We commemorated our esteemed professor Durmuş Ali Demir from the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, who passed away on February 24, 2024, with a ceremony. His loved ones shared their memories of Durmuş Ali Demir and his life at the ceremony attended by his family, friends, colleagues, and Sabancı University members.
Speaking at the commemoration ceremony, Sabancı University President Yusuf Leblebici stated that they lost a very valuable scientist and said, “He was a professor who made valuable contributions to the world of science both in Turkey and around the world and who was at the peak of his productivity. We are deeply saddened by his untimely loss. At Sabancı University, we will continue to keep his memory alive with all that he did and the students he trained. Our professor Durmuş Ali was a great value not only for Sabancı University but for all of Turkey. He was a friend who made great contributions to the world of science in Turkey.”
Expressing that Durmuş Ali Demir left a deep mark on everyone, Sabancı University Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Dean Erkay Savaş said, “Today, we have come together to commemorate and pay our respects to our valuable and respected scientist, colleague, and exemplary person Durmuş Ali Demir. Our pain and sorrow are great as we remember our professor Durmuş, whom we lost at a very young age and in a very untimely way. Professor Durmuş joined Sabancı University in 2019 and continued his success at our university. In a short time, he became a well-known and appreciated person. He established very good relationships with everyone. He left a deep mark on everyone he encountered with his personality, diligence, scientific knowledge, kindness, and courtesy. It was impossible not to admire, respect, and love him. I think I was able to establish a very good friendship with Professor Durmuş in social environments. He was very excited about physics and education. He passionately loved knowing and learning.”
Güleser Kalaycı Demir, a faculty member at Dokuz Eylül University and also the wife of Durmuş Ali Demir, spoke as follows: “First of all, I would like to thank you all for being here today to keep Durmuş even warmer in your hearts and for your support. My dear husband Durmuş was always a strong and resilient person throughout his life. His passion for being independent, free, and unique was an important characteristic that you can see both in his scientific work and in his private life. He could not unwillingly accept what the majority did. He had the courage to leave safe havens, and he believed wholeheartedly in change while respecting tradition. First of all, he was someone who always pursued his own passion in the field of theoretical physics with the aim of understanding nature and better analyzing the relationship between the forces that form it. He was very happy doing so.”
The presentation of the commemoration ceremony held in FENS G077 was made by FENS Faculty Member Emrah Kalemci, who emphasized that Durmuş Ali Demir was someone who earned everyone's love and respect with his modesty and kindness, and said, "Especially the physics group's relations with our Durmuş Hoca go back much further. He was my first assistant in the Advanced Physics course. He gave the first lessons on understanding physics through mathematical means. He was a very good physicist. He left us too early."
Mehmet Ali Alpar (FENS Faculty Member), Altuğ Özpineci (METU, FSL Dean), İbrahim Tekin (FENS Faculty Member), İsmet İnönü Kaya (FENS Faculty Member), Beyhan Puliçe (FENS, Postdoctoral Researcher), Elham Ghorani (FENS, Doctoral Student), Yılmaz Şimşek (SUNUM, Researcher) and İnanç Adagideli (FENS Faculty Member) also shared their feelings at the commemoration ceremony.
Mehmet Özgür Oktel (Bilkent University), Mithat Ünsal (NC State University), Göktuğ Karpat, Tuğrul Senger, and Uğur Asıllı (İzmir University of Economics), and Ali Can Günhan (Mersin University) sent video messages for our professor Durmuş Ali.
After the commemoration ceremony, a tree was planted in the area in front of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences to keep the memory of Durmuş Ali Demir alive.
