MAJOR FEST!!! Explore SU Majors and Minors on March, 28th

Dear SU undergraduate students,

Dear Colleagues and Students,

I am happy to announce that our latest space for imagining, designing and developing together, our ‘Collaboration Space’ is ready for use. Collaboration Space houses equipment and different tools for bringing technology, arts, innovation and entrepreneurship together. You may have noticed that its operation has been tested through student projects and some courses and now we open the doors for general use.

We are also happy to mark the opening of our Collaboration Space with the launch of our new ‘Design Thinking Seminar Series’ on March 21, 2018.

Design thinking is a human-centric approach to innovation. It is based on defining problems through the understanding of needs, and generating trans-disciplinary solutions through collaborative creation. The process is non-linear, therefore, suitable for complex challenges we face as individuals, institutions, or as a planet. Coined in the 1960s, Design Thinking is gaining worldwide deployment through the Open Access and Open Innovation movements of the 21st century.

Our first speaker in this series is Professor Enzo Siviero, who is the President of eCAMPUS University, Italy. He will be talking about ‘Harmony in Bridge Design’, in our seminar room in the Collaboration Space at 15:00 hrs on March 21, 2018.

I am looking forward to seeing you all there celebrating together.

Best wishes,

Zehra Sayers

Stephen Hawking, who, despite nearly total physical immobility, made fundamental contributions to Cosmology, in particular, to the theory of Black Holes, passed away on March 13, 2018 at the age of 76. Born in 1942, he was was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) when he was only 21. Through his best-selling popular science book "A Brief History of Time" and guest appearances on TV comedies such as "The Simpsons" and "The Big Bang Theory", he became a superstar of theoretical physics.

Perhaps with the sole exception of Einstein, theoretical physicists do not usually achieve the kind of popular fame enjoyed by Hawking. Without doubt this was due in part to the path-breaking work he did in Einstein's Theory of General Relativity in spite of his progressively debilitating illness. In the seventies he was confined to a specially designed motorized wheelchair sand was able to speak only with great difficulty. He later survived a bout of pneumonia, but the operation that saved him destroyed his voice box. Thanks to a specially designed computer attached to his wheelchair, he became able to "speak" again in a synthetically generated voice. In an extreme form of British understatement, he once said he was fortunate in being in a profession in which his disabilities did not present a serious handicap. The tremendous success of his popular science book "A Brief History of Time" added hugely to his fame as well as bringing in the funds needed for his increasingly expensive care.

His most important contributions to physics involve Black Holes. The first such solution to Einstein's field equations of 1915 was found in 1916 by Karl Schwarzschild. Einstein thought the solution was mathematically magnificent but, due to its perfect spherical symmetry and its singularity at the origin where energy becomes infinite, too artificial be realized in nature. The Singularity theorems first put forward by Roger Penrose in 1965, and later by Hawking and Penrose together showed the opposite was the case:  Such singularities are inevitable in General Relativity. Hawking showed in particular that the Big Bang corresponded to a particular type of singularity. In 1966, the New Zealand physicist Roy Kerr discovered a rotating black hole solution specified only by its mass and rate of rotation. Astronomical observations show that such black holes, sometimes a billion times more massive than the sun, sit at the centers of every galaxy, including our own. At Sabancı University, Dr. Emrah Kalemci and his group are part of an international search for these giant black holes. The observed relation between their masses and rotation rates are consistent with the Kerr solution; in fact, they tend to spin near the highest rates allowed by the Kerr geometry.

Einstein's theory is "classical", which means it does not take quantum effects into account. Perhaps Hawking's most original contribution is to show that when this is done, black holes, which, classically, do not even let light escape their surface, turn out not to be black but instead "glow" like a piece of hot metal, emitting what is called black-body radiation. This was a shocking discovery. Hawking initially reasoned that since, according to classical gravity, all the detailed information about an object (except its mass and spin) falling into a black hole is lost while quantum mechanics preserves information, quantum theory and General Relativity are incompatible in the presence of black holes. Of these two universally valid theories, Hawking initially believed that it was quantum theory that failed and had to be modified. This was met by a barrage of sophisticated objections from many leading physicists, and Hawking had to retract, even conceding a bet with a colleague. The paradox, however, continued to haunt physics, and Joe Polchinski, who died shortly before Hawking, resurrected the problem by showing that quantum theory predicts a blazing wall of fire at the surface of the black hole. It is most unfortunate that Hawking did not live to see the resolution of this most fundamental paradox. Perhaps some of us will be lucky enough to see it.

Cihan Saçlıoğlu / Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences

"Harmony In Bridge Design"

 seminar by

Prof. Enzo Siviero

Rector eCAMPUS University- Novedrate (CO) Italy

21 March 2018, Wednesday, 15:00  

Collaboration Space / Information Center 

"Harmony In Bridge Design" seminar will be open to all Sabancı University members and also be watched live from Sabancı University's facebook account.

