Ayşe Erzan (born 1949) is a Turkish theoretical physicist. She has received a number of awards including a L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science in 2003 and a Rammal Award in 2009.

Biography

Ayşe Erzan was born in 1949 in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. Following secondary studies in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Erzan attended

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

in the United States, earning her BA in 1970. She received a PhD in physics from

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

in 1976. Erzan returned to Ankara, spending a year at

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The ...

as a member of the physics department. She joined

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...

in 1977. During that time she was involved in the peace and women's movements. Following the

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état ( tr, 12 Eylül Darbesi), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by ...

, she left the country. From 1981 to 1990 Erzan worked and taught at various research institutions and universities. From 1981 to 1982 she worked at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

's Department of Theoretical Physics. From 1982 to 1985 she was visiting assistant professor at the University of Porto in Portugal. She was then an

Alexander von Humboldt Fellow The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Resear ...

at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

's Department of Theoretical Physics from 1985 to 1987. From 1987 until 1990, she worked as a research scientist at the University of Groningen. Erzan was briefly a research fellow at the

International Centre for Theoretical Physics The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for physical and mathematical sciences that operates under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Education ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

before returning to Istanbul Technical University in 1990. She also continued research at the Feza Gürsey Institute. Erzan became an associate of the

Turkish Academy of Sciences The Turkish Academy of Sciences ( tr, Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi – TÜBA) is an autonomous scholarly association aimed at promoting scientific activities in Turkey. Although it is attached to the office of the Prime Minister and is largely fund ...

in 1995 and was granted full membership in 1997. She received the

TÜBİTAK The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies ...

(Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) science prize that same year. Erzan received a L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science in 2003 and the Rammal Award in 2009. For her lifelong commitment to human rights, she was honored with the 2020 Andrei Sakharov Prize by the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

. She is a member of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable devel ...

and

The Science Academy Society of Turkey The Science Academy Society (Bilim Akademisi Derneği) is an independent, private, self-governing organization founded on November 25, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Association, referred to from here on as the Science Academy Society, is an indepen ...

, and is on the editorial boards of both the ''

Journal of Statistical Physics The ''Journal of Statistical Physics'' is a biweekly publication containing both original and review papers, including book reviews. All areas of statistical physics as well as related fields concerned with collective phenomena in physical systems ...

'' and ''

European Physical Journal B ''The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers condensed matter physics, statistical and nonlinear physics, and complex systems. Part of the ''European Physical Jou ...

''.

References

External links

Ayşe Erzan
at Istanbul Technical University {{DEFAULTSORT:Erzan, Ayse 1949 births Living people Bryn Mawr College alumni Academic staff of Istanbul Technical University Academic staff of Middle East Technical University Stony Brook University alumni Theoretical physicists Turkish physicists Turkish women academics Turkish women physicists L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates 21st-century women scientists