Asatekin named in list of top Turkish women inventors

Associate Professor Ayse Asatekin named among the top 100 Turkish women with the most patent applications worldwide.
Associate Professor Ayse Asatekin standing outside the Science and Technology Center at Tufts.

Associate Professor Ayse Asatekin of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering was recently listed as one of the top 100 women from Turkey with the most patent applications worldwide, according to the online platform International Property Rights Explorer. With 59 distinct patent applications, Asatekin was placed 79th on the list. To ensure that the final numbers only counted unique inventions, patent applications to different countries for the same invention counted as one. The list was created to bring attention to the contributions of innovative Turkish women. 

Asatekin’s accomplishments as an inventor were previously recognized when she was named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors in 2023. She received her bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and chemistry from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and her PhD in chemical engineering through the Program in Polymer Science and Technology (PPST) at MIT. After several years as a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Karen Gleason's group at MIT, Asatekin joined Tufts in 2012. 

Asatekin’s research focuses on designing novel membranes for water treatment, removal of multiple types of pollutants, small molecule separations, and energy-efficient smart filtration processes. Through interdisciplinary collaborations, she also works on novel polymers for energy storage applications, improved biomaterials and microfluidic devices, and improving water treatment approaches in emergency response and lower- and middle-income countries.

Read more about top Turkish women inventors from the International Property Rights Explorer, in an article originally published in Turkish with an English translation available on the page.