Prof. Levent Onural Receives 2011 IEEE Haraden Pratt Award
On Nov. 22, Pedro Ray, 2010 president and CEO of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) notified Prof. Levent Onural, dean of the faculty of engineering, that he had been named the recipient of the 2011 IEEE Haraden Pratt Award.
Each year the IEEE Awards Board recommends a select group of recipients to receive the IEEE's most prestigious honors. Prof. Onural received the award: "For leadership in the worldwide promotion of the values embraced by IEEE." Recognizing exceptional achievements in the profession, by both individuals and organizations, is an important part of the mission of the IEEE.
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Nobel Laureate Tim Hunt to Visit Bilkent
Nobel Laureate and Researcher (Cancer Research UK, London Research Institute) Sir R. Timothy ("Tim") Hunt will deliver the İhsan Doğramacı Memorial Lecture on Saturday December 4 at 
Bilkent University, Mithat Çoruh Auditorium. The program will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a showing of the film İhsan Doğramacı, Connecting the Past to the Future and will continue with Prof. Hunt's talk entitled "Switches and Latches: Getting In and Out of Mitosis." The memorial celebration will conclude with a reception.
Prof. Hunt, who received his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2006, received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1968 and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1991. Together with Leland H. Hartwell and Sir Paul Nurse, Prof. Hunt was awarded The Nobel Prize in Medicine 2001 for his contributions in discoveries of key regulators of the cell cycle. According to the Nobel Prize website, Hunt was awarded for his discovery of cyclins, proteins that regulate the CDK function.
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Assistant Secretary General Oğuz Özbilgin to Retire
On November 10, Professor Sübidey Togan from the Department of Economics gave a talk on the prospects of Turkey's accession to the European Union (EU) for the second lunchtime lecture organized by Bilkent University Library. Noting that Turkey's accession talks have been dogged by a number of problems, Professor Togan tried to answer the questions why Turkey is insisting on membership in the EU if the chances of membership are so dim, and if membership in the EU will not materialize, what are the alternatives?
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World Philosophy Day Celebrated
UNESCO launched World Philosophy Day in2002 to highlight the importance of philosophical thinking and to create connections between philosophers and the public. Everyyear, UNESCO's World Philosophy Day is celebrated to share with people the importance and relevance of 
philosophy in our daily lives.
The Department of Philosophy held its traditional annual one-day conference to celebrate UNESCO's World Philosophy Day 2010 on Wednesday, November 24th. The aim of the conference is to make philosophy accessible to all and thereby foster independent and critical thought.
A packed audience was treated to a series of fascinating talks. The theme of the conference this year was "Between Authority and Freedom: Problems in Democratic Political Theory." Asst. Prof. Lars Vinx ably organized the event which started with an excellent set of presentations and ensuing discussion sessions with contributions by İ.D.V. Özel Bilkent Lisesi 11th grade students (Aybike Kerpişçi, Barışcan Aksu, Birsu Şallı, Ekin İl, İpek Auf, ve Sude Rençber) under the supervision of Ülkü Özet, their philosophy teacher. Department of Philosophy faculty then contributed to the event four exciting talks: Asst. Prof. Bill Wringe gave a talk entitled "Do Corporations Have No Shame? Collective Emotions and Expressive Theories of Punishment."
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Education Grad Program Recognized
The Graduate School of Education has received recognition from the
International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The IB diploma offers a balanced program of education and final examinations that prepares students in 139 countries, normally aged 16 to 19. Two days of visits from the IB award team on October 11 and 12 resulted in full recognition being extended to the new program in the Graduate School, which offers a master's degree in curriculum and instruction and a teaching certificate.
Students who graduate from this program will receive a teacher award certificate from the IBO. The award will help qualify them for jobs in schools that teach the IB Diploma program. It will also give students full access to the IB Online Curriculum Center with its many resources for teaching in high schools and access to all the IB world schools.
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