DASNR
International
Visiting Scholar of the Week
Home Country:
Turkey
Turkey, known officially as the Republic of Turkey, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest, Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the southeast. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, and the Black Sea to the north. Turkey also contains the Sea of Marmara, which is used by geographers to mark the border between Europe and Asia, thus making Turkey transcontinental.
The region comprising modern Turkey has overseen the birth of major civilizations such as the Hittite, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Because of its strategic location, where two continents meet, Turkey's culture has a unique blend of Eastern and Western tradition, often described as a bridge between the two civilizations. A powerful regional presence in the Eurasian landmass with strong cultural and economic influence in the area between the Adriatic Sea in the west and China in the east, Russia in the north and the Middle East in the south, Turkey has come to acquire increasing strategic significance.
Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic whose political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. Since then, Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West while continuing to foster relations with the Eastern world. Source Wikipedia
Dr. Turgay Ozdemir
July 2008
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From the Department of Natural Resources Ecology and Management
Above: Dr. Ozdemir in his office at OSU This week’s international visiting faculty of the week is Doctor Turgay Ozdemir. He is a visiting scholar from Turkey. He is conducting research in the Department of Natural Resources Ecology and Management, in the area of wood products. Dr. Ozdemir speaks Turkish and English. Dr. Ozdemir came to OSU early in July, and upon his arrival he attended the Annual International Meeting of the Forests Products Society held in Saint Louis Missuori. Dr. Ozdemir's current research is related to adhesion strength of coated composite panels which was started with Dr. Salim Hiziroglu of OSU when he was at Karadeniz Technical University as visiting professor in 2006. Their collaboration is a result of the international sabbatical taken by Dr. Hiziroglu. Dr. Ozdemir is a member of the Chamber of Turkish Forest Engineers and he teaches at the Department of Forest Products Engineering in Karadeniz Technical University.
Dr. Ozdemir presenting a poster at Forest Products Society meeting in St Louis, MO in June 2008. In his free time Dr. Ozdemir enjoys playing soccer and volleyball, he also likes swimming and reading. He is married to a Forest Engineer who works at the Forest Service in Turkey. They both have two sons: Orhun who is ten years old and Ceyhun, who is eight years old. Dr. Ozdemir came to tgheUSA because OSU has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Karadeniz Technical University that was signed in 2005. He thinks that the MOU is a good program for him and his students to provide an opportunity to learn more about forest products as well as to obtain professional experience. He said that despite of the short time he has been in Stillwater, it is just a great place to work and live; people are very friendly and helpful.
Dr. Ozdemir’s future plans are to go back to Turkey in September 2008 to continue working at the Department of Forest Products Engineering and try to convince some of his students to pursue to their graduate studies at OSU. Advisor: Dr. Salim Hiziroglu, NREM Dr. Ozdemir’s advice to Students: “I strongly suggest to anyone to have an international experience. It is a unique opportunity to get to know the educational environment in different countries. I also suggest to international students that they should try to become involved with cultural activities in addition to their study here.” Interview by Sandra Rodriguez
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