The LEADERS – Women Innovators in ManufacturingCompetition focuses on female innovators behind solutions addressing challenges in manufacturing. The award within this competition is dedicated to women innovators residing in EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) countries who significantly impact the innovation ecosystem by transforming ideas into new and advanced products and/or services that benefit people and the planet. EIT Manufacturing aims to raise awareness of the need for more female innovators in manufacturing and create role models through this award.
In this competition, Dr. Özge Akbulut, faculty member at Sabancı University, by reaching the finals she was selected for the second-place award. Dr. Özge Akbulut is developing energy and cost-effective, material-impermeable methods for the circular transformation of the ceramic industry. Self-standing, malleable formulations of advanced ceramics that are generated in her laboratory solve multiple problems that cannot be pursued by the existing slurry-based or powder compaction methods.
The formulations developed by Dr. Özge Akbulut contain a minimum amounts of organic matter and are highly suitable for reproducibility to facilitate standardization and digitalization of the process flow. These formulationsi) do not need expensive molding, ii) can be shaped via forces below 10 N with existing equipment, iii) do not generate tool wear, iv) can conform around curved surfaces, and v) are recyclable without additional energy-intensive steps such as ball milling.