Salim Ciraci - Biography#
Professor Dr. Salim Ciraci graduated from Technical University of İstanbul, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1965 with the highest ranking of the university obtained within several years. From 1969 on, he continued his research activities in Materials Science and Condensed Matter Physics in USA and received his M.S. (1970) and Ph.D (1973) degrees from Stanford University. After his post doctoral study at Stanford University, he continued in IBM San Jose Laboratories. He joined Bilkent University in 1986 and founded the Department of Physics as the Founding Chairman. At the same time he established Advanced Research Laboratory, an advanced research facility on compound semiconductor devices. Subsequently, as the Founding Dean he established the Faculty of Science, which comprises Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Molecular Biology and Genetics Departments. He was also appointed the director of BICAS-Bilkent International Center for Advanced Studies. The departments of Faculty of Science have been among the top ten engineering and science departments of Turkey and attracted the most talented high school graduates and trained several bright young scientists, who are now contributing to the advancement of science and technology. Professor Ciraci, by himself served as a mentor or supervised several bright students, who are interested in science.
In addition to his membership in NATO’s scientific panel and his consultations to ESF on Nanotechnology, Professor Ciraci has played a leading role in the planning of the research road map of nanotechnology. Through his public talks and popular articles, he created a public awareness of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Later, he founded first National Nanotechnology Research Center of Turkey (UNAM), which is being considered a potential model for the advancement of science and technology in Turkey. He hired young scientists and organized them to do research at the frontiers of Nanoscience. Based on patents, high impact scientific research papers and graduate research in 2012, UNAM is one of the top research institutions of Turkey.
Professor Ciraci, being a Condensed Matter Physicist, is well known internationally through his seminal researches and contributions to surface physics; surface and interface states; semiconductor physics; theory of scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopy; quantum ballistic electron transport-quantization charge and heat transport; nanotribology; nanotubes and nanowires, carbon chains; high capacity hydrogen storage; graphene, its derivatives and their nanoribbons. Most recently, his efforts going back to 2005 have resulted in the prediction of stable, single layer of silicon and germanium honeycomb structures (named as silicene and germanene) having charge carriers with massless Fermion behavior have started an active field of research. Moreover, he and his students predicted more than 60 stable, single layer, honeycomb structures of Group III-V compounds and MX2 transition metal dichalcogenides; some of which have properties superior to graphene. Some of these structures have already been synthesized.
Presently, Professor Ciraci is spending all his efforts to create a world-class National Nanotechnology Center with state-of-the-art research environment also a user facility providing service and consultations to all researchers from outside. In the same center, he also running a multi-disciplinary graduate program to educate world-class scientists and entrepreneurs.
He published 244 scientific papers in respectable SCI Journals, which were cited 7500 times. He has h-factor =50 acording to Web of Science. Professor Ciraci is a full member of Academy of Science of Turkey, and received the 1980 Sedat Simavi Science Prize and the 1985 Science Prize of the Scientific Research Council of Turkey.
