Sabancı University School of Management Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin was the vice president of the 14th World Conference on Transport Research that took place with the participation of experts from 65 countries.

Sabancı University School of Management Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin was the Vice President of the International Scientific Committee resposible for the organization of the 14th World Conference on Transport Research that took place in Shanghai from July 10 to July 15, 2016.

The conference was attended by scholars of transport from all over the world, who discussed a wide range of issues from urban transit to air transport, bicycle policies, parking problems, environmental pollution, and traffic risk analysis.

Professor Füsun Ülengin noted that one of the key objectives of the conference was to bring together experts from all aspects of transportation to create a global platform in order to discuss a variety of ideas in transport research.  Füsun Ülengin said that more than 1170 posters and presentations were delivered during the conference by researchers from 65 countries, and that the topics discussed were General Transport Modes, Freight Transport and Logistics, Traffic Management, Operations and Control, Activity and Transport Demand, Transport Economics and Finance, Transport, Land-use and Sustainability, Transport Planning and Policy, and Transport in Developing and Emerging Countries. Ülengin commented that as an academic from Turkey, she was proud to have served as Vice President of the International Scientific Committee resposible for the organization of a conference that is influential worldwide.

About Professor Füsun Ülengin:
Füsun Ülengin is a professor of Decision Analysis. She works specifically on developing solutions to current logistics and transport problems in Turkey through decision analysis techniques.

Ülengin was the Dean of the Istanbul Technical University Business School from 2002 to 2005, and Dean of the Doğuş University Faculty of Engineering from 2009 to 2013. She was also Head of Department at the Doğuş University Industrial Engineering Department during the same time.
Ülengin completed her undergraduate education with high honors in the Istanbul Technical University Business Engineering Department. She obtained her graduate degree from Boğaziçi University in Industrial Engineering. She carried out PhD studies on Management in the University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering, and received her PhD diploma, also with high honors, from the Istanbul Technical University Business Engineering Department. She did postdoctorate work in the University of Birmingham's Manufacturing Engineering Department. Her dissertations as well as postdoctoral research focus on logistics modeling. Her area of efforts is the assessment of macrosystems with multi-criteria models, and competitive analysis of countries and sectors.

Dr. Ülengin's fields of interests also include multi-criteria decision making as a group, decision support systems, Bayes Causality Networks and Artificial Nerve Networks. She has written a number of SCI and SSCI articles that have been published in Omega, Journal of the Operations Research Society, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Research-E, Transportation Research-C, Journal of Production Economics, European Journal of Marketing, The Service Industries Journal, Interfaces, and Expert Systems with Applications. She is on the editorial board of the “Transportation Policy” and “Case Studies in Transport Policy” journals.

She is a member of the Scientific and Executive Committees of the World Conference of Transportation Research Society (WCTRS), and has worked as the president of the Program Committee for World Conference of Transport Research; WCTR’2004, Odyseus Workshop on Logistics’2009, IFAC International Symposium on Computational Economics and Financial and Industrial Systems  – CEFIS ’07 and the 32nd National Operations Research/Industrial Engineering (YAEM’2012) events. She was the Vice President of the International Scientific Committee resposible for the organization of WCTR ‘2010, and was reappointed to the same position in July 2013.  She is currently an Advisor to the Transportation and Logistics Assembly of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.

Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Dr. Faruk Özlü:  “Sabancı University was Turkey's most entrepreneurial and innovative university in 2016.”

At a press conference in TÜBİTAK, Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Dr. Faruk Özlü revealed the 2016 TÜBİTAK Entrepreneurial and Innovative Universities Index that lists the top 50 entrepreneurial and innovative universities in Turkey. Continuing the tradition since the index was first compiled in 2012, Sabancı University was at the top of the list.

