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.
The IEEE Haraden Pratt Award, given for outstanding service to the IEEE, was established in 1971 in honor of Haraden Pratt, who was director emeritus of the IEEE and who had given dedicated and distinguished service to the Institute. As president, treasurer, and then secretary for 23 consecutive years, his service on the Board of Directors, including that of director emeritus, totaled 31 years. The award consists of a bronze medal, illuminated certificate, and honorarium. The award ceremony will be in San Francisco on August 20, 2011.
When asked about receiving the Pratt Award, Prof. Onural said, "I am honored to be the recipient of this highly prestigious award. I thank the nominator, committee members and the IEEE Board of Directors."
Levent Onural received his Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1985; his B.S. (1979) and M.S. (1981) degrees are from METU. He was a Fulbright scholar between 1981 and 1985. He joined the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of Bilkent University in 1987, where he is a full professor and the dean of engineering at present. His current research interests are in the area of image and video processing, with emphasis on video coding, 3DTV, holographic 3DTV, and signal processing aspects of optical wave propagation. He was the coordinator of the European Commission-funded 3DTV Project (2004-2008). Dr. Onural received an award from TÜBİTAK of Turkey in 1995. He also received a Third Millenium Medal from IEEE in 2000. Dr. Onural is a fellow of IEEE and served IEEE as the director of IEEE Region 8 (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) in 2001-2002 and as the secretary of IEEE in 2003. He was a member of the IEEE Board of Directors (2001-2003), the IEEE Executive Committee (2003) and the IEEE Assembly (2001-2002).