Department of Geophysics Engineering

I was born in Zonguldak in 1968. I completed my primary, secondary and high school education there. Then I studied at Hacattepe University for two years (Electrics Program). I enrolled in Istanbul University, Geophysics Engineering Department in 1987. I graduated in 1991. I did my master's and doctorate in the field of Geophysics at Istanbul University. In addition, I was a visiting professor at Cambridge University in 2015. Between 2016 and 2017, I was a visiting professor at Harvard University. My interests include every field of geophysics. Of course, the fields which I’m more interested are ground, earthquake, structure interaction; and the historical development of geophysics, the philosophy and history of science. The Geophysics Engineering Department is one of the departments offering engineering degrees within the Faculty of Engineering. Due to the subject matter, it is a field of science associated with physical processes, phenomena and properties from the earth's core to its surface, from its surface to its atmosphere, from its atmosphere to the interplanetary medium, from the interplanetary medium to the planets. The relevance of this field of science to engineering is mostly related to economic and social problems and finding solutions to these problems. In the Geophysics Engineering Department, we have three main disciplines called earth physics, seismology and applied geophysics. We have four laboratories in the Geophysics Engineering Department. These are the Geophysical Measurements Laboratory, where we record and analyse earthquakes, Seismology Laboratory, to understand oil exploration, Seismic Data Processing Laboratory and Yılmaz İspir Paleomagnetism Laboratory. In addition, our department provides 30% English education. This means that 30% of the courses are in English. We have 2 internship programs in our department. We have a camp internship and then one year later an institution internship. In the last year, we have a graduation study conducted by students under the supervision of a faculty member and presented under the supervision of three faculty members. If a student meets the necessary requirements, they can apply for an Erasmus exchange. In addition, some of our faculty members have completed their master's and doctorate degrees abroad in countries such as Japan and Germany. Some of them have been in countries such as Greece, Hungary, England, Germany, Japan and the United States of America for scientific purposes. Therefore, they share their knowledge with students and connect with them. Our faculty members also take part in international projects, and can provide the students with a chance to contribute to these. Every year, there is a convention in America organized by the American Geophysical Union, attended by over 30000 geophysicists worldwide. Faculty members of the department try to attend these conventions as much as they can. There is also an international scientific meeting organized by the European Geoscientists Association each year in Vienna which is attended by over 15000 geophysicists. Faculty members contribute to these meetings by sharing the results of their studies and organizing events. In addition, the department participates in the events organized by the Chamber of Geophysical Engineers. They participate in meetings related to various sub-fields such as mining, earthquake and groundwater, both in terms of organizing them and also by presenting scientific articles and scientific studies.
Graduates of the Department of Geophysics Engineering can mainly work in three fields. Like in every department, they can find work as an academic. They can work in universities to carry out scientific studies. Home or abroad. The second field which they can work in, especially for engineering purposes, is oil, mining, groundwater, earthquake analysis and work in institutions like Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO). They can work in the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). Third, geophysical engineers can establish their own private companies. They can also work in a private company. In this field, they can also work on petroleum, mining, engineering, building ground interaction, earthquakes, ground studies, ground investigations. Geophysics has no equivalent in secondary education. There is no such thing as a geophysics course in high schools. Therefore, as in all engineering branches, students who come to geophysics also have some difficulties in geophysics at first. However, this problem is overcome with the theoretical and practical courses of the department. I have some advice for candidates who will choose our department. Our department is the oldest Geophysics department in Turkey. It has the necessary assets. Apart from that, geophysics engineering is an important profession. Our graduates can work all over the world. They can find jobs both as an academic and especially jobs in oil and mining companies around the world. They can work in this field. Apart from that, Department of Geophysics Engineering is a department that does not waste student's knowledge. If you are interested in mathematics, find a counterpart of mathematics in geophysics. You can specialize in that subject. If you are interested in physics, it has a counterpart in geophysics, if you have an interest for computer programming, you can find an equivalent of that in geophysics. If you are interested in these fields, you can graduate with a good degree in Geophysics Engineering. As I said, after graduation, you can work in areas related to geophysics, but you can also work in different fields using your knowledge of geophysical engineering. For example, there are important Turkish writers such as Cemil Kavukçu and Vasıf Öngören, who graduated from the Department of Geophysics Engineering. There are cartoonists who graduated from our department. You have a chance to start a company. So you have a double advantage in geophysics. The most important feature of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa is its accumulated knowledge. Although its establishment seems quite recent, the subject matter has its roots from hundreds of years ago. For example, the first Department of Chemistry, the first Department of Geology, the first Faculty of Forestry, First Faculty of Medicine, First Veterinary was founded in this university. Therefore, this knowledge will be the greatest strength of the students. This knowledge also brings with it the expertise of faculty members. Apart from this, of course, proximity to the metrobus, physical facilities such as dormitories on campus are also a plus. Like other student clubs, student clubs from geophysics department also provide a platform for students' social and cultural interaction. I wish success to the friends who will come to our faculty and the Department of Geophysics.