Environmentally Conscious Projects by GTU Electronics Engineering Students

Students from the Department of Electronics Engineering at Gebze Technical University (GTU) have developed innovative solutions for a sustainable and environmentally conscious lifestyle as part of their semester projects. GTU continues to undertake academic and R&D-based initiatives to support institutions, organizations, and industries in building a resilient and sustainable world in the face of climate change.

As part of the "Fundamentals of Image Processing" course, GTU Electronics Engineering students presented projects utilizing image processing techniques to address environmental issues. Their nature-friendly solutions included detecting litter and other pollutants on beaches and in the sea, identifying mucilage, measuring traffic density, analyzing urban concretization, detecting cigarette butts and seed shells on the ground, and evaluating energy efficiency in wastewater treatment facilities, among other topics.

These projects were presented to students and faculty members during an exhibition held at the Faculty of Architecture's Amphitheater. Prof. Dr. Melek Özkan, Coordinator of the GTU Sustainability Office, attended the event and delivered an informative session on the university’s sustainability efforts. Experts from the European Union–funded SMART4ENV project, coordinated by the Vice Presidency of Climate Change and Sustainability at TÜBİTAK MAM, also participated in the event.

Specialist speakers addressed the effects of climate change on Turkey, its impact on wastewater treatment and agricultural production, and potential solutions. The event emphasized the significance of interdisciplinary approaches, highlighting the contributions of electronics engineers to the resolution of environmental challenges through a scientific dialogue.

Students and Their Projects:

Senanur Ağaç, Ekin Çoban: Detection of mucilage using image processing techniques
Ayşegül Yılmaz: Detection of marine litter using image processing techniques
Mehmet Berkay Avcı: Detection of PET bottles and other waste on beaches
Toprak Alp: Detection of discarded cigarette butts
Kutay Şahlankaya: Detection of changes in lake beds
Ümit Kerem Teke: Detection of air bubbles in sludge
Serdar Yusuf Öztürk: Detection of moisture levels in sludge
Hüseyin Tolga Önder, Ömer Sinan Özer: Detection of discarded sunflower seed shells
Merve Tutar, Eda Mislina Aksan: Detection of diseases on plant leaves
Samet Yıldız: Detection of urban concretization
Mehmet Berk Al: Measurement of traffic density
Abdülhalim Yaydemir: Detection of vehicle license plate positions

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