Winners Announced at 7th R&D Project Market for Chemicals and Chemical Products

With the approval of the Ministry of Economy, the awards of the "7th Research and Development Project Market for Chemical Substances and Products," organized by İKMİB (Istanbul Exporters Association of Chemical Substances and Products) and AKMİB (Mediterranean Exporters Association of Chemical Substances and Products) in partnership, under the coordination of TİM (Turkish Exporters Assembly) and with the support of TÜBİTAK, were presented to their winners at a ceremony held on 11 November 2017 Saturday at the Foreign Trade Complex. The "R&D Project Market," which has been held since 2011 and is the largest innovation event in the chemistry sector, brought together universities, research institutions, industrialists and entrepreneurs with relevant public institutions. At the event, the most successful projects were awarded TRY 15,000, second-place winners TRY 10,000, and third-place winners TRY 5,000. In the paints and adhesives category, Mert Yıldırım won first prize with the project "Production of adhesives from nanocellulose and boron minerals that are non-harmful to human health and resistant to combustion," while Mustafa Karaboyacı won second prize with the project "Production of celluloid from rose pomace and similar industrial plant waste," and İshak Afşin Kariper won third prize with the project "Boron and dextrin-added impregnated paints." In the plastics and rubber category, Hasan Arslanoğlu placed second with the project "Production of insulation material from industrial waste and renewable sources suitable for use in housing and industry," while Yaşar Can Ayra, Memet Vezir Kahraman and Bahattin Yalçın won third prize with the project "Obtaining nanofiber membranes through modification of waste PET bottles that cause environmental pollution and cleaning dirty water." No project was deemed suitable for first prize following the evaluation. In the basic chemicals category, Çağlar Sivri won first place with the project "Development of protective and comfortable laboratory masks against viruses in nonwoven/nanofiber composite structure with PP/PVA/SAP." No projects were deemed suitable for second and third place.

126 Projects Submitted

The primary field of event applications was determined to be raw material/semi-finished product work on chemical substances and products. However, innovative products derived from primary materials required by the sector and other sectors were also evaluated within the scope of the event. A total of 126 innovative projects submitted in the categories of pharmaceuticals and pharmacy products, paints and adhesives, plastics and rubber, cosmetics, soaps and cleaning products, and basic chemicals were evaluated using a scoring system by evaluation committee members comprising leading academics and industrialists. Project owners who entered the top 30 gave presentations detailing their projects to jury members at the "Award Board Meeting" held prior to the award ceremony. Following the evaluation of the event, which has become one of the finest examples of university-industry cooperation in the chemistry sector, the most successful projects in 4 different categories—academics, industrialists, entrepreneurs and students—were awarded TRY 15,000, second-place winners TRY 10,000, and third-place winners TRY 5,000. Additionally, activities to be organized during the year and meetings between award-winning projects and industrialists are planned within the scope of the event.

Competing in Turkey Innovation Week

Award-winning projects from the Research and Development Project Market for Chemical Substances and Products will be eligible to compete for the grand prize in the most innovative project category at Turkey Innovation Week, organized annually by the Turkish Exporters Assembly and the largest organization across the country aimed at increasing innovation awareness.