Ertaş G.

Bilkent University Institutional Repository

Applied Surface Science 256 (2009) 1269–1271ForewordFestschrift for Prof. Şefik Süzer’s 60th birthdayContents lists available at ScienceDirectApplied Surface Sciencejourna l homepage: www.e lsev ier .com/ locate /apsusc1. IntroductionI am honored and delighted to serve as the guest editorfor this Festschrift issue in honor of Prof. Şefik Süzer’s 60thbirthday. The scientific content consists of nine papers writtenby friends, colleagues and students of Prof. Süzer. The core ofthis Foreword consists of short, personal accounts that werewritten from a selection of Prof. Süzer’s colleagues, students andhis son (a Ph.D. student in applied physics). We believe thatthese are an ideal way of introducing Süzer as a scientist,colleague, teacher, friend, and father. It concludes with a briefbiographical note.2. Personal perspectives2.1. Ph.D. Advisor, Prof. David A. Shirley, Director Emeritus, LawrenceBerkeley Laboratory, USAI remember fondly the early days in Berkeley when he wasinterviewing for a Ph.D. research director, and how impressed I wasby his maturity, his seriousness, and his pleasant personality. Heimpressed me as a man who had a plan for his career, beginningwith a research fellowship from his home country of Turkeyand continuing after his doctoral studies by repaying Turkey,contributing to its scientific and educational activities.His doctoral research proceeded very well, yielding unexpectednew discoveries and an unusually strong thesis, and the rest is well0169-4332/$ – see front matter  2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2009.10.090known to you, his colleagues and students. He and I have met anumber of times since as his career has progressed, in variousvenues at conferences and in Bilkent and Berkeley. Barbara and Iwill always remember the gracious hospitality extended to us bythe Süzer’s in Istanbul and Bilkent, and especially our trips bymotorcar between the two cities.Please treat Şefik well on his special day: he deserves it. He is notonly special to you at this Symposium, but is also well regarded inthe outside world. I am very proud to have had a role in hisscientific development.2.2. A colleague, Prof. Osman Yavuz Ataman, Department ofChemistry, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, TurkeyŞefik Süzer is my friend and colleague since late sixties when wewere students in the Department of Chemistry, Middle EastTechnical University. I was his senior by 1 year, but we took somecourses and relevant laboratory education together. Our depart-ment was established in 1960 and we were excited and proudstudents of this then young university. Şefik was the best student ofhis class. While he was still an undergraduate student, he wasinvolved in a small research project under the supervision ofProfessor Kenneth Sauer from University of California, Berkeley.Professor Sauer was visiting our department and was a lecturer forphysical chemistry courses in the third grade. We used to see ourfriend Şefik, carrying some beakers containing samples in thisbeautiful green color of chlorophyll. This work, supported partly bythe United States Agency for International Development (AID), waslater published in Plant Physiology (Bethesda); I believe this wasŞefik’s first publication [1].In those years, our lives were full of chemistry, painsof growing up, love stories, heartaches and politics. We usedto work hard. I remember many picnics with classmates atgreen resorts near Ankara; these were full of joy, songs and a lotof fun.We came together again in the same department, this time asyoung faculty staff members in the late seventies. He built hislaboratory almost from scratch, designing and personally buildingmany electronic and mechanical equipment for his research; inthose years he was mostly concentrated on negative ion massspectrometry. Our laboratories were in a newly built section of thedepartment; we were working hard not only to form our researcharea but also to solve the problems related to the infrastructuresuch as heating, electricity, etc. In these early years in the MiddleEast Technical University, he designed and taught courses onphysical chemistry, spectroscopy and electronics in addition toresearch in mass spectroscopy. We were then both rather newlyForeword / Applied Surface Science 256 (2009) 1269–12711270married, enjoying the novel presence of the funny little creaturesthat joined our lives.Starting early nineties, he joined Bilkent University. Yearspassed full of teaching and research. In this process Şefik Süzer hasbecome one of the most respected persons in Turkish scientificcommunity as well as having an international fame in his field.Although he