Within the scope of TÜBİTAK 3501 – Career Development Program, the scientific evaluation process of the projects proposed to the Research Support Programs Directorate (ARDEB) at the end of 2022 was completed in April 2023. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tayfun AKYÜREK's project titled " Experimental reconfiguration method for the nuclear research reactor core " was entitled to receive support.

Istanbul Technical University Triga Mark II research reactor, which can operate at 250 kW thermal power, has been in service since 1979.  Today, the ITU reactor, which is the only research reactor with an operating license in Turkey, has been losing power for 43 years due to the higher burnup rate of its fuels. Recently, the reactor has only been operating at a maximum power of 170 kW and a further reduction in power level is inevitable in the near future. This would make sustainable education and research opportunities in the reactor impossible. Core reconfiguration in the reactor, which has never been reconfigured before, has become necessary. Therefore, core reconfiguration in the ITU research reactor has become essential. To achieve a maximum power of 250 kW, it has been emerged that replacing the spent fuels in the reactor appropriately or substituting some fuels with new ones through experimental means, rather than simulation methods, would be a more suitable approach.