometimes pumpkin seed oils – despite the fact the lab lost all its instrumental and location bases in the October 2017 fire – as the Laboratory is the holder of the National standard for the amount of substance (mol, designated by Metrology Institute of the Republic of Slovenia) and National Reference Laboratory for Olive Oil Conformity Assessment in the Field of Olive Oil Chemistry and Sensory Testing (designated by Ministry of Agriculture, forestry and food of the Republic of Slovenia).

In July 2020, my COBISS bibliography counts 222 units.

After 33 years of service, due to the separation of the ZRS Koper from UP, I was rewarded with the termination of participation in the pedagogical process of FVZ UP (holder and author of 2 courses) and consequently lost the pedagogical title of Assistant Professor of Chemistry.

Selected publications: http://izumbib.izum.si/bibliografije/C20190917142702-10375.html

Research activity:

I have participated in seventeen national and two international projects, and I have been a leader in five national projects. I mention the national projects “V4 1411 Development of technological guidelines for olive irrigation in Slovenia” and “V4 1621 Possibilities of using residues of olive production” and the international H2O20 OLEUM project “Better solutions to protect olive oil quality and authenticity”, aimed to better guarantee olive oil quality and authenticity by empowering detection and fostering prevention of olive oil fraud. My contribution together with Milena Bučar-Miklavčič and colleagues from the Laboratory of the Institute for oliveculture are in the field of sensory and olive oil biophenol analytics.

I was in the organizing committee of one international and one national scientific conference (Mednarodni znanstveni posvet in predstavitev dela na področju oljkarstva. 2000. Izola; Strokovni posvet Sredozemsko kmetijstvo in oljkarstvo. 1999. Izola). I was the editor-in-chief of the publication of one international scientific meeting (Novi raziskovalni pristopi v oljkarstvu in sredozemskem kmetijstvu. 2003. Koper), editor in the publication of two international scientific meetings (Novi raziskovalni pristopi v oljkarstvu in sredozemskem kmetijstvu, 2000. Koper; Dnevi sredozemskega kmetijstva. 2006. Izola). I was the editor of ZRS Koper publication (Glasnik ZRS Koper. 2006. Koper) and editor of one book (Pokrajina: fotografija, F. G. Lorca, svetopisemski citati o oljki. 2005. Koper). I was a referee for a multi-author monograph (RASPOR, Peter (urednik). [Hrana, prehrana, zdravje]: naša dela so naša prihodnost. 2018. Ljubljana). From 2003 to 2006 I was an editor-in-chief at the newsletter of the Olive Oil Producers Association of Slovenian Istria. Together with Milena Bučar-Miklavčič I contributed to develop guidelines for the quality and labeling of pumpkin seed oil (MKGP & GZS. 2019. Ljubljana). ZRS Koper has not (yet) invited me to the editorial board of the journal Annales kinesiologiæ. I am a member of the Olive Oil Expert Group at G.4 Arable crops and Olive Oil Unit of the Markets and Observatories Directorate, which is part of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI.DDG3.G.4). I am a member of a team of chemical experts at the International Olive Council (IOC, Madrid) for the study of methods of analysis.