A Workshop on Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Computational Materials Technologies Was Held at ITU

The Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Computational Materials Technologies Workshop held at our Ayazağa Campus on November 6, 2025, brought together our students, researchers, academic and administrative staff, primarily at the graduate level.

The one-day workshop, held at the Prof. Dr. Nahit Kumbasar Conference Hall of the Faculty of Engineering with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and Istanbul Development Agency (IDA), aimed to share innovative research in the fields of artificial intelligence and computational materials science and to bring together leading scientists and young researchers at the national and international levels.

The Central Laboratory Infrastructure Development Project, supported by the Presidency of Strategy and Budget, and the Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Autonomous Material Microstructure Analysis Platform Project, supported by the Istanbul Development Agency, focused on evaluating new trends in the field of artificial intelligence-enabled computational material technologies. Leading academics in the fields of materials science, biotechnology, production technologies, and artificial intelligence gave presentations on current developments and engaged in mutual exchange of ideas.

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal stated in his opening and vision speech that the workshop served as a comprehensive platform that outlined ITU's vision, priorities, and future goals, and that it was important in terms of strengthening interdisciplinary interaction and reinforcing a culture of collaborative production. He underscored that this event was more than just an academic gathering; it was a step that contributed to Türkiye’s technology-focused growth vision.

Our Rector stated that artificial intelligence-enabled computational material technologies have great scientific and technological potential due to the interdisciplinary intersections they create, and emphasized that ITU is at the center of this transformation with its strong research infrastructure and long-established history.

Prof. Dr. Mandal, who serves as vice chair of the Presidential Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Council, recalled that the strategic importance of this field was emphasized in Türkiye's Artificial Intelligence Roadmap extending to 2035. He stated that the transition to artificial general intelligence (AGI) is anticipated in the 2030s and to artificial super intelligence (ASI) in the 2035s.

Our Computer Engineering Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Burak Berk Üstündağ stated that material technology and artificial intelligence are currently the two fastest-growing fields of science, starting from the quantum level. He explained that while both are advancing in their own lanes, they have embarked on a project to bring them together, enabling innovative materials to be interrogated and produced using artificial intelligence. He mentioned that work has begun to establish such a platform at Istanbul Technical University with the support of the Presidency of Strategy and Budget, and that the Istanbul Development Agency has also made significant contributions to this project, including metallurgical materials and their sectoral relations. He emphasized that different units of our university will create a model with experimental data and computational outputs, and that this model will be an important accelerator in the pace of development for both the industry and the academic and scientific world.

ITU Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Application and Research Center (ITU AI) Director and Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Şule Gündüz Öğüdücü stated that a project will be carried out in collaboration with the ITU Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Application and Research Center and ITU Materials and Metallurgical Engineering to extract mechanical properties from micrograph images of materials, particularly steel materials. She emphasized that the project, supported by the Istanbul Development Agency, is a first in Türkiye. She stated that the project is interdisciplinary in nature, involving both materials engineering and the use of artificial intelligence methods for predicting mechanical properties in materials engineering, and that they will also work on creating the dataset they will use in this project. She noted that in this study, they will develop a method to predict the mechanical properties of materials using artificial intelligence techniques, utilizing images, chemical properties, and experimental properties of the materials.

Our Environmental Engineering Department faculty member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Derya Yüksel İmer, stated that the workshop addressed topics shaped by the collective wisdom of academics, researchers, and students from our university, as well as participants from outside our university who could support projects and collaborate.

Prof. Dr. Burak Berk Üstündağ “Central Labs as Catalysts for AI-Materials Co-Development & Accelerated Discovery”

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Sarıkaya from the University of Washington “Technology Innovations through AI-Enabled Convergent Sciences”

Prof. Dr. Ali Demir Sezer from Marmara University “Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Current Developments”

Prof. Dr. Bahattin Koç from Sabancı University “Additive Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence Applications”

Prof. Dr. Şule Gündüz Öğüdücü “Artificial Intelligence in Materials Production – IDA Project”

Prof. Dr. Gizem Dinler Doğanay, faculty member of our Molecular Biology and Genetics Department, “Targeting Protein-Protein Interaction Interfaces in Cancer via Peptide-Based Therapeutics”

Dr. Kaan Bilge from Sabancı University and pOrOus Intelligent Material Analytics “Fractography AI: Multi-Scaled Root-Cause Libraries for Defect Discovery in Material Science”