Summer Events 2024

On Monday, July 8, at 08:45, PURE Orientation event will take place at Sabancı University Tuzla Campus.

Participation in the orientation is mandatory and will take place face to face.

On the morning of July 8, free breakfast will be provided to our students. The orientation flow is below:

Date: Monday, July 8

Time: 08:45 - 12:30

Location: Sabancı University, Tuzla Campus, University Center, Cinema Hall, Akbank Front

Registration: 08:45

Breakfast: Students who complete their registration can go to the cafeteria and get their breakfast plate.

Presentation: 10:30, University Center Cinema Hall

The campus tour will take place immediately after orientation. Relevant instructions will be given after orientation.

Lab. Safety Training will be held online. The information will be sent via email.

Geometry plays a crucial role in various areas of physics. When materials are reduced to the nanoscale, they exhibit fascinating, geometry-dependent behaviors. For example, quantum dots, which were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, are such objects. Classical physics fails to describe their thermodynamic properties due to the importance of quantum effects. In this talk, we will explore the interplay between geometry and thermodynamics by investigating the quantum shape effect. We will begin with an intriguing question: "Can you change the shape of an object without changing its size?" Answering this question will lead us to fascinating domains where unexpected physical phenomena occur. These include peculiar thermodynamic behaviors such as spontaneous transitions into lower entropy states, cooling a gas by compression, and heating it by expansion, all of which are impossible in classical physics. Finally, we will discuss some applications of the quantum shape effect in energy devices.
BIO
Alhun Aydın is a Faculty Member at the Physics program of FENS, Sabancı University, and an Associate at the Department of Physics, Harvard University. He obtained his BSc in Physics from Koç University (2011) and his MSc (2014) and PhD (2020) at Energy Institute, Istanbul Technical University. He conducted some parts of his PhD research as a visiting scholar at Uppsala University, and at Hebrew University. In his PhD thesis, he predicted the existence of a novel phenomenon called the quantum shape effect and explored its thermodynamic implications and energy applications. After his PhD, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. Before joining Sabancı, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Koç University for a year. He conducts theoretical and computational research on the theory of quantum materials, quantum thermodynamics/transport, and nanoscale energy. Dr. Aydın received several awards and fellowships, including the Dean's Fund at Harvard, Best PhD Thesis Award at ITU, TÜBİTAK 2219 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, and Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Scholarship. He co-founded Blochbusters, a platform merging science and art through original digital paintings to inspire students from diverse backgrounds to pursue science. Besides science, he composes music and plays guitar. In 2013, he released a rock album called “Zamandaki Yabancı”, composing and performing all the songs himself.

Astrophysics (or astronomy) is a field of study that many people have heard of and are curious about, but the details of the research field are not well known.  What do astrophysicists do?  How can we study and learn about something that is so far away and so big?  How do we know how the Universe may have begun and evolved?  In this seminar, I will introduce the main ideas and various subfields of astrophysics/astronomy, along with some basic science of astrophysical sources or phenomena, observational techniques, and scientific goals.  I will also talk about some recent highlights and exciting developments in astrophysics research.  

BIO

Dr. Yuki Kaneko is an astrophysicist and an instructor at the Foundations Development Directorate at Sabancı University.  She obtained her BS, MS, and PhD in physics in the U.S; she also taught at TEV İnanç Türkeş high school for gifted students before joining Sabancı University in 2009, where she continues to conduct research while she teaches.  Her research focuses on observations of high-energy astrophysical phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts and soft-gamma repeater bursts.  She has also offered numerous professional development seminars and workshops to faculties and graduate students especially in innovative teaching methods with active-learning approaches.  For more info about her, visit http://myweb.sabanciuniv.edu/yuki/

How do we measure the distance of astronomical objects?
The 3 dimensional structure : star clusters, galaxies, galaxy clusters and the Universe.
Cosmology: Dynamics of the Universe. Hubble Expansion. The Big Bang. Curvature of the Universe. The Future of the Universe: Accelerated Expansion Forever? Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
BIO
M. Ali Alpar
Born 1950, Malatya, Turkey.
BS in Physics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, 1972.
PhD U. of Cambridge 1977;
Professor of Physics at Sabancı University, Istanbul.
Astrophysicist;
Research interests: neutron star evolution with fallback disks, millisecond pulsars,  neutron star structure and dynamics, pulsar glitches quasiperiodic oscillations and disk modes.
Founding President of the Science Academy, Istanbul, Turkey (2011- 2020).
Member of the Council, TÜBA (Turkish Academy of Sciences) 1993-97.
(Resigned from TÜBA in 2011, after the government intervention leading to appointment of members by external government agencies.)
Member of the Science Board, TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) 1993-97.
 
Elected Member:
Academia Europaea
American Philosophical Society
 
Member:
European Astronomical Society
International Astronomical Union
Turkish Astronomical Society (former president)

Universities worldwide typically expect faculty members, and increasingly their advanced students, to publish their research and develop a publication record.  But why do we publish?  In what forms and contexts do we publish?  What is different about writing for publication genres?  What does the publication process look like?  In addition to discussing these preliminary questions, this seminar will highlight considerations and habits that can enable publishing success.  Journal article sections will also serve as examples to demonstrate how we can develop our genre knowledge to produce our own manuscripts for publication. How use of generative AI tools might intersect with our efforts to publish will also be discussed.
BIO
An educator for 24 years, Daniel Calvey has been teaching Sabancı University graduate students how to publish their research since 2015 in courses like Scientific & Technical Communication and Academic Writing for Graduate Students.  In his work, he relies on trailblazing revelations on these topics from the field of applied linguistics with an eye to the needs of non-native users of English, incorporating peer response as a key component of learning and developing writing skill.  Daniel earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco in 1995 and B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1990.

