14/01/2026
Prof. Dr. Yusuf Ziya Menceloğlu, a faculty member at Sabancı University's Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, won the Elginkan Foundation 2025 Technology Award for his work titled "Development of Biodegradable Superabsorbent Polymers and Their Transformation into Nanotern™ Product."
Information about our faculty member Prof. Dr. Yusuf Ziya Menceloğlu's award-winning project is as follows:
Nanotern™ is a biodegradable and environmentally friendly superabsorbent polymer (SAP) developed to ensure efficient water use in agriculture under drought and excessive rainfall conditions. This innovative material, adaptable to different and saline soil systems, absorbs up to approximately 1800 times its weight in water and gradually releases it back to plants in a controlled manner for 30-40 days. Developed as an alternative to petroleum-derived SAPs, Nanotern™ stands out as an advanced material technology originating from Türkiye with its structure that does not pose a microplastic risk and its commercial-scale producibility. Nanotern™ enables optimal water use in agriculture. The low performance, temperature resistance, and application problems encountered in existing SAPs have been overcome with Nanotern™'s advanced design; the product has been validated in field applications and, with its domestic production potential, has become a strategic solution. Offering significant contributions to sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate change adaptation, Nanotern™ provides an innovative response to increasing global water and production pressures.
