The historical period often called the "Age of Discovery," when navigators set off on sea voyages to explore the far corners of the world, was also a golden age of cartography. The years 2012 and 2013 mark the 500th anniversaries of two milestones in the history of mapmaking: the birth of cartographer Gerardus Mercator in Rupelmonde, Belgium, in 1512, and the production by Ottoman cartographer Piri Reis of a world map in 1513.
In conjunction with these anniversaries, and also coinciding with the October 15-20 visit of a Belgian economic mission to Turkey under the auspices of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Bilkent University hosted an exhibition and symposium on these giants of 16th-century cartography.
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| The prize committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences extensively cited work by three Bilkent graduates, Atila Abdülkadiroğlu (EEE '93; ECON/MS '95), Tayfun Sönmez (EEE '90) and Utku Ünver (EEE '93; ECON/MS '95), when awarding this year's Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences to Alvin Roth of Harvard University and Lloyd Shapley of UCLA. The prize, which was announced on October 15, recognized Prof. Roth and Prof. Shapley for their research into how to link up economic agents, which has had spin-off effects in health care and education. All three of the former Bilkent students did their undergraduate studies in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and also took courses or did graduate work in the Department of Economics before receiving PhD degrees in economics in the US. Dr. Abdülkadiroğlu is now a professor of economics at Duke University, while Dr. Ünver and Dr. Sönmez are both professors of economics at Boston College. The Nobel Committee cited 17 papers by Prof. Abdülkadiroğlu, Prof. Ünver and Prof. Sönmez, many coauthored with Prof. Roth, as key contributions to the field. Using empirical, experimental and theoretical methods, Prof. Roth and his coauthors studied the institutions that improve market performance, thereby illuminating the need for stability and incentive compatibility. These contributions led directly to the successful redesign of a number of important real-world markets. |  Atila Abdülkadiroğlu |
 Tayfun Sönmez |
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 Utku Ünver |
Cemre Naz Kutluata and Ceren Pektaş, students in the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, have received first prize in the recent Design Competition for Museums (Müzeler için Tasarım Yarışması).
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