Sabancı University President Professor Nihat Berker said: “Sabancı University has been either first or second on the index since 2012 when it was first compiled.  We are proud to be the leader of the fifth index this year. Innovation and entrepreneurship have been the keystones of Sabancı University since its establishment. We have been leading innovation through projects and cooperation. One other important mission of Sabancı University is industry-university partnership. With our sound academic and technological foundation, we strive to ensure that the knowledge generated in the university turns into social benefit through strong partnerships with the industry. We offer all kinds of support for the development of innovative and entrepreneurial ideas across all fields. As Sabancı University, we will continue to make our name heard with innovative and entrepreneurial efforts. We owe this success to the dynamism, participation and intensive efforts of our faculty, students, alumni, employees, and stakeholders in the industry and society."

This year's index included 152 universities with more than 50 faculty members. 221 institutions contributed to data collection for the index. The top five of the index are: Sabancı University, Middle East Technical University, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, Istanbul Technical University and Boğaziçi University.

The "University Entrepreneurship and Innovation Index" consists of 5 aspects, namely scientific and technological research competence, intellectual property, cooperation and interaction, entrepreneurship and innovation culture, and economic contribution and commercialization.

The Transfer Application Results For 2016-2017 Fall Term

The candidates' names whose transfer applications for 2016-2017 fall term were results are on the list below:

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND NATURAL SCIENCES-ENGINEERING AND NATURAL SCIENCES PRG.(2016-2017 FALL)

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND NATURAL SCIENCES-INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING PRG. (2016-2017 FALL)

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES- ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES PRG.(2016-2017 GÜZ)

Sabancı University Faculty Member and Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat was reelected to membership of the board of governors of ICGN (International Corporate Governance Network), a community that brings together asset managers and investors representing USD 26 trillion of capital.

Melsa Ararat continues to be the first and only academic sitting on the ICGN board of governors, which has the power to influence investments and financial markets, particularly in the UK and US, through publishing guidances, discussion papers and surveys.

Sabancı University faculty member and Corporate Governance Forum Director Melsa Ararat was reelected to the Board of Governors of the ICGN (International Corporate Governance Network) in the General Assembly held in London. Melsa Ararat continues to be the first and only academic sitting on the ICGN board of governors.

As the Director of the Corporate Governance Forum established by Sabancı University and TÜSİAD in 2002, Melsa Ararat developed recommendations to capital markets for implementing regulations that will attract international investors, and worked with the Istanbul Stock Exchange management for the creation of the BIST Sustainability Index. Ararat is among the leaders of the implementation of the Climate and Water programs of the Carbon Disclosure Program in Turkey, and is a member of the Climate Bond Initiative (CBI) Board of Overseers.  Ararat has been the president of the Academic Council of the Corporate Governance Association of Turkey since 2013.

Discussing corporate governance in the Turkish market, Melsa Ararat said, "If we were to define corporate governance as a system of direction and management for investors in publicly-traded companies to obtain reasonable returns on their investments in an economic manner, two main elements come into play: corporate investors through the markets, and boards of directors. Unfortunately, neither element is effective in Turkey. Lack of depth in capital markets and low rates of public offerings prevent corporate investors from being effective. The market cannot fulfill its function of disciplining companies. On the other hand, boards of directors are no more than figureheads in many companies, or since their members are controlled by large shareholders, they either lack adequate competence or are not independent enough. The only way that remains is through rules and regulations. This is why companies in Turkey always complain about regulations and sometimes succeed in thwarting or delaying the imposition of new regulations."

Melsa Ararat noted that the members of ICGN include international corporate investors who hold the lion's share of the stocks traded on BIST, arguing that continued expectations of low growth in Europe for the near future may bring emerging markets back into the radars of corporate investors.  Ararat pointed out that representatives of the Capital Markets Board were invited to the ICGN annual conference in San Fransisco for the first time this year. Ararat continued, “In these exigent circumstances, I recommend companies to maintain good relations with their long-term corporate investors and be open about how they will manage the risks facing them.  For those companies that have not held their general assemblies so far, I believe that empowering their boards through foreign independent directors who are recognized worldwide will send messages to corporate investors that risks will be managed better."

