The University of Georgia and Istanbul Technical University have signed a new international cooperative agreement that will allow faculty and students from the UGA department of geology and the ITU Faculty of Mines and Engineering to exchange faculty and students.
“The purpose of the agreement is to promote intercultural education of students and to encourage deeper understanding between faculty research programs,” said Paul Schroeder, a professor of geology at UGA and associate head of the department. He coordinates the new program with Istanbul University.
Professors Ö. Isik Ece and Mustafa Kumral of ITU and Paul Schroeder and Doug Crowe of UGA have recently exchanged visits, which were supported by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey.
Collaborative projects being started include studies of economic clay deposits within the historically rich region of northwest Turkey. These deposits mark important material resources for ceramic manufacturing throughout the Mediterranean region. Several other projects already are under way that involve astrobiology and archaeometry, according to Schroeder.
Founded in 1773, Istanbul Technical University is considered the world’s second oldest institution of higher learning specifically dedicated to engineering education.
The department of geology, a unit of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, currently has collaborations with colleagues in Russia, Tunisia, Tanzania, Venezuela, Egypt, England and Argentina, in addition to the new program in Turkey.