Prof. İhsan Doğramacı Recovering at Home
 On Monday, November 3, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of the University, Prof. İhsan Doğramacı, underwent “coronary angiography” at the Faculty of Medicine of Hacettepe University. This resulted in the successful placement of two “stents.” The physicians were extremely satisfied with the results and stated that Hoca Bey would return to his fully active work schedule soon. He is now resting and recovering at his residence. Everyone at Bilkent News wishes Hoca Bey the very best during this time.
Elections for Department Representatives Starts Today!
Tuesday, November 11 marks the first round of elections for Department Representatives.
Eligible students are strongly encouraged to vote. Voting will be done electronically, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The names of the candidates with photos and eligible voters are posted at www.bilkent.edu.tr/konsey
You can choose to vote at any of the locations provided in the table, no matter what your department is, and you need only your student ID card with you.
Remember to Vote for Your Department Representative Today
Locations of Voting Stations
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Faculty of Engineering, B Block, Foyer
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Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, F Block, FFZ 21
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Computer Center, B Building, 3rd Floor
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Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social
Sciences, C-Block, 1st Floor
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School of Applied Technology and Management, RE 108
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BUSEL C Building, DB-03
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Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, 3rd Floor, No. 336
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Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social
Sciences, MAZ-08
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Computer Technology and Information Systems
Building, East Campus, C Building, 2nd Floor
Bulgarian Cyrillic Alphabet Focus of New FADA Exhibit
The Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, in cooperation with the Embassy of Bulgaria, is proud to present "The Cyrillic Alphabet on Canvas." This exhibition focuses on one of the most precious achievements in Bulgaria's national heritage - the Cyrillic alphabet, created in 865 A.D.
The reproductions feature the traditional script being incorporated into the artistic visions of 30 Bulgarian artists from Plovdiv - the second largest city in Bulgaria.
A continuously running multimedia presentation will provide useful information on the history of the Cyrillic alphabet.
The exhibition opens on Tuesday, November 18 at 4:30 p.m. in the Bilkent University, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture exhibit hall. It opens to the public November 19 and runs until November 21. It can be seen daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please contact curator Edyta Michalska at edyta@bilkent.edu.tr.
Lunchtime Seminar Explores “Language, Learning and Color Perception”
Those who were not among the 140 people squeezed into the Library's Art Gallery for last Wednesday's Library Lunchtime Lecture Series missed an interesting and enjoyable intellectual experience! Despite suffering from a back injury,Dr. Emre Özgen, Chair of Psychology at Bilkent, delivered a stimulating and lively talk entitled "Language, Learning and Color Perception." Dr Özgen began his lecture with a discussion of visual studies within cognitive psychology, showing how our eyes can be "tricked" into perceiving things differently from what they really are. He then outlined his own research into the relationship between human color perception and language. Dr Özgen said that, whereas the color spectrum is a continuum of light, humans see, and therefore describe through their language, the spectrum as areas, or categories, with distinct boundaries. However, it would appear that speakers of different languages may break down the color spectrum in different ways. Indeed, while most languages in the world have 11 universal "basic color terms," some African languages have as few as two, while Turkish has 12! Dr Özgen then considered the question as to whether people with different color categories in their languages may even see colors differently. He finished his talk with a discussion about "perceptual" learning: how, in the lab, he has been able to "train" volunteers to make finer distinctions between colors than their language would normally allow. Surely, the audience left the Library questioning the reality of what they could see! The next Lunchtime Library Lecture will be given by C. Uğur Ayfer, Assistant Director of Bilkent Computer Center, on Wednesday, December 3, from 12:40 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Everyone is invited!
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Atatürk Commemorated
November 10, 2008, marked the 70th anniversary of the death of Turkey's beloved Atatürk. Bilkent University commemorated the landmark date with a program in his memory.
The day began at Bilkent's Atatürk Monument with a moment of silence. This was followed by a performance at the Mithat Çoruh Auditorium by the Bilkent Quartet.
During the Commemoration, Prof. Dr. Sinan Sertöz, of the Department of Mathematics, spoke in memory of Atatürk, focusing on his book "Geometry," which he wrote a year before his death.
Sertöz noted that the book is significant because it marks the first time a mathematics book was written using Turkish terms. Atatürk proposed Turkish terms for most of the fundamental concepts of geometry, which are used today in the Turkish language, through this book. Common terms that were introduced include such basics as: üçgen, boyut, yarıçap, teğet, and even türev. In his book, Atatürk made a conscious effort to create Turkish terms which carry clues for their meanings, and suggest to further declarations for related areas. As Sertöz continued to explain, although the book is short, being approximately forty pages long, it completely revolutionized the way the nation uses technical terms. It was, he felt, a move that was well timed in history, to promote Turkish to act as a language of the sciences. Like other efforts made by Atatürk, this was planned and executed with brilliance, according to Sertöz, who wasn't surprised, given the ideology that mathematics is the art of thinking correctly about anything.
Sertöz went on to say that, "We are proud to have a leader who thought correctly, even when considering use of scientific terms."
İlhan Altuğ Passes Away, November 7, 2008
 İlhan Altuğ, Director of the Procurement Office passed away on Friday, November 7, 2008, after a long battle with lung cancer. Altuğ served the University since 1989. She will be sadly missed not only by her family, but also by large numbers of her colleagues.
Funeral services for Altuğ were held on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at Doğramacızade Ali Paşa Mosque.
We wish to extend our sincere condolences to the Altuğ family, her colleagues and members of the Bilkent community.
Beijing Paralympics Gold Medal Winner Gizem Girişmen Recognized
Gizem Girişmen, a 2004 graduate of Bilkent's Department of Management, represented Turkey at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in the category of archery. She won a gold medal, the first and only Turkish woman to do so, by defeating her Chinese competitor, Fu Hongzhi.
Her outstanding achievement was recognized by the Bilkent Community with a luncheon hosted by Perin Öztin, the Dean of Students. Ayşın Gürbüz, the Dean of Students coordinator; Sena Özel, the person in charge of the Social Responsibility Center; Ayşe Tuğcu, Coordinator of the Alumni Center; Gizem's favorite instructor, Zeynep Sayman; her mother, Mrs. Girişmen; and Sinan Öncel, President of the Bilkent Alumni Association (BİLMED) all participated.
Born in 1981, Gizem Girişmen had an unfortunate traffic accident in 1992, at the age of eleven, which left her paralyzed. In 2004, she completed her education with an Honors in Business Administration. That year she became interested in, and soon decided to practice, archery. Her dedication to the sport lead her to a first place finish in the 2007 Czech Republic International Archery Tournament, and a second place in the 4th European Disabled Archery Grand Prix in the United Kingdom. She plans to compete in the 2012 Paralympic games in London.
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