Success of BTU Forest Faculty in TÜBİTAK

Bursa Technical University (BTU) Faculty of Forestry has succeeded in obtaining TÜBİTAK support for 5 projects. BTU academics will study a wide range of topics from the efficient use of forest resources to the sociology of Uludağ forests.

With the support received from TÜBİTAK, Bursa Technical University implements its projects, providing solutions in both environmental and social fields while also developing new technologies for industry. In this context, 5 projects written by the Faculty of Forestry academics received support from TÜBİTAK. The supported projects include “Development of Veneered Plywood Strips and Investigation of Their Usability in Plywood Production”, “Development of Joining Systems for Box Furniture Constructions with Additive Manufacturing”, “Production of Chemically Modified Particleboard with Epsilon-Caprolactone”, “Wildlife Ecology and Inventory Techniques Course”, and “Syntaxonomy and Synecology of Uludağ Forest Vegetation”.

The project titled “Development of Veneered Plywood Strips and Investigation of Their Usability in Plywood Production” is led by Prof. Dr. Ramazan Kurt, a faculty member of the Department of Forest Industrial Engineering, with Prof. Dr. Hasan Basri Koçer, Prof. Dr. Arif Karademir, Prof. Dr. Sami İmamoğlu, and Research Assistant Doğan Memiş as team members. The project, supported by TÜBİTAK 1002 module, will facilitate the use of waste generated in wood veneer production for the production of wood-based composites.

By evaluating the waste generated during veneer production in plywood manufacturing, an important resource will be provided for the sector, which is experiencing bottlenecks due to raw material supply and high prices. Thanks to the project, primarily the existing and increasingly diminishing forest resources will be used more economically, and the wastes generated in production will be utilized. Through the new generation plywoods to be developed within the 12-month project, it is aimed to produce more environmentally friendly wood-based composites, thus promoting the increased use of products obtained from eco-friendly and renewable materials in the forest industry and construction sectors.

The sociology of the Uludağ forest will be studied. The project titled “Syntaxonomy and Synecology of Uludağ Forest Vegetation” conducted by Research Assistant Seydi Ahmet Kavaklı under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Emin Uğurlu received TÜBİTAK 1002-A support. The project will explore the sociology of the Uludağ forest. The research will reveal the zones of the forests located in Uludağ, the differences between the zones, and the relationships of the area’s vegetation with its growing conditions. The project, which will investigate the reasons for the collective presence of plants, is expected to greatly benefit future forestry practices.

Wildlife ecology training will be provided. The project titled “Wildlife Ecology and Inventory Techniques Course” led by Prof. Dr. Ebubekir Gündoğdu has been granted TÜBİTAK 2237-A support. The training will benefit those conducting scientific research, young researchers interested in the subject, and graduate students. Theoretical and practical training will be conducted in collaboration with faculty members working on various wildlife topics at different universities in Turkey. A total of 25 participants from various universities in Turkey will be accepted into the project.

Particleboard will be easily usable in water. The project titled “Production of Chemically Modified Particleboard with Epsilon-Caprolactone”, led by Associate Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ali Ermeydan, with Prof. Dr. Eylem Dizman Tomak as a researcher and Mert Tuğberk Kavut as a scholarship holder, has been granted TÜBİTAK 1002 support. With the implementation of this project, the water resistance of particleboards, which are important engineering materials, will be increased. This project will develop a material that chemically modifies wood-based chips with eco-friendly, hydrophobic, biodegradable polymers, allowing the final product, particleboard, to be comfortably used in areas where contact with water is frequent.

The project titled “Development of Joining Systems for Box Furniture Constructions with Additive Manufacturing”, led by Dr. Faculty Member Mesut Uysal from the Department of Forest Industrial Engineering, has also received TÜBİTAK 1002 support. Associate Prof. Dr. Ömer Yunus Gümüş and Dr. Faculty Member Çağatay Taşdemir are researchers on the project. Different materials and pressing parameters will be used within the scope of the project. Material properties will also be determined, and topology optimization will be achieved through computer-aided engineering software, presenting optimum furniture joints and aiming for a patent or utility model.