As a student/researcher/professional in STEM, research will always be an integral part of your career. And although it is often overlooked, so will writing.This seminar is designed to provide you with helpful tips and suggestions to write in a clear and concise manner. We will discuss and analyze various examples that will help you develop a better understanding of the principles of word choice, paragraph order, cohesion and flow, and more within the context of technical and scientific writing. 
BIO
Neriman Kuyucu’s research interests are shaped by interdisciplinary and comparative approaches to rhetoric and writing and literary studies. She holds a Ph.D. in contemporary Anglophone literature from the University of Missouri, and her research focuses on transnationalism and migration literature. After working as a writing instructor in the Academic Writing program at Koç University for three years, she currently teaches literature and humanities courses at Sabancı. 

Who is more narcissistic? Rick and Morty or Bojack Horseman

Suggested Episodes to watch before the event: Rick and Morty Season 3 episode 6 and Season 4 episode 1, Bojack Horseman season 4 episode 11 and season 5 episode 
BIO:

Kaan Kabukçu graduated from Boğaziçi University Psychological Counseling and Guidance Department with honors degree in 2018. He took part in the team that founded Boğaziçi University Behavioral Sciences Club and contributed to the creation of different events such as symposiums and film readings. In 2021, he graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University Clinical Psychology Master's Program in the adult sub-branch with honors. He carried out psychotherapy processes with young adults and adults under supervision at Bilgi University Psychological Counseling Unit and Center and implemented different test modules. He currently works as BADA at Sabancı University Individual and Academic Development Center and continues his education and project work at different universities.

Each project group has to deliver one short presentation (10 minutes) at 6-7 August 2024 to a large audience including peer students and faculty members during which they will take questions and comments. This is your chance to learn strengths, weaknesses and new opportunities to make your research better. (Presentations will be held face to face. Further information will be shared along.)
 
Presentation Guideline
 

1. The structure of your PowerPoint presentation

• Introduction/Overview (1 slide)
• Theoretical Framework/Research Question/Hypothesis (1 slide)
• Methodology/Case (1 slide)
• Background/Literature Review (1 slide)
• Discussion of Data/Results/Findings/Analysis (5-6 slides)
• Conclusion (1 slide)

1. Tips

Tip 1 Do not forget that the images are powerful. Images are helpful for memorize and learning. Use this on behalf of your advantage by finding and using images that help you make your point. Also, you can create your own image too. For ex: You can indicates several key words and visualize these words by regarding your own research. It is a good idea to find a picture that describes the aim of your research.  
Tip 2 During your presentation, please note that audiences desire to listen about your research, not to hear a summary of old work.
Tip 3 You should always practice your presentation in full before you deliver it to the other people.
Tip 4 Time Limit! If you have ten minutes to present, prepare ten minutes of material. No more. Time management is necessary during your presentation.
Tip 5 Do not read the presentations!
Tip 6 Q&A must be a part of your presentation.
 

1. Citations

Citations in a slide should appear credible in APA or MLA format at the bottom of the slide or directly after the information. References at the end of a slide are not necessary unless specified by the advisor.

1. Formatting

Font size should be 28-point, Times New Roman or Calibri; Line spacing must be double or 1, 5 space. The font size of the headings should be 44-point Times New Roman or Calibri Light.

In this seminar, the progress of human-computer interaction from the 1970s to the present day will be shared with examples. A journey will be taken from the physically massive computers called mainframes to the technologies that have shrunk enough to fit into our pockets today. Computer technologies that are used with eye movements as an alternative to the computers we use with a mouse and keyboard will be introduced. The seminar will be concluded with examples demonstrating where current interactive technologies could go in the future, including virtual reality, wearable technologies, and computer systems used with brain activity.
BIO
Kürşat Çağıltay is a Professor of Sabancı University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Engineering Program. He earned his BS in Mathematics and MS in Computer Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU/ODTÜ). He holds a double Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University, USA. He worked for METU Computer Center and directed the technical team that brought the Internet to Turkey in 1993. His research focuses on Human Computer Interaction, Eye-tracking, Technology Enhanced Learning, Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality, educational neuroscience, computer games.

This seminar is on the transformative impact of high-performance computing (HPC) and supercomputers on research and development in AI and other disciplines. We will first discuss how HPC reshaped the traditional engineering and production process, e.g., by reducing the need for physical prototypes and actual production costs, and today, how it is boosting AI research. While doing this, we will answer questions such as what bottlenecks we had before and what are today's challenges. We will then talk about the EuroCC project, carried out to identify Europe's HPC needs to develop competencies in the fields of Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence and to establish national HPC competence centers. 

BIO

Dr. Kaya is a Faculty Member of the Computer Science and Engineering Program at Sabancı University. Since 2018, he has been the founder and manager of Dakik Software Technologies, a software company focusing on R&D projects and since 2022, he has been the director of the Center of Excellence in Data Analytics at Sabancı University. His research interests include Parallel Algorithms, Machine Learning on Sparse Data, Graph Algorithms, High-Performance Computing, and Cryptography.