A Spectacular Showcase of Turkish American Scientists and Scholars

First Annual Conference of TASSA – A Spectacular Showcase of Turkish American Scientists and Scholars

The Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA) held its first annual meeting in Washington, DC on February, 19-20, 2005. After the opening remarks by the Conference Chair Dr. Murat Tarimcilar, Ambassador Dr. Faruk Logoglu and Dr. Kenan Sahin, President of TIAX LLC, expressed their strong support for the establishment of an organization like TASSA. Both expressed their pride in being involved in TASSA’s establishment efforts and holding honorary memberships. The credibility of the conference was evidenced by the excellent plenary address delivered by Prof. Erdal Inonu, former deputy prime minister of Turkey, to more than 300 participants. His subject of the history of science in the Turkish Republic drew many intriguing questions from the audience. He concluded his lecture with a personal wish and a charge to all Turkish scientists that he would like to see a Turkish Nobel Prize winner before closing his eyes.

The first day of the conference focused on science. World-renown Turkish scientists and scholars presented the findings of their state-of-the-art research in different sessions ranging from Engineering and Applied Sciences to Health and Biomedical Sciences to Social Sciences. The presenters also included Ozgur Sahin, a Ph.D. student at Stanford University, whose recent invention of a nanoscale microscope won the $50,000 grand prize in the 2004 Collegiate Inventors Competition.

The keynote speaker of the second day was Dr. George Atkinson, Science and Technology Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State, who talked about the role of science and technology in global security and U.S. foreign policy. He mentioned Turkey as a key country for the U.S. to establish collaborations with in the areas of science and technology and proposed ways to bring some equity to the brain migration issue. The second day included representatives from TUSIAD and Turkish private sector, and a session on Turkish-American scientific cooperation with representatives from the Turkish Higher Education Council, U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. National Institutes of Health. The last panel discussion was devoted to possible cooperation opportunities between universities and research institutions in Turkey and in the U.S. and included several presidents of Turkish universities and representatives of government agencies.

This first annual conference also provided a forum to announce the results of the first election of TASSA’s Executive Committee. Dr. Suleyman Gokoglu of NASA Glenn Research Center closed the Conference with words of enthusiasm as the first President of TASSA for the next two years. TASSA is an independent, non-profit and non-political organization (established in June 2004) promoting the communication and co-operation among its members and their counterparts in the United States and Turkey. Its programs also aim to improve educational advancement opportunities, scientific exchanges, and fellowship between the United States and Turkey. For more information about TASSA, please visit the website at www.tassausa.org.