describes himself as a physical chemist, we alwaysenjoyed his seminars, research and the knowledge disseminatedby him in our field, analytical chemistry. I wish him many years fullof happiness and success.2.3. A classmate, Prof. Müfit Akınç, Materials Science and Engineering,Iowa State University, USAŞefik Süzer is one of the most brilliant alumni of the ChemistryDepartment at the Middle East Technical University. We wereclassmates from sophomore year through graduation, and we haveremained as best friends for the past 40 years. As his classmate, Iremember how Şefik would study much less than most of us, yetearn the highest score on the exams, whether the subject bechemistry, physics, or mathematics. In fact, a physics professoronce called him out in class and told him that she wished he wouldbe a physics major. Şefik’s response was ‘‘I would rather be achemistry student’’. Şefik was not only an outstanding student butalso a caring friend and team player. He would give of his time totutor his classmates and help them learn. Yet, outside theclassroom, Şefik also knew how to have a good time. He waseither a leader or active participant in social events and gatheringson campus.As a testament to his both technical brilliance and his generous,team-oriented character, Şefik has been a pioneer in internationalcollaboration in his field. Before he was thirty, he had alreadytraveled and worked in four continents! He has also kept closecontact with many of his classmates and his colleagues over theyears, both professionally and personally. He serves as a role modelnot only for his students and colleagues but also his friends. Şefikhad a profound effect on the careers of many, including myself. Iam a better scientist and perhaps a better person for it.2.4. The student’s perspective—Assist. Prof. Özgür Birer, Departmentof Chemistry, Koç University, İstanbul, TurkeyThe first time I met Prof. Süzer, it was the freshmanorientations. Although I was the only chemistry student present,he took me to his laboratory, showed the good old Kratos andexplained the principles of photoelectron spectroscopy. Of course Idid not understand much back then, but as a young and eagerstudent I was certainly pleased and honored by his care andinterest. At the end of my first year, I was already spending thesummer in his laboratory. Little did I know, this was the beginningof a long and educational relationship. I graduated after a seniorproject in his laboratory and spent another 2 years for my MSdegree.I have always admired his meticulous approach to problems,attention to details and carefully designed experiments. Thetraining I got in his lab certainly has strong influence on my career.I think the most significant example was his regard for simpletasks; simple does not warrant sloppy. In the laboratory, even thesimplest task must be completed with utmost care and if you arenot going to do it the right way, then do not bother doing it at all.His advice has always been that the developments in science comein small incremental steps, so if you are expecting something elsethen you are up for a big disappointment. I watched him withadmiration over the years while he worked on several differenttopics with success demonstrating a practical flexibility fewscientists have. He has not only been a caring mentor for me but arole model for life as well.He has also been a great teacher and a guide. I remember when Iwas his student, he once mentioned the ‘‘the upward spiral model’’of learning. Not until that moment had I realized most people learnby iterative increments over time. This certainly did not give me afalse comfort in not fulfilling my learning duties, but opened a newchapter for me about the way I perceive learning and teaching.Now, after so many years, I have similar experiences with my ownstudents, and I enjoy the pride of talking about the wisdom of myown mentor.I wish Prof. Süzer a happy birthday and a long healthy life tocontinue inspiring many young scientists and contributing to theocean of science with his giant droplets.2.5. Father Şefik Süzer written by Özgün Süzer, University of Michigan,Ann Arbor, USAThere is much to be said about Prof. Dr. Şefik Süzer, the scientistand educator, the advisor and administrator, and the advocate, butI fear I lack the technical qualification and verbal finesse to dojustice to his accomplishments in description. Ultimately, the finestandard for quality, diligence, and ingenuity he has established inthe body of work he has produced—and continues to produce in fullforce-over the great span of his career speaks for itself.Instead, allow me to account for Şefik Süzer as the family man,the loving and caring father. However, it is a daunting task