ABSTRACT:  

The bridge is the architectural work that best combines the shape rules with the structure and composition ones. The design of the bridge is, in the most classic consideration, a cultural act that has its roots in the ancient triad firmitas, utilitas, venustas, which Vitruvius himself coined, wherein structural form and function coincide. 

The bridge is also an object through which we can perceive and experience the place, a unique fact that, through the form exalted by the structure, confirms the true identity of a context. There is also a close link between bridge and perception:  in its use, some links from the bridge to the territory and from the territory to the bridge can be created . However, when small and medium sized constructions are concerned, the ability to model the material in all the different directions enables us to create some very special effects, such as reducing the perception of the thickness of the deck or improving the profiles where the roadway intersects the waterway. This requires exploiting the plastic properties of concrete, avoiding those standardised bridge schemes which simply make the bridge rest on its supports, which undermine the opportunity of giving character to the location. The following examples illustrate the approach to the work-context-landscape-suggestions “dialogue”, which is  fascinating and which is considered not only in the research into the type as the founding moment for the structural design, but also as a basic assumption to encourage ongoing research into the formal potential that concrete offers in order to understand the meaning and the perception of the infrastructure of the landscape.

About  Prof. Ing. Arc. Hc. Enzo Siviero

Born 1945 in Vigodarzere (Padua). In 1969, he graduated in Civil Engineering at the University of Padua. Full professor of Bridges at the University IUAV of Venice until October 2015, At present he is Rector University eCampus Italy.

He is Consultant Professor at the College of Civil Engineering of Tongji University, Shanghai-China, Adjunct Professor at Fuzhou University and Chang’An University, Xi’An-China, member of CUN, National University Council at the Ministry of Education in Rome (2007-2016).

Awarded the honorary degree in Architecture by Politecnico di Bari in 2009.

Known bridge designer, his traveling exhibition BRIDGING PONTEGGIANDO is internationally recognized as an excellent synthesis between educational research and profession. Al Idrisi Award in 2015 and Capo Circeo European Award in 2017. He has curated exhibitions on structural architecture figures such as Calatrava, Zorzi, Miozzi, Mimram, Torroja and Schlaich. He has organized national and international workshops and conferences.

Vice President of RMEI (Reséau Méditerranéen des Ecoles d’Ingénieurs) and of SEWC (Structural Engineers World Congress). He is also Deputy General Secretary of EAMC (Engineering Association of Mediterranean Countries).

Sabancı University Acting President Zehra Sayers receives International Award

Sabancı University Acting President Zehra Sayers was chosen for the 2017 Rammal Medal. 

The Rammal Medal recognizes a scientist, group of scientist or an institution for outstanding contributions to science in the Mediterranean region, and its 2017 recipient Professor Zehra Sayers, Acting President of Sabancı University, is also the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of SESAME.

Zehra Sayers will be presented her award at ESOF2018, the EuroScience Open Forum, that will take place in Toulouse, France between July 9 and 14, 2018.

The Rammal Medal Jury stated the reason for awarding the 2017 medal to Professor Sayers as the excellence of her teaching activities in Turkey as well as the advances she has made in research in Molecular Biology using synchrotron radiation at the EMBL Laboratory in Hamburg.  

The Jury also placed great emphasis on the dedication towards advancing the SESAME project in Jordan, which is of immense benefit to the whole scientific community of the Mediterranean region and which will greatly enhance the technological capabilities of the Middle East. The SESAME project has been established to provide new cultural and scientific links between the countries of the Mediterranean area and thereby to encourage peaceful collaboration between them. 

Quoting from the Jury report by Rammal Medal Jury President Prof. Lauritz Holm-Nielsen:“The Jury ... wanted to honour now the woman who apart from her own outstanding scientific work has done more than anyone else to bring the project to the next stage: from collaboration at the political level and at the construction of the facility to getting the science going by ensuring high quality exciting projects of young and experienced scientists from the region.  She has done so as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of SESAME." 

About the Rammal Medal

The Rammal Award is named after a Lebanese researcher, Rammal Rammal (1951-1991), whose career was international and who devoted his life, not only to advancing science, but also to fostering good human relations through the pursuit and exchange of knowledge, especially in the Mediterranean region. Thus the Jury is also very attentive to the ethical and moral dimensions of scientific work, and attaches much importance to the part science can play in relieving social and political tensions in or between countries of the Mediterranean area. The Rammal Award recognizes a scientist, group of scientist or an institution not only for outstanding contributions to science, but also for positive actions in a broader social or educational context and especially in the promotion of collaboration and understanding in the Mediterranean region and neighboring countries. 

Scientific cooperation for peace in the Middle East

Eight countries join forces for SESAME, the first synchotron-light laboratory

SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) is a “third-generation” synchrotron light source that was officially opened in Allan (Jordan) on 16 May 2017. It is the Middle East's first major international research center. SESAME aims to provide opportunities to researchers from all Middle Eastern countries to leave their differences aside and speak the universal "scientific language" to know each other better. Supported by the international scientific community, the Sesame Project hopes to change the fate of the Middle East via science, and provide a different future for young people in the region who are involved in science.  As stated by Professor Zehra Sayers, the project also aims to prevent or reverse the brain drain of young scientists from the region. 

