Ph.D. Student, Interdisciplinary Doctorate Program, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
M.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

E-mail: pybirgi@masdar.ac.ae

Pelin is a second year Ph.D. student working in Prof. Arafat’s MSDR group. Her research focuses on the computational fluid dynamics simulation of transport phenomena in membranes used in membrane distillation systems for water desalination.
In 2008, Pelin received her B.Sc. degree from Chemical Engineering Department at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and she immediately continued her M.Sc. At the beginning of her master studies, she also started working as a research and teaching assistant and gained teaching experience until 2013, especially in Transport Phenomena. During her master studies under the supervision of Prof. Ahmet Tuncer Erciyes, she focused on the synthesis of novel coating materials based on chemically modified triglyceride oil and fatty acids of sunflower oil that have lower impact on the environment. As a part of the continuing interest in developing coating materials with improved properties, she combined the nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization method and click chemistry approach during the production process. After the completion of her M.Sc., she continued her research in the same field at the ITU until 2013.

 Publications

Yazgan-Birgi, P., Alemdar, N. and Erciyes, A.T., 2015. Styrenated urethane oil synthesis via CuAAC “click” chemistry approach, Progress in Organic Coatings, 84, 107-114. (doi: 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2015.02.018)

Cumurcu A., Yazgan P. and Erciyes A.T., 2011. Synthesis and Properties of Alkoxysilane-Functionalized Styrenated Oil Based Polyester, Progress in Organic Coatings, 71, 147-152. (doi: 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2011.01.007)

 Presentations and Meetings Attended   

Yazgan-Birgi, P., Ali, M.I.H. and Arafat, H.A., “Computational fluid dynamics as a tool for understanding the wetting phenomena in membrane distillation (MD)”, Euromembrane 2015 Conference, Oral Presentation, Aachen, GERMANY (September 6-10, 2015).

Yazgan-Birgi, P., Ali, M.I.H. and Arafat, H.A., “The wetting phenomena study in membrane distillation”, 32nd European Membrane Society Summer School 2015, Poster Presentation, Straz pod Ralskem /Liberec, CZECH REPUBLIC (June 21-26, 2015).

Yazgan-Birgi, P., Ali, M.I.H. and Arafat, H.A., “Computational fluid dynamics study of transport phenomena in membranes under vacuum membrane distillation process conditions”, UAE Graduate Student Research Conference (GSRC) 2015, Oral Presentation, Abu Dhabi, UAE (March 22-24, 2015).

Yazgan-Birgi, P. and Erciyes, A.T. “Modification of Polystyrene as a Coating Material via Sunflower Fatty Acid”, Polymer Networks 2012 Conference, Poster Presentation, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA (August, 2012).

Tasdelen-Yucedag, C., Yazgan-Birgi, P. and Erciyes, A.T. “Modification of Polystyrene with Polycaprolactone via ‘Click’ Chemistry Approach”, Polymer Networks 2012 Conference, Poster Presentation, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA (August, 2012).

Yazgan, P., Alemdar, N., Erciyes, A.T. and Yagci, Y. “Styrenated Oil Synthesis by ‘Click’ Chemistry Approach”, EPF 2011 Conference, Poster Presentation, Granada, SPAIN (June, 2011).

 Awards and Achievements

32nd European Membrane Society Summer School 2015, Best poster presentation award, Straz pod Ralskem /Liberec, CZECH REPUBLIC (June 21-26, 2015).

32nd European Membrane Society Summer School 2015, Travel grant, Straz pod Ralskem /Liberec, CZECH REPUBLIC (June 21-26, 2015).

TIME European Summer School Scholarship, Sustainability and Economic Issues, University of Trento, ITALY (01 July 2013-12 July 2013).