The Sustainable Scientist: Dr. Erdem Selver’s Journey to Jiva Materials

At Jiva Materials, innovation meets sustainability  and few embody that spirit better than Dr. Erdem Selver, our Lead Materials Scientist and a key contributor to the evolution of Soluboard®.

Erdem joined Jiva and the University of Portsmouth in 2024 through a prestigious Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), a collaborative research programme designed to bridge academia and industry. His role? To push the boundaries of what’s possible in bio-based electronics substrates making them stronger, lighter, and radically more recyclable.

Academic Excellence Meets Global Experience

Dr. Selver brings a unique blend of academic rigour and real-world insight to the team. His journey spans three continents:

• BSc in Textile Engineering from Çukurova University, Turkey

• MSc in Polymer and Fibre Engineering from Auburn University, USA

• PhD in Materials Science from The University of Manchester, UK

Over the past decade, Erdem has made major contributions to the field of sustainable materials, with more than 30 peer-reviewed publications focused on:

• Natural fibre composites

• Hybrid and sandwich composites

• Nanofiller-reinforced and nanocomposites

• Mechanical and thermomechanical testing

• Non-destructive analysis of advanced materials

Before joining Jiva, he served as an Associate Professor of Textile Engineering at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University in Turkey, where he mentored students and led research in sustainable composites.

Pioneering Sustainable Substrates for Electronics

At Jiva, Erdem’s mission is clear: help bring Soluboard® into its next generation by improving performance while reducing environmental impact. He’s tackling the most difficult challenges facing PCB substrate manufacturing particularly the carbon footprint of copper-cladding and toxic material use.

Thanks to his expertise, Jiva’s manufacturing process now incorporates a less energy-intensive copper-cladding technique, reducing CO₂ emissions by an impressive 68.5% to 75% (based on life cycle assessment data). The result is not only a cleaner process, but one that saves energy, time, and cost — while keeping Soluboard® scalable for global adoption.

Taking the Stage at EIPC Edinburgh

In June 2025, Erdem took centre stage at the EIPC Summer Conference in Edinburgh, where he delivered a standout talk titled:

“Development of Sustainable Composites for PCB Applications”

His session covered critical aspects of the future of electronics manufacturing:

✅ Next-gen PCB substrate innovations
✅ Real-world recycling systems
✅ Smart surfaces with improved thermal performance
✅ Circular design thinking – from fibre sourcing to end-of-life

(And yes — there was whisky. It was Scotland, after all.)

From Circularity to Chemistry

Erdem’s work plays a pivotal role in Jiva’s mission: to build a circular future for electronics, one sustainable substrate at a time. His research and technical leadership are helping expand the capabilities of Soluboard® to support high-performance, low-impact applications — without compromising on quality or manufacturability.

With Dr. Selver on board, we’re not just designing better materials. We’re changing the way electronics are made.

👉 Learn more about Erdem on LinkedIn