Women in Science Talks Bursa
The "Science For All Talks" series that the British Council started last year continues this year with a new focus: "Women in Science Talks"
This year’s first talk , took place in Bursa on May 6 as part of Bursa Science Festival, the series will continue in different cities of Turkey.
Women scientists renowned for their work in the STEM field raised awareness and inspired young people with their experiences and projects.. The common ground of these successful women were their leading role in the STEM field
All talks were free and opened to public.
Speakers: Professor Alev Topuzoğlu, Professor Cait Macphee, Assoc. Professor Deniz Tarba Ceylan
Date: 06 May 2016
Time: 2 p.m.- 4 p.m.
Place: Merinos Park/ Bursa Bilim Şenliği (Bursa Science Festival)
COMPETITION
People who had questions for our speakers about being a woman in the STEM field, asked us on Twitter at the hashtag #herkesicinbilim and we asked our speakers for them. They also had a chance to win a surprise gift.
People wrote their questions on our Facebook page between 2-5 May, and we asked those questions for Alev Topuzoğlu and Cait MacPhee. They also had a chance to win a surprise gift from the British Council at the drawing that be held.
Periscope live broadcast
People was also able to watch the live broadcast of the talk on Periscope from wherever they were on 6 May. All they had to do is following us at our @trBritish twitter account at 2:00 p.m. You can see the Periscope video here.
SPEAKERS
Professor Alev Topuzoğlu (Sabancı University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences)
Professor Alev Topuzoğlu received BSc degree in mathematics from the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, and completed her PhD degree at the University of London in 1982.
She worked at the Mathematics Department, METU from 1980 until she joined Sabancı University in 1998 as a professor of mathematics. She was amongst the core faculty, having started to work at the university, a year prior to its admitting first students. She took active part in numerous committees, especially during the early stages (1998-2004).
During 1992-1998, she also worked at the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK), where her responsibilities, among others, included chairing selection panels and administration of science fellowships at graduate, postgraduate and senior levels. She initiated a number of international exchange programs as well as novel support schemes for researchers. She was the national administrator of several international science fellowships programs, and the European Science Exchange Program.
She is a member of the London Mathematical Society and Turkish Mathematical Society (Vice-President during 1998-2002).
Her research interests are in finite fields and their applications; in particular permutation polynomials, APN functions, plateaued functions, construction and analysis of pseudorandom sequences and uniform distribution mod 1 of sequences.
Professor Cait Macphee (University of Edinburgh, School of Physics and Astronomy)
Professor Cait Macphee is a professor of Physics at University of Edinburgh’s. Her research interests focus on the behaviour of proteins: the molecules that are responsible for the vast majority of functions in living organisms.
She is very interested in the challenges facing women in physics, and in the science, engineering and technology (SET) disciplines more generally. Professor Macphee is particularly interested in the incorporation of science into primary school teaching. The majority of primary teachers do not have a science background and, understandably, many lack confidence in incorporating science into lessons. As both girls and boys make up their minds about whether they like science at a very early age (pre-secondary school), making primary science fun may be a way of improving the numbers of girls who enjoy and choose to take science at secondary school or beyond.
The School of Physics and Astronomy at Edinburgh, where she is currently teaching, has Juno Champion status and an Athena SWAN Silver award. Project Juno is an Institute of Physics initiative that aims to address the under-representation of women in university physics and to encourage better practice for both women and men.
Assoc. Professor Deniz Tarba Ceylan - Moderator (Sabancı University Center of Excellence for Gender and Women's Studies)
A former British Council scholar herself, Deniz Tarba Ceylan has a PhD in English Literature. She has worked at Boğaziçi University until 2006, teaching courses such as The Augustan Age, Victorian Poetry and Prose, English novel and Renaissance Poetry. She has been working at Sabanci University since 2006 as part of the Foundation Development Humanities Courses program. She is an active and founding member of Sabancı University Center of Excellence for Gender and Women's Studies.