Collaboration on PRIMA (2024) Proposals- Water harvesting and water management

Koç University (KU) is an endowed, non-profit institution of higher education, located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1993 by the Vehbi Koç Foundation, its mission is to produce the most capable graduates by providing a world class education, to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to contribute to the benefit of Turkey and humanity at large. KU is spread in a main campus, a separate university hospital campus and two smaller locations in Istanbul.

KU was the leading Horizon 2020 organization in Türkiye, with 52 participations and a total of €24.5M EC contribution. As of May 2023, KU continues to be the most successful Turkish participant in Horizon Europe, with 18 projects and a total of €15M budget. Click for a participation profile of the university.

The PI has been working on bio(polymers), bionanocomposites, stimuli-responsive smart hydrogels, and investigating potential applications of lignocellulosic nanomaterials from plants, agricultural and forest wastes together with international academic and industrial partners. He wants to apply the know-how developed in his Soft and Active Materials Laboratory on preventing/slowing down desertification.

The PI will design and develop innovative plant-derived smart nanocomposite hydrogels that are physically and chemically compatible with soil and can function therein. Hydrogels with their large water retention capacity and ability to release it at elevated temperatures can be used to combat desertification and to reduce the drought stress on soil and plants. The PI will eliminate the drawbacks of the currently used soil conditioners and develop nature-based alternatives from agricultural wastes economically from local resources. The synthesis, characterization and performance evaluation of the biorenewable hydrogels will be provided.

water management, irrigation, deserfification, water harvesting, hydrogels, superabsorbent, polymer, bidegradable,