BIO SEMINAR: From Waste to Function: Rethinking Inputs in Crop Production 'Dr. Ümit Barış Kutman' April 21, 2026 @ 16:40

We would like to invite you all to our BIO SEMINAR: From Waste to Function: Rethinking Inputs in Crop Production. The seminar will be presented by Dr. Ümit Barış Kutman on April 21, 2026 at 16:40 in FENS L062.

Time: April 21, 2026, 16:40 , FENS L062
 

Please find the abstract of the talk and the short bio of the speaker below.

Abstract: Modern crop production systems are largely built on linear input–output models, where fertilizers, water, soil amendments and other materials are applied to maximize yield, while losses and waste streams are treated as unavoidable by-products. However, increasing constraints on resources and environmental sustainability call for a re-evaluation of how inputs are defined and how waste from different sectors including but not limited to agrifood are utilized in plant production systems.

In this seminar, I will present a series of studies where we explored how diverse waste streams and byproducts can be transformed into functional inputs with targeted roles in different soil-based and soilless production systems. These include the use of steel slag as a soil amendment affecting nutrient dynamics, food safety and fertilizer use efficiency in wheat; the cultivation of water lentil (Lemna minor) on soilless greenhouse and vertical farming effluents to generate biomass with biostimulant potential, including mitigation of boron toxicity; the development of superabsorbent materials from lignocellulosic agrifood and polymer-rich industrial waste to improve water and nutrient retention in soils; and the conversion of tomato greenhouse residues into biochar through thermochemical processes, enabling their reuse as substrates in soilless cultivation systems.

These studies converge on the common principle that both soil-based and soilless crop production systems can be redesigned and made more sustainable by engineering the properties and functions of inputs derived from waste streams.

Bio: Dr. Ümit Barış Kutman is an Assistant Professor at the Gebze Technical University, Institute of Biotechnology, where he also serves as the founding Deputy Director and Head of the Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Department. He received his PhD in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering from Sabancı University with highest honors.

He completed postdoctoral research at University of California, Davis and at Sabancı University, focusing on plant nutrition, mineral biofortification, and abiotic stress physiology. His current research lies at the interface of plant biotechnology and sustainable agriculture.