toattempt to summarize my personal relationship with my fatherinto such few words—and one that I will not attempt here. I amprivileged to be one of only two people on this planet to know myfather in the unique way I do, as his child, but I am sure anybodywho has interacted with him will find my perspectives familiar, forhe is a frank and straightforward man who strives to uphold aunique set of ideals both in his professional life, and his personaland family life.Whether one sees it in his persistent strive for physical fitnessand a healthy lifestyle, which he has always tried to instill in mysister and I, despite our stubborn reluctance, or his industriouswork and personal ethic, the value that my father places indiscipline is obvious. He is an affectionate father, ever devoted tohis family, who has always wanted the absolute best for hischildren and will not take ‘‘no’’ for an answer, even from hischildren themselves. The many lessons he has imparted to us,never vague and always on point, are an essential guide innavigating my own personal and professional life.I am honored and privileged to have this opportunity tocontribute to this Festschrift on occasion of my father’s 60thbirthday. It thrills me to join so many of his friends, colleagues, andstudents in wishing him a happy anniversary and many morejoyous, prosperous, and productive years. I am sure all will agreewhen I say that, when it comes to my father, we ain’t seen nothingyet.Academic Tree of Prof. Şefik Süzer:Foreword / Applied Surface Science 256 (2009) 1269–1271 1271Reference[1] S. Süzer, K. Sauer, Sites of photoconversion of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyl-lide in Barley Seedlings, Plant Physiol. 48 (1) (1971) 60–63.Şefik Süzer is a faculty member of the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty ofScience, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. He completed his B.S. in the ChemistryDepartment of the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey in 1970, andhis Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1976, under thesupervision of David A. Shirley. He, then, carried out postdoctoral research work atSydney University and Freiburg University and worked in the ChemistryDepartment of the Middle East Technical University, before joining BilkentUniversity. He served as the Chair of the Bilkent Chemistry Department between1992 and 2007, spent sabbatical years in University of Virginia (1985–1987),University of Michigan (2000–2001), and University of Delaware (2007–2008).Recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Fulbright ResearchScholarship, the Encouragement (1981) and Science Awards (1990) given byTÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey), he waselected to the Turkish Academy of Sciences as a full-member in 1993, and has beena member of the Science Board of TÜBİTAK during 2000–2008. He is a member ofthe Turkish Chemical Society, the American Chemical Society, the AmericanVacuum Society, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, the Materials ResearchSociety, and the American Association for Advancement of Science. He had servedas a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Electron Spectroscopy andRelated Phenomena during 1980–1990, and he is recently selected back to the sameBoard as of July 2008. Prof. Süzer’s research interests include spectroscopy, surfacescience and charge storage in nanostructured materials. His recent work hasconcentrated on utilizing ‘‘charging phenomena in XPS’’ for extracting analyticaland electrical information about composite surface structures using both static(d.c.) and dynamic (a.c.) voltage stimuli. During the last 6 months, his group hassuccessfully integrated use of optical stimuli for investigating time-dependentphotovoltage effect(s). He is also the chair of the AVS Sponsored-13th EuropeanConference on Applications of Surface and Interface Analysis, the ECASIA’09, to be heldin Antalya, Turkey, during October 18–23, 2009. The conference has attractedmore than 50% of the usual participants of the ECASIA series. He is the author ofabout 135 scientific publications in prestigious conferences and journals. He hassupervised 5 Ph.D. and 13 M.Sc. students. Şefik Süzer is married to Melike, is thefather of Özgun and Özge.Guest EditorGülay Ertaş*Department of Chemistry, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey*Tel.: +90 312 2902113; fax: +90 312 2664068E-mail address: gulay@fen.bilkent.edu.trAvailable online 30 October 2009

Festschrift for Prof. Şefik Süzer's 60th birthday

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Festschrift for Prof. Şefik Süzer's 60th birthday

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