Sabancı University School of Management Dean Professor Füsun Ülengin commented, “I congratulate Melsa Ararat for an achievement that advances the international success of our school one step further. I am proud that Melsa Ararat became the first and only academic member of the International Corporate Governance Network Board of Governors at a time when we must work with diligence on issues like women's empowerment and climate change today if we are to provide better living conditions to future generations."

About the International Corporate Governance Network
ICGN is a nonprofit entity founded in London in 1995. ICGN brings together corporate governance professionals led by asset managers and investors representing USD 26 trillion in assets, and issues guidelines, statements and papers to influence investors and financial policies towards better corporate governance. ICGN is an active member of all platforms related to global capital markets and the finance sector.

Students who will take the ELAE on August 31st, 2016:

1. Students who have studied in School of Languages during 2015-16 Academic Year Summer School. (Petition is not required.) 
2. Inactive students who have given in a petition to take the ELAE on August 31st, 2016.
3. Graduate students who have received approval from their faculties
4. Undergraduate students who are transferring from Turkish-medium universities

The list of students who will take August 31st ELAE will be put up on the doors of the School of Languages building and be announced on the SU web page on Monday, August 29th.

Location and Times:

WRITING & LISTENING            09.30 - 12:00 

READING                                  13:15 – 15:00

DATE                                         Wednesday, August 31st, 2016.

For the identification check to be done in time, we ask that students who will take the exam be at the exam hall half an hour before the exam starts and that they bring some official identification which includes their photograph (such as a passport, identification card, driver’s license) with them.

Students should also make sure that they bring a pencil, eraser and any other necessary pieces of equipment with them. 

Students are asked not to bring their mobile phones into the exam hall. Students are kindly reminded that if they bring their mobile phones, they will be collected.

The results of the ELAE will be announced on the external web page of Sabanci University on Friday, September 2nd at 7pm.

Graduate students will be informed of their ELAE results by their faculties.

No results will not be given out over the telephone to avoid any misunderstandings.

There is no make-up for the ELAE.

Detailed information about the ELAE and a sample of the exam is available at the link below. We recommend that all students who will take the exam check this link.

http://sl.sabanciuniv.edu/students/elae

We wish you every success in the exam.

School of Languages

For the 17th August 2016, ELAE RESULTS click here.

To the attention of students who took the ELAE on August 17th, 2016

Exam result code explanations are as follows:

SL (Satisfactory in the ELAE): indicates students who have received the required grade or above in the August 17th ELAE  and who have gained the right to start their faculty studies as Fall (regular) Freshman in the 2016-2017 Fall Semester.

UL (Unsatisfactory in the ELAE): indicates students who have not been able to obtain the required grade in the ELAE on the 17th August, 2016.

NA (Non-attendance): indicates students who did not attend the exam and is equivalent to a “UL” grade*.

Grade bands are as below:

We wish you success in your studies,

The School of Languages Directorate

Sabancı University FENS Member Dr Devrim Gozuacik was invited to serve as an Associate Editor of the Autophagy Journal.

Autophagy is:
- The top specialized journal in the autophagy field (2015 Impact Factor = 9.1).
- Among the top 20 journals out of 850 journals in the field of cell biology (Top 3%),
- Published by Taylor Francis Publishing, USA.

Dr. Gozuacik will directly work with the Editor-in-Chief Dr Daniel J. Klionsky (University of Michigan, USA) and handle peer-review processes of submitted articles.

Dr. Gozuacik is considered among the international experts of the autophagy field.

Please click for editorial board.

See Gozuacik Lab Website.

The second semester of the sixth Summer High School held by Sabancı University concluded. 428 students from Turkey and other countries attended the second semester of the Sabancı University Summer High School.

Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences member Associate Professor Murat Çokol led a joint study with Tufts University which proved that very young and very old tuberculosis microbes respond differently to antibiotics. The study was published in the world-famous Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, while another article summarizing the study was published by Nature Reviews in Microbiology.

