Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgür Atalay's project called ReTex and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alper Gürarslan's SmartWaste project was deemed worthy of support within the scope of the EU's Horizon Europe Program MSCA SE-2021 call.

Within the scope of the ReTex project, which aims to create a world-class international and inter-sectoral organization network, it is aimed to use regenerated fibers produced from recycled cotton with environmentally friendly methods instead of traditional textile materials in order to develop sustainable electronic textile materials. It is planned to exchange knowledge and skills to create sustainable textile materials within the scope of the project, which will involve 11 stakeholders from 8 different countries and have a budget of 814.200 Euros. It is also planned to conduct collaborative research between different countries and sectors.

The main purpose of the SmartWaste project is to replace traditional and high-cost textile materials with sustainable materials, to create a world-class international and intersectoral organization network working in the field of sustainable smart textile materials. The main purpose of the SmartWaste project is to replace traditional and high-cost textile materials with sustainable materials, to create a world-class international and intersectoral organization network working in the field of sustainable smart textile materials.  Within the scope of the project, it is aimed to train next generation researchers on sustainable textiles and to develop innovative products. In this project, which will include 10 stakeholders from 6 different countries, with a budget of 943,000 Euros, it is envisaged to exchange knowledge and skills in order to develop sustainable textile materials by strengthening joint research between different countries and sectors. Within the project, world-renowned textile manufacturers, materials and polymer scientists, chemists, software engineers and designers will work together.

About Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgur Atalay

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atalay completed his master's and doctorate in the field of smart textiles at the University of Manchester in England. Doing post-doctoral research in soft robotic systems at Harvard University in the USA, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atalay received the Marie Curie Individual Fellowship within the scope of the EU Horizon 2020 program in 2019. He continued to work in the field of smart textiles and soft robotics with various international and national projects he took in the following periods. Finally, his project TEXWEAROTS was awarded support by the European Research Council (ERC) of the EU's Horizon Europe Programme.

About Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alper Gürarslan

After completing his MA in Textile Chemistry from North Carolina State University, he earned a double doctorate in Fiber and Polymer Science and Materials Science and Engineering. Subsequently, he did post-doctoral research in the Department of Mechanical and Astronautical Engineering at the same university. Having started his studies at ITU in 2017, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alper Gürarslan received support from 4 European Union and 4 TUBITAK projects. Within the scope of these supported projects, he continues his studies in many different fields from medical textiles to two-dimensional materials, from wearable electronics to sustainable fibers at ITU Faculty of Textile Technologies and Design.

News: ITU Media and Communication Office