The opening ceremony of the “Corrosion, Energy, and Chemical Technologies Laboratory” and the “Heat Treatment and High Temperature Corrosion Laboratory,” established for both undergraduate courses and research purposes in the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, in collaboration with Marmara University and TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc., took place on Wednesday, January 15, at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Campus, Engineering Faculty Building. The event was attended by Marmara University Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt, TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc. General Manager Prof. Dr. Mahmut Faruk Akşit, and the university administration, Senate members, and faculty members.
The ceremony began with a moment of silence and the Turkish National Anthem, followed by an opening speech by the Dean of the Engineering Faculty, Prof. Dr. Bülent Ekici. In his speech, Prof. Dr. Ekici said, “We are now proud to have advanced research laboratories dedicated to studying corrosion problems faced by materials used in the space and aerospace industries at high temperatures and developing various coating materials to address these issues. The financial and moral backing of TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc. has entirely supported the design, production, and completion of these laboratories. Therefore, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Prof. Dr. Mahmut Faruk Akşit and the management of TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc., who have supported our university in this project.” Following his speech, a promotional film about Marmara University was shown to the audience.
In his speech during the ceremony, Marmara University Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt stated, “The ‘Heat Treatment and High-Temperature Corrosion Laboratory’ and the ‘Corrosion, Energy, and Chemical Technologies Laboratory’ are important additions to our Engineering Faculty, thanks to the significant contributions of TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc. Our students will succeed in these laboratories with the support of their professors, reaching remarkable positions in the industry, and contributing directly to the vision and brand value of Turkey, steering the future of the country.”
Rector Kurt emphasized the importance of this collaboration, considering it a significant step towards Turkey’s goal of becoming a self-sufficient nation with independent defense industry systems. He said, “As our university confidently strides towards becoming one of the most important research universities in our country, the successful projects our students will produce in these new R&D areas will further strengthen these steps.”
Rector Kurt continued, “Undoubtedly, like our previous laboratories, these two new laboratories will provide strong support for the better education of our students, offer new opportunities, and perhaps remove many obstacles that may arise in the future. Through university-industry collaborations, we always aim to contribute a well-trained Marmara University student and graduate to the service of our country.”
After Rector Kurt's speech, the ceremony continued with a promotional video about TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc. TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc. General Manager Prof. Dr. Mahmut Faruk Akşit, in his speech at the ceremony, said, “TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc. was founded in 1985, and with the beginning of January 2025, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary. Over the past 40 years, particularly in the last 20 years, TEI has become one of the world’s leading companies in manufacturing technologies. Of course, with the strong leadership and support of President Erdoğan, the ‘National Technology Move’ initiative has brought our defense industry to a whole new level. Investments in the defense industry have resulted in successful projects with substantial budgets.”
Prof. Akşit continued, “In today’s world, creating an aircraft engine requires billions of dollars, a lot of time, labor, and the training of highly skilled personnel. Alongside all these, we must transform knowledge into technology. We are advancing towards our goal with full awareness of these requirements, steadily and patiently. Bringing an engine to life means creating a large ecosystem. Designing an engine is a crucial project and success, but it’s not enough because you must produce the engine. While Europe took 17 years to do this, we worked hard to complete and fly our helicopter engine in just 6 years and 3 weeks. This success was made possible by continuous political stability and strong state support. As TEI-TUSAŞ Motor Industry Inc., our R&D engineering team, which was only 80 people at the beginning of 2014, has grown 15 times over the past 11 years to become an institution with 1,700 employees.”
Prof. Akşit also highlighted the importance of the collaboration with Marmara University, saying, “Marmara University is an important institution in Turkey that conducts academic research on the technological leaps we need. The trained human resources from Marmara University are of great value to us. It has been a privilege for us to meet Prof. Dr. Cevat Sarıoğlu from the Engineering Faculty. Through the collaboration with him and the students he works with, these laboratories have come to life with every detail carefully thought out, both in terms of infrastructure and superstructure. The laboratories we have opened today are crucial building blocks in the ecosystem for aircraft engine production. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who contributed to this project.”
The ceremony concluded with a group photo and a tour of the newly opened laboratories with students.
