02Since February 2020, Teknopark Istanbul
Turing Kimya
Turing Kimya was founded to develop a boron-based radiation shield that could replace lead sheets and lead aprons. Tamer Çiçekçi is the company's founder and chairman.1 The invention took first place at TEKNOFEST 2021: the grand prix of the Istanbul International Invention Fair held as part of TEKNOFEST, the ISIF'21 Grand Prix.2
From the laboratory to the stage
When the idea was born, the first step was to rent the TEMAG laboratories of Istanbul Technical University's Gümüşsuyu campus together with their academic staff; the first work was done there.6
Before the material reached the market it was measured at the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority. According to the July 2020 test report it achieved 94.55 percent attenuation and a lead equivalent of 499 microns.3 Production was set up at Teknopark Istanbul.7 In January 2021 Anadolu Agency ran the story under the headline "World's first lead-free radiation shield produced at Teknopark Istanbul"; it was picked up by fourteen outlets and an English version followed.89
Series production started on two product lines: thermoplastic sheet and fabric.10 The defence press reported that the company was exporting to four countries and developing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection suits for the Turkish Armed Forces.11
Turing did not stop there. In Turkey there was another strong patent in the same field, held by professors of Istanbul Technical University; ITU licensed that patent to Turing as well. The two strong patents on the subject in Turkey came under one roof.1213
First place at TEKNOFEST 2021
In September 2021 the invention took first place at TEKNOFEST 2021. At the 6th Istanbul International Invention Fair (ISIF'21), held as part of TEKNOFEST, it won the fair's highest award among 252 patents and more than forty thousand teams: the Grand Prix.24 It was awarded by TÜRKPATENT and the International Federation of Inventors' Associations (IFIA).
The same autumn brought a silver medal at ARCA'21 in Zagreb, and Patent of the Year and the Jury Special Award at Teknopark Istanbul's Uluğ Bey Technology Awards.145 The company was accepted for the start-up support of the Swiss Innovation Agency.6 All awards are listed on the Awards and patents page.
Validation
The material became the subject of academic work at two separate universities; the measurements were made by the state atomic energy authority.
| Institution | Document | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish Atomic Energy Authority | Radiation transmission certificate3 | January – July 2020 | 94.55% attenuation, 499 microns lead equivalent |
| TENMAK (the authority's new name) | Calibration certificate15 | May 2021 | 94.3% retention; standard lead 96.7% |
| Erciyes University | Dental specialty thesis16 | December 2021 | "There is no statistically significant difference between lead and anti-RAD protective protocols." |
| Liv Hospital / İstinye University | Clinical measurement on patients17 | March 2022 | Anti-RAD 40 mR/h, lead apron 41 mR/h |
Patents
The invention was published by WIPO as an international application and received a European patent, including Turkey.1819 With the second patent licensed from ITU, the two strong patents on the subject are at Turing.12 In 2023 the company entered TÜBİTAK's 1507 SME R&D programme; Tamer was the project lead.20
Documents11
Sources
archive Document held in Tamer Çiçekçi's archive; no online copy. statement Tamer Çiçekçi's own statement or post.
- 1Turkish Trade Registry Gazette, 24 February 2020, issue 10022, pp. 233–234archive
- 2TÜRKPATENT — official ISIF'21 announcementAnadolu Ajansıdocument
- 3TAEK test report 20200702XY004, 3 July 2020 — original documentdocument
- 4Anadolu Agency — Teknopark Istanbul entrepreneurs at ISIF'21, September 2021document
- 5İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi — Uluğ Bey Technology Awards, 27 October 2021Teknopark İstanbuldocument
- 6Turing Chemicals — company About page, web archive copy, August 2022Innosuissedocument
- 7Teknopark Istanbul cooperation protocol, 17 August 2020 — archiveTeknopark İstanbularchive
- 8Anadolu Agency (Turkish) — world's first lead-free radiation shield produced at Teknopark Istanbul, 6 January 2021İngilizce sürümdocument
- 9Anadolu Agency — "Turkish firm invents lead-free radiation shield", January 2021document
- 10Tamer Çiçekçistatement
- 11Defensehere — Turing Kimya, exporting to four countries, develops CBRN suits for the Turkish Armed Forcesdocument
- 12Google Patents — WO 2018/088982, Istanbul Technical UniversityEspacenetdocument
- 13ITU patent licence agreement, 29 June 2022, signed by the rector — archivearchive
- 14Teknopark Istanbul — ARCA'21 news, October 2021document
- 15TENMAK calibration certificate 83073876-330.99-897, 5 May 2021 — archivearchive
- 16Erciyes University Faculty of Dentistry specialty thesis, December 2021, 105 pages — archivearchive
- 17Liv Hospital / İstinye University clinical measurement, 8 March 2022 — archivearchive
- 18WIPO PATENTSCOPE — WO/2021/242186Google PatentsEspacenetdocument
- 19Espacenet — EP4154278, European patent fileGoogle Patentsdocument
- 20TÜBİTAK 1507 project 7230134; Turing board resolution, November 2023 — archivearchive