10/09/2025
The seventh annual Best Paper Competition, organized by the Center of Excellence for Functional Surfaces and Interfaces (EFSUN) at Sabancı University, was held online on August 19, 2025, with a strong participation from young scientists at national and international levels, and was moderated by Prof. Dr. Emre Erdem.
A total of 22 young researchers took part in this year's competition. Finalists presented their papers to a jury for evaluation. The following winners were awarded:
- First Place Prize (30,000 TL): Seyed Sajjad Mirbakht – Sabancı University
- Second Place Prize (15,000 TL): Alper Baran Sözmen – İzmir Institute of Technology (İYTE)
- Third Place Prize (5,000 TL): Ezgi Kestek – Sabancı University
At the end of the competition, all finalists received a certificate of participation.
The jury members who participated in the evaluation process of the competition were:
- Serkan Ateş – Izmir Institute of Technology (IYTE)
- Tülay İnan – SUNUM, Sabancı University
- Feray Bakan Mısırlıoğlu – SUNUM, Sabancı University
- Meral Yüce – SUNUM, Sabancı University
- Özge Balcı Çağıran – Izmir Institute of Technology (IYTE)
- Nur Mustafaoğlu Varol – Koç University
Special thanks were also extended to Prof. Dr. Burç Mısırlıoğlu and Prof. Dr. Ali Koşar, who have continued to support the competition since its inception.
Young researchers participating in this year's competition included:
Ahmar Ali, Merve Karabıyık Özpirin, Yaşar Kemal Recepoğlu, Hilal Deniz Yılmaz, Rahool Rai, Mohamad Hasan Aleinawi, Seyed Sajjad Mirbakht, Mohammad Amin Maleki, Damla Kelle, Muhammad Salman Habib, Nazlı Öncer, Rohollah Nasiri, Kerem Tok, Fatmagül Gedik, Alper Baran Sözmen, Zeynep İrem Özcan, Ahmet Ata Ersoy, Özüm Yıldırım, Yağmur Zengin, Ezgi Kestek, Fatma Kurul, and Mehmet Kocagöz.
Organized by EFSUN, this competition aims to promote and reward the outstanding publications of young scientists in the field of functional surfaces and interfaces. The event is planned to continue in the coming years.
