Our Faculty Member’s Fellow Focuses on Industry-Driven Heavy Metal Pollution Along Cameroon’s Coastline

Fadimatou Ahmadou, a doctoral student at the University of Douala, has been awarded a fellowship under the 2216B TÜBİTAK-TWAS Doctoral and Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Programs to conduct research under the supervision of ITU faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kübra Altuntaş.

As part of the project titled “Comprehensive Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination and Health Risks in Industrial Zones of Cameroon's Coastline: A Machine Learning Approach and Exploration of Novel Treatment Technologies,” Fadimatou Ahmadou will carry out research with our Environmental Engineering Department faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kübra Altuntaş.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kübra Altuntaş shared the following information about the project: The project provides an integrated assessment of industrial heavy metal pollution along Cameroon’s coastline by addressing both environmental exposure and human health risks; it enables spatiotemporal risk prediction and early warning through machine learning. At the same time, it reveals the outcomes of an innovative technology based on cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) treatment with low chemical input, which will be applied not only in the region but also for the first time in the literature. This approach, which integrates laboratory validation with field data specific to local matrices, has been deemed worthy of support due to its potential to produce reproducible policy recommendations, scalable treatment solutions, and capacity-building outputs.

Fadimatou Ahmadou shared the following remarks regarding her fellowship and the opportunity to work with our faculty member:

“Receiving this fellowship is a special honour and privilege for me, as it gives me the opportunity to conduct my research at ITU, a highly reputable institution renowned for the excellence of its teaching and the quality of its scientific facilities. Through this fellowship, I aspire to deepen my skills in applied research, benefit from high-level academic supervision, and broaden my scientific perspectives in an intellectually stimulating environment. I am convinced that this fellowship will play a decisive role in the completion of my thesis work and will contribute significantly to my academic and professional development.”