Support to Our Academics from TÜBİTAK

The 2024 list with 13 projects to be supported within the framework of the POLAR-1001 call made by ARDEB under the conditions determined by TÜBİTAK-MAM Polar Research Center has been announced. Four ITU academics on the list attracted attention with their scientific projects on the poles.

It was decided to support 13 of the 35 evaluated projects that applied to the “POLAR-1001” and “POLAR Foreign Research Base Participation” 2024 calls opened by the Research Funding Programs Directorate (ARDEB) in accordance with the criteria determined by TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MAM) Polar Research Institute. Four ITU academics, who were among the 13 names in the resultant list shared with the public after a meticulous scientific evaluation process, attracted attention with their scientific projects on the poles.

Assessment of polar water pollution and ecological risks

The project, which will be led by Faculty of Mines, Department of Geological Engineering faculty member Prof. Dr. Nurgül Çelik Balcı, is titled “Geochemical Characterization of Acidic Rock Drainage (ARD) in Maritime Antarctica - Barton Peninsula and Assessment of Potential Environmental and Ecological Risks.” The project, which is entitled to receive support from TÜBİTAK, aims to reveal the ecological damage that can be caused by water pollution resulting from the contact of a water body with sulfur-rich rocks, through a regional example.

Polar plastic dispersion via ship ballast water

Maritime Faculty, Department of Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tanzer Satır’s TÜBİTAK-supported project will detect the plastic released and dispersed to the poles through ballast water, which provides the stability of ships used in the intercontinental transportation sector. The project led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Satır is titled “Detection and Analysis of Micro and Macro Plastic Dispersion in Polar Regions through Ship Ballast Water and Sediment.”

Detection of active pharmaceutical ingredients and metabolites

Faculty of Chemical-Metallurgical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering faculty member Asst. Prof. Dr. Elif Öztürk Er’s TÜBİTAK- supported project focuses on the Horseshoe Island located on the west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The project, which involves scientific procedures for the detection of active pharmaceutical ingredients in biological specimens on the island, is titled “Determination of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Their Metabolites in Environmental and Biological Samples from Horseshoe Island with High Accuracy and Sensitivity Using Lc-Ms/Ms Method Combined with Next Generation Preconcentration Methods.” 

Determining the age of igneous rocks

The project titled “Petrology and Geochronology of the Magmatism of Nelson Island (NW Antarctica) and Its Place in the South Shetland Arc System,” which will be led by Faculty of Mines, Department of Geological Engineering lecturer Alp Ünal, focuses on determining the age and uncovering the natural history of igneous rocks on Nelson Island, one of the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean.

We congratulate our faculty members and wish them success in their studies.