We discussed his latest article with Murat Çokol:

Can you explain your work briefly?

The bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible for the onset of tuberculosis in over 10 million patients every year, and leads to the loss of 2 million lives. The standard treatment for tuberculosis includes taking various antibiotics together and lasts for a year. In this study, we observed in real time and under a microscope how mycobacteria are affected by the antibiotic Rifampicin. We used microfluids to conduct the experiment where we cultured a single mycobacterium in its natural habitat long enough for it to split 4 or 5 times, and then we exposed the bacteria to the antibiotic Rifampicin for 6 hours. Cells did not divide in the antibiotic medium. In the last stage of the experiment, we discovered that when antibiotic was withdrawn from the cell medium, some cells resumed dividing. This allowed us to conclude which cells were sensitive to Rifampicin, and which were resistant. 

Did these bacteria gain antibiotic resistance?

No. Antibiotic resistance as we know it occurs through DNA mutations as a result of long antibiotic treatments and is passed on to the offspring of the bacteria for this reason. The cells that we observed spawned from a single bacterium as a result of 4 or 5 divisions and were exposed to antibiotic for only 6 hours.  This does not provide for the genetic diversity that causes antibiotic resistance.

Our explanation goes like this: One peculiar aspect of mycobacteria, known since 2012, is that cell division is asymmetrical - two cells that are the result of the same division differ in size, shape and physiology. Further, smaller cells take longer to divide than larger cells. Which means that the 20 or so cells resulting from the 4 or 5 divisions in the study show considerable diversity in age, size and other parameters. An in-depth study of approximately 200 cells revealed that the youngest and oldest cells are more sensitive to the antibiotic Rifampicin.

What does this mean for tuberculosis treatment?

First of all, it explains why treatment is difficult and takes so long. Since microbes in different phases are affected by antibiotics differently, some microbe subpopulations can always avoid the antibiotic. Every mycobacterium population has to contain young, mature and old cells, and the mature cells are not sensitive to antibiotics. These can continue to divide and repopulate.

Going forward, we intend to use this information to develop rational synergistic antibiotic combinations. We will discover antibiotics that are more effective in killing mature bacteria, and combine this with Rifampicin so that the treatment is effective across all subpopulations. As an outcome, we hope to increase tuberculosis treatment effectiveness, reducing treatment duration and costs.

Your study speaks of zombie cells - what does this mean?

This is one intriguing aspect of the study; in fact, the review in Nature Reviews in Microbiology features a cartoon of a zombie-cell. Zombie cells are a phenomenon that we discovered for the first time in this study, and named accordingly. Some very old mycobacteria stop dividing when antibiotic is introduced, and do not continue to grow when antibiotic is withdrawn.  In other words, they die. But these cells divide one more time, and both resulting cells are born dead. They keep dividing even though they were killed by the antibiotic, so we called them zombie cells. These and other observations allow us to develop new strategies to better understand and control tuberculosis.

FENS PhD student Seçil Erbil's (Gözüaçık Lab) article that was published on August the 3rd in the prestigious "The Journal of Biological Chemistry reached 550 reads in only 2 months. The team received a special congratulation letter from the Editor-in-Chief Prof. Lila M. Gierasch ( University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA).

The article describes for the first time a previously unknown autophagy protein. Autophagy disorders play a role in a number of diseases from cancer to Parkinson's disease. The discovery may lead to novel diagnosis and treatment methods for serious public health problems.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and its is the second best journal in the Biochemistry filed according to Eigenfactor score. 

The article is entitled:

Erbil S, Oral O*, Mitou G*, Cenk Kig, Durmaz-Timucin E, Guven-Maiorov E, Gulacti F, Gokce G, Dengjel J, Sezerman OU, Gozuacik D. RACK1 is an Interaction Partner of ATG5 and a Novel Regulator of Autophagy. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2016.

To read the article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27325703

Gozuacik Lab web site:

http://myweb.sabanciuniv.edu/dgozuacik/