Professor İsmail Çakmak from Sabancı University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, received the Georg Forster Research Award given by the Germany’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for lifelong scientific contributions.
Çakmak will receive a prize of 60,000 Euros from the Humboldt Foundation, and will receive a further funding of 25,000 Euros towards scientific research and participation in scientific conferences.
The Georg Forster Research Award is granted in recognition of a researcher's entire achievements to date to academics of all disciplines whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and beyond, and contributed to solving the problems facing transition and developing countries. The award is granted to up to four researchers of the developing and transition countries every year.
Professor İsmail Çakmak is the coordinator of an international program that seeks to improve the nutritional value of wheat by using modern methodologies and tools of plant nutrition, biology and genetics. The program is conducted in 12 countries under HarvestPlus Consortium that is mainly sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Çakmak’s efforts serve as the basis of highly practical and useful applications in the developing countries
İsmail Çakmak was nominated for this prize by the University of Göttingen, and he will work at the University of Göttingen for 6 to 12 months. During this period, he will also visit Bonn University, Berlin Humboldt University, Hannover University, Giessen University, Kassel University, Stuttgart-Hohenheim University, Bayreuth University, Kiel University and Halle University for conferences and lectures as part of this prize.
The award ceremony will take place in Berlin during the Annual Meeting of the Humboldt Foundation on June 3-5, 2014
About İsmail Çakmak
İsmail Çakmak received his doctorate degree from the Stuttgart-Hohenheim University in 1988. In 2000, Çakmak left Çukurova University and joined Sabancı University. Çakmak’s awards include a TÜBİTAK Incentive Award (1994), TÜBİTAK Science Award (1999), International IFA-Plant Nutrition Award (2005) and the “Derek Tribe Medal” given by the Australian Academy of Technical Sciences (2007). Çakmak is an elected member of the Academy of Europe and the Science Academy, Turkey. İsmail Çakmak has 140 articles published in international reviewed journals, and has received more than 6100 citations (Hirsch Index: 43).