Bilkent Professor Wins Two TÜBA Awards
"Bütçe Hukuku" and "Teoride ve Uygulamada Kamu Maliyesi" won Mehmet Kamil Mutluer, professor from the Department of Law, the Best Book in the Field and Honorable Mention awards from the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA).
TÜBA started giving these awards last year in hopes of encouraging textbook writing and translation into Turkish. These textbooks must be catered to students studying in basic courses at Turkish universities. They must be published within the last five years.
Pedestrians Have the Right of Way at All Times
Gürer Karagedikli, a graduate student in the Department of History, was hit while on the pedestrian crossing in front of the Main Campus library on Friday, September 18. Karagedikli is well on her way to recovery after a short time in the hospital. But not everyone with similar experiences is so lucky.
The driver of the vehicle is a third year engineering student and has been driving on campus for more than two years. He has no previous violation points, but this responsible driving history did not prevent him from losing control of his car.
Incidents like this show how important it is for Bilkent students to attend Traffic Orientation programs offered on campus. Data shows that students are less likely to get into collisions or violate traffic rules after attending these sessions.
Here is a message from the traffic committee:
"We would like to say "geçmiş olsun" to Gürer Karagedikli who, we are happy to say, has recovered after a short period of hospitalization. The driver, in addition to receiving 8 violation points for not giving the right of way to pedestrians, has been banned for a month from driving on campus and will have to take the orientation program given by the Traffic Committee at the end of this period from which sadly this driver was exempted, having been driving on campus for more than two years.
We wish to remind all drivers that pedestrians have the unquestionable right of way at all times as shown by the signposts in many spots throughout the roads on campus.
We would also like to ask pedestrians to always prefer the appropriately marked pedestrian crossings throughout campus and to cross the road with care and refrain from hesitations or turning back while crossing, which might mislead the driver waiting for them to cross.
Let us remember that it is not the rules but respect for one another which make the roads safer."
Perspectives on Ankara
In Bilkent News we plan to have a series of articles on how different professionals view Turkey's capital city. We interviewed Sarp Evliyagil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ajans Türk and also a 1993 Bilkent graduate from the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management in the first installment of this series.
Sarp Evliyagil is dreaming about establishing a modern art museum in Ankara. Over the years he has amassed an expansive collection of artwork from auctions and galleries. He hopes to use it to boost Ankara's cultural capital.
"We don't even have a proper art museum here," Evliyagil says. "Last year I had an international visitor, and he asked me whether we have a modern art museum. I was embarrassed to say no.
I ended up taking him to Anıtkabir, but you can't take someone again and again to the same place."
Evliyagil has been an Ankara resident for 40 years. He has watched the city transform from a periphery town into a growing metropolis of five million people. But the city's golden age of decades earlier has since faded.
"In the 50's, 60's and 70's Ankara was a cultural city when compared to İstanbul. State Opera and Ballet, State Conservatory, and theaters were in Ankara. But then Ankara became a very withdrawn, antisocial city," Evliyagil says. "With the brain drain we lost people to İstanbul. Of my high school friends, 80% moved to İstanbul or abroad."
So it has come upon Ankara's residents to improve the city and its once-flourishing culture. Evliyagil believes Turks should follow in the footsteps of Atatürk in dedicating time and energy to developing the city.
"Prof. İhsan Doğramacı is the second person who gave the most outstanding service to this city after Atatürk," he says. "He contributed a lot in transforming this city into a university city. He founded Hacettepe University and Bilkent University. In addition to that, he turned Bilkent into a little town of its own, which became an important place with all its campus cultural and art events. Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and Bilkent Odeon are the examples of that."
Even for a man of vision, hope and action like Evliyagil, Ankara still falls short in providing a decent place to relax and enjoy the city sights.
"Ankara doesn't offer much outdoor scenery," he admits. "So there is not a place to relax. For example, because of poor city planning, streams and rivers around Ankara had to be closed. I ultimately end up traveling a lot around the world when I want to relax and get away."
But while Evliyagil may be daydreaming about a beach in the Mediterranean, he is still making plans to open a culturally advancing modern art museum.
"Complaining does not solve the problem, you have to do something," Evliyagil says. "If we live in Ankara and have money to spare, we have to contribute."
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Bilkent Researchers Receive Award from FABED
Two researchers, Dr. Mustafa Özgür Güler and Dr. Tamer Uyar from the Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology (UNAM), have received the Feyzi Akkaya Award for Scientific Activities (FABED) '2009 Outstanding Achievement Awards for Young Scientists.'
Güler received the FABED Award in biology for his outstanding work on
"Biomedical Applications of Self-Assembled Nanostructures." Uyar received the FABED Award in chemistry for his outstanding work on "Development of multi-functional nanotextile materials."
The fund was established in memory of Feyzi Akkaya - one of the innovative pioneer civil engineers and a co-founder of Turkey's first international civil engineering company, STFA. To support and reward distinguished scientific activities and outstanding young scientists and researchers in the fields of natural sciences and civil engineering, FABED has developed 'Outstanding Achievement Awards for Young Scientists,' and a 'Research Support for Outstanding Young Scientists' program.
Photographs by Alper Rıfat Uluçınar (CS/PhD Student)
TDP Welcomes New Volunteers in Its 10th Anniversary
Toplumsal Duyarlılık Projeleri (Social Awareness Projects) hosted an introductory reception to present their current projects and new ideas to students interested in joining them on Thursday, September 17.
TDP briefed students that came from different departments and classes about the different Social Awareness Projects sub-projects, and introduced some volunteering concepts.
"People…ignore the problems of society more since they are too engaged in academic or business life," TDP Coordinator Umutcan Batı told Bilkent News, "When they come across problems, they just prefer to abstain from taking responsibility by thinking that someone else may find solutions to these problems. But we, as the Social Awareness Projects, have been trying to find solutions for the problems that we see for the past 10 years. Now, let's come together and become a smile on the face of a child."
For the upcoming academic semester, TDP offers 11 different projects for the new volunteers: Voluntary Teaching Project (Gönüllü Eğitim Projesi), Child Care Centers Project (Yetiştirme Yurtları Projesi), Volunteering Child Project (Manevi Evlat Projesi), Training for the Blind Project (Görme Engelliler Eğitim Projesi), Railway Lines Support Project (Demiryolu Hattı Destek Projesi), International Project Group (Uluslarası Proje Grubu), Computer Training Project (Bilgisayar Eğitim Projesi), Young Vision Project (Genç Bakış Projesi), Street Lamp Project (Sokak Lambası Projesi), Support to the University Personnel Project (Üniversite Personeline Destek Projesi) and The Citizens of Hope Project (Umudun Yurttaşları Projesi).
If you are looking for an extra-curricular activity, you may choose one of TDP's worthwhile projects not only develop yourself but also to do something good for people.
For more information you can email to tdp@bilkent.edu.tr or visit http://www.tdp.bilkent.edu.tr
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