What is a synchotron laboratory?

Synchrotron light sources are 'user facilities' where scientists from universities and research institutes to work in collaboration with scientists from other centers or countries. Although there are nearly 70 synchtron light sources in Europe, North America and Asia, there were none in the Middle East. Synchrotrons are relatively expensive devices which are frequently built by international collaborations, such as the ESRF in Grenoble, France, which provide a 24-hour light source. 

The founders of SESAME

The founding members of SESAME (Synchrotron light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) are Cyprus, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Israel, and Palestine. Membership is made by means of intergovernmental agreements, and the SESAME Council is composed of delegates from member countries who provide direction to the future of the lab. 

The SESAME story

Although SESAME entered service in May 2017, the idea goes back to the early 1980s, when eminent scientists such as the Pakistani Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam recognized the need for a synchotron light source in the Middle East to attract high technology to the region and bring together researchers of different disciplines. This need was also felt by the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), and when the idea emerged that the BESSYI synchtron in Berlin, which was due for closure in 1997, could be given as a grant to the Middle East, the project became viable.  The SESAME project officially began as a UNESCO initiative in June 1999 at a meeting of delegates from the Middle East and other countries. Another milestone was the decision to design and build a new 2.5 GeV storage ring instead of the 0.8 MeV storage ring acquired from BESSYI in 2002. This made SESAME a third-generation synchotron light source that is competitive on an international level. 

The "Academic Prize" in the inaugural Women Energizing Turkey Awards endowed by the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources was given to Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Member Selmiye Alkan Gürsel.

The Women Energizing Turkey Awards consisted of six prizes: Academic Prize, Professional Prize, Business Prize, Entrepreneur Prize, Exemplary Energy Policy Prize, and Special Jury Prize. 

The winner of the Academic Prize was Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Member Selmiye Alkan Gürsel from a shortlist that included Koç University Chemical and Biological Engineering Faculty Member Seda KESKİN AVCI and Ege University Energy Department Head Şule ERTEN ELA. Jury panelist Ferit Şahenk presented her prize to Gürsel.

The Women Energizing Turkey Awards were endowed under the auspices of Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak and President of the Republic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wife Emine Erdoğan to raise awareness in the society about woman academics, professionals and entrepreneurs that serve the energy industry across Turkey. 

Introductory remarks to the ceremony were delivered by Jury President and Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Chair Güler Sabancı.

We Are All Winners

Explaining that more than 200 submissions were received for this year's awards, Güler Sabancı said "We may be giving out prizes to specific people tonight, but the multitude of successful examples shows that we are all winners."

Güler Sabancı said that everyone had a duty to ensure that more women become academics, professionals or entrepreneurs in the energy sector in Turkey and expressed her pride in being the president of the jury panel for a program designed to encourage women, continuing:

"Energy is a business where gender inequality is at its worst, and not only in Turkey. According to the World Economic Forum, only 19% of the employees of the energy sector are women. One major reason is that there are no woman role models. That is why incentives such as this are of tremendous importance. This sector needs engineering as much as it does other competencies and interdisciplinary work.  This award program can be a start in this direction. I wish that the Women Energizing Turkey Awards continue long into the future with more submissions year after year."

Sabancı University Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) hosted Professor Zafer Toprak.

Professor Zafer Toprak spoke about his latest book “Türkiye’de Yeni Hayat” at an event hosted by the Sabancı University Istanbul Policy Center. Professor Toprak told the story of his book, which discusses how the quest for modern living evolved into social trauma in the near history of Turkey, to a large audience from academic and cultural circles.  

Sabancı University Istanbul Policy Center  (IPC) hosted a discussion by Professor Zafer Toprak on his latest book "Türkiye'de Yeni Hayat". The event took place at Minerva Han in Karaköy with a large audience consisting of students and faculty from various universities, and listeners interested in recent history. 

Delivering introductory remarks, Sabancı University Faculty Member and IPC Director Fuat Keyman said, “We have always loved to introduce Zafer Toprak’s work. He is a prolific researcher and scholar of history who bases his work on profound research. This book is another great move by Zafer Hoca." 

Discussing the story and content of his latest book, Professor Toprak spoke about how the quest for modern living in the recent history of Turkey turned into a social trauma. 

The book concentrates on the period between 1908 and 1928, when the postwar Republican Turkey turned its face to the West and imposed radical changes on its lifestyle to find a "new life." The book also deals with neo-statism shaped by restorative control mechanisms in response to individual and social tremors experienced in the societal devastation of World War I. Being a period of time when Ottoman cultural codes were brought under question, these years also contain the social trauma sustained during the quest for the "new people" of the country. 

The book visits themes in sociology, psychology and anthropology to shed light on political science. 

IMIS (International Management and Industrial Engineering Summit) which is one of the most comprehensive student event in Sabancı University is organized by Industrial Engineering Society (IES) every year. This year, IMIS’18 Risk Intelligence is going to take place on 3th and 4th March in Sabancı University Performing Arts Center.

**The event will be held in Turkish.