Turkish scientists . There are many Turkish scientists who have lived in our recent history and are still alive today. What they all have in common is that they grew up in these lands and have made significant contributions to science. But do we know who they are and what they have done?
According to global education standards, very few of our young people become scientists compared to our population. We know that developed countries hunt these brains no matter where they are in the world. A young person raised in Turkey often has to go abroad at a certain point. We are sure that many of these people, who sweat for the development of humanity, would not want to leave our country.
You don’t necessarily need to be interested in science to follow scientific developments. This is actually the duty of every citizen. Do we know what Turkish scientists are working on, how they achieved success, and what contributions they have made to humanity? The more we know about them, the more sources of inspiration we have for our own work.
You may have heard of some of the Turkish scientists on our list, but be assured, there are also some you haven’t heard of.
Turkish Scientists : Astrophysicist Feryal Özel
Feryal Özel, one of the leading scientists in the field of astronomy today, has a career full of achievements. Born to a doctor mother and father, Özel graduated from Üsküdar American Academy and then graduated second in her class from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Physics. She completed her master’s degree at the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark and her groundbreaking doctoral education at Harvard University.
After working as a researcher at NASA, Özel taught astrophysics at the University of Arizona and received the Maria Goeppert Award given to the most successful astrophysicists by the American Physical Society in 2013. She is also a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences.
Turkish Scientists: Molecular Biologist Aziz Sancar:
Aziz Sancar, who has struggled with educational challenges and achieved remarkable success, was born in the Savur district of Mardin. Most of our citizens probably hadn’t heard his name until he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. After graduating from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, Sancar turned to molecular biology. He made headlines with his theses at the University of Texas and Yale University. He has published 288 scientific articles and 33 books on topics such as DNA repair, biological clock, and cancer treatment.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015 for his work mapping how damaged DNA is repaired by cells.
Dermatologist Hulusi Behçet Uz:
Renowned for his work as a “Medical Scholar,” Hulusi Behçet was the son of Ahmet Behçet, a friend of Atatürk. He began his education in Beirut, where his father was stationed. He continued his studies to become a doctor until he graduated from the Military Medical School. He continued his education at Gülhane Military Hospital. During World War I and the War of Independence, he worked as a dermatologist in hospitals in Edirne, Eskişehir, and Kırklareli.
Until 1933, Uz developed himself in Europe and applied what he learned in Turkey. He founded the Dermatology and Syphilology Clinic at Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine. Uz, who continued his academic career, became the first Turkish academic to receive the title of professor. He worked on a disease that had not been definitively described since Hippocrates. Today, that disease is known as Behçet’s disease, or Tristymtom Behçet.
Sumerologist and Historian Muazzez İlmiye Çığ:
Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, who has made world-renowned studies on the Sumerians, one of the most mysterious societies in human history, is an expert in Sumerian, Akkadian, and Hittite languages. She has published more than 13 books on the languages, cultures, and beliefs of these societies. Çığ made a significant impact with her book “History Begins with Sumer.” Today, she is a 108-year-old giant.
Sociologist Şerif Mardin:
Şerif Mardin, one of the Turkish scientists who proved that science is not just about numbers, contributed many concepts to Turkey in the field of social science. After graduating from Galatasaray High School, he graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Political Science. He made a name for himself with his studies on Ottoman history at the same university. In 1954, he returned to the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University to share his experiences. After a short political career, he founded the Department of Sociology at Boğaziçi University.
In 2007, Mardin introduced the term “neighborhood pressure,” which almost everyone has heard of. Today, his contributions to the scientific development of social sciences in Turkey cannot be ignored.
Physics Engineer and Inventor Canan Dağdeviren:
Among the new generation of Turkish scientists, Canan Dağdeviren is the first Turkish member of the Harvard University Junior Academy. Dağdeviren, who works as a researcher at MIT Media Lab on wearable technology, flexible electronic devices, and next-generation circuits, invented a wearable heart chip that can detect skin cancer.
Biochemist Naşide Gözde Durmuş:
Durmuş, 38 years old, became a research fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry to fight a disease she experienced as a child. The young scientist, who has achieved success one after another, made a name for herself with her work on the early diagnosis of cancer. She was described by MIT Technology Review as a “pioneer in medicine and biology.”
Physicist Mete Atatüre:
Professor Dr. Mete Atatüre, who works on quantum physics at the University of Cambridge, contributes to science at the same school where Stephen Hawking studied. Atatüre, who made history with his team by measuring the noise of light, believes that our chances of finding a different life form in another corner of the universe are very high.
Turkish Scientists : Chemist Oktay Sinanoğlu:
Oktay Sinanoğlu, who passed away in 2015, is known not only for his work in chemistry but also for his thoughts on the Turkish language. His father, a consul in Italy, returned to Turkey at a young age to continue his education. In 1955, he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. The following year, he did his master’s degree at MIT on a scholarship. Sinanoğlu is still the youngest scientist to receive a professorship in chemistry at Yale University. He also provided consultancy to many scientific institutions and universities in Japan and Turkey. He made many recommendations for the purification and originality of the Turkish language.