One of 15 researchers to bag the fellowship, Dr Mohamad Alsaadi will lead the GreenCompos project to develop sustainable solutions for thermoset composites.
Dr Mohamad Alsaadi, a researcher based in Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), has been awarded a prestigious fellowship to conduct research on alternative materials for reinforcing wind turbine blades and hydroelectric structures.
In announcement today (21 June), TUS said that Alsaadi, who is based in the university’s PRISM (Polymer, Recycling, Industrial, Sustainability and Manufacturing Research) Institute, will receive €100,000 as part of a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) fellowship programme focused on research and innovation for a period of 12 months.
The SFI RD&I Fellowship supports temporary placement of academic researchers in industry to conduct research in various areas including energy-efficient communications networks, electrochemical sensors for rapid medical diagnostics, seaweed extract for use in cosmetics and health products, moorings for offshore wind platforms, and reducing cement’s carbon footprint using new generation low-clinker cement technology.
Alsaadi will collaborate with ÉireComposites, which is based in Inverin, Co Galway, to lead the GreenCompos project aimed at developing sustainable solutions for thermoset composites – materials cured through a heat process.
TUS said that these advanced materials will be used for reinforcing wind turbines blades, tidal energy production and hydroelectric structures.
“Through the GreenCompos project, we will develop sustainable alternative materials to reduce environmental footprint of thermoset composites while increasing circularity for polymer and plastic materials,” said Alsaadi, who is one of only two technological university-based researchers to receive the fellowship.
In total, 15 researchers across Ireland were awarded the SFI fellowship first announced earlier this week.
“We are delighted that Dr Mohamad Alsaadi will be joining our team on an SFI fellowship,” Dr Tomás Flanagan, CEO of ÉireComposites.
“We are excited about his project which will explore the use of advanced composite materials for renewable energy applications. The project will strengthen the relationship between TUS and ÉireComposites as we work together to develop the lightweight, sustainable materials of the future.”
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