Appointments to the Presidency and Board of Directors of the Turkish Space Agency and to the Board of Directors were published in the Official Gazette.
According to the appointment decisions published with the signature of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Serdar Hüseyin Yıldırım, General Manager of Aviation and Space Technologies of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, was appointed as the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Space Agency.
Prof., one of the founders of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Aerospace Engineering Department, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Space Agency. Dr. Yurdanur Tulunay, TÜBİTAK National Observatory Director Prof. Dr. Sacit Özdemir, TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute Director Assoc. Dr. Lokman Kuzu, Dr. who took part in NASA's Mars project. Ahmed Akgiray, STM Defense Systems Inc. General Manager Murat İkin and TÜRKSAT General Manager Cenk Şen were brought in.
Varank: “We will carry Türkiye to the space league with our star staff that will realize our vision of national technology and strong industry in the field of space and aviation.”
Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, regarding the appointment of the president and board members of the Turkish Space Agency by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said, "We will carry Türkiye to the space league with our star staff that will realize our vision of national technology and strong industry in the field of space and aviation." he said.
Varank, in his statement, said, "The Board of Directors of the Turkish Space Agency, appointed with the permission of our President, was announced with the decision published in the Official Gazette. We will carry Türkiye to the space league with our star staff that will realize our vision of 'National technology, strong industry' in the field of space and aviation." he said.
Noting that the board of directors has undertaken a historical mission, Varank said, "We have no doubt that our friends, the first managers of the Turkish Space Agency, which has been on Türkiye's agenda for nearly 20 years, will act with a sense of responsibility." made his assessment.
Term of office of board members is 3 years
According to the establishment legislation of the agency, the term of office of the board members other than the chairman will be 3 years. Members whose term of office has expired may be re-elected. The working procedures and principles of the board of directors, which will meet at least once a month, will be regulated by the regulation to be issued by the Agency.
With the Presidential Decree regulating the procedures and principles regarding the establishment, duties and powers of the Agency, the General Directorate of Aviation and Space Technologies within the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure was closed. Serdar Hüseyin Yıldırım, the head of the General Directorate in question, was appointed as the President of the Turkish Space Agency.
CVs of the chairman and board members
The resumes of President Yıldırım and the board members are as follows:
Serdar Hüseyin Yıldırım: While studying at ITU Aeronautical Engineering Department, he transferred to Berlin Technical University, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. After graduating from here, he completed his master's degree in the same department. He worked as a manager and project consultant in various airline companies. He taught airline management at Kadir Has University. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of the State Airports Authority. Yıldırım was last serving as the General Manager of Aviation and Space Technologies.
Yurdanur Tulunay: She received her bachelor's degree from the Department of Physics at Ankara University, her master's degree from the Department of Nuclear Physics at Fordham University, USA, and her doctorate in space research from the University of Birmingham, England. Tulunay, who served as a guest lecturer at Berkeley University in the USA, gave lectures at METU, Fordham and Selçuk universities. Tulunay, who was a visiting associate professor at the Space and Aviation Institute in Japan, a professor at ITU and METU, and is considered a doyen in his field, was among the founders of the ITU Aerospace Engineering Department.
Sacit Özdemir: He completed his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies at Ankara University, Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences. He carried out his academic studies at Çanakkale 18 Mart, Gazi, Ahi Evran and Ankara universities. Özdemir, who currently works as a professor at the Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Ankara University, also serves as the Director of TÜBİTAK National Observatory.
Lokman Kuzu: He received undergraduate and graduate education at METU Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department. He completed his doctorate at Syracuse University. He made a career on observation satellites, communications satellites and ground stations. He worked as TV Platform Manager at TURKSAT AŞ, as a manager at Mitsubishi Elektrik, and as a director at TÜBİTAK Uzay. Kuzu, who is an associate professor at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, serves as the Director of TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute. TÜBİTAK Space is working on TÜRKSAT 6A, which will be Türkiye's first domestic communication satellite, and the imaging satellite İMECE projects.
Ahmet Akgiray: He completed his undergraduate degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, his master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, and his doctorate in Electrical Engineering at California Institute of Technology (Caltech University). He worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a space research center affiliated here. He continued his work at NASA's Mars Science Laboratory. Akgiray, who designed the radar landing systems, which are the most critical part of the robotic laboratory Curiosity that landed on Mars, is also known as a young researcher and entrepreneur. Akgiray, who currently works at Özyeğin University, works as the vice president of engineering at Alcan Systems GmbH.
Murat İkin: Graduated from Bilkent University, Department of Computer Engineering. He completed his master's degree and doctorate at the same university. He worked as a software engineer at HAVELSAN. He served as General Manager at STM Defense Systems Inc. He served as a Member of the Board of Directors of TRT Test and Evaluation Inc., and as Vice President of the Defense-Aerospace Cluster of SAHA Istanbul Defense, Aerospace Cluster Association. The latter is currently working on Lagari, the first national microsatellite, as general manager at STM. Lagari, the high-resolution micro earth observation satellite planned to be launched into space in 2020, will be the first satellite of the reconnaissance and surveillance constellation system, which will serve for purposes such as meeting the need for tactical images in the field in near real time, general mapping, monitoring forest and vegetation, examining agricultural areas, and monitoring natural disasters.
Cenk Şen: He completed his undergraduate education at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Military Academy. As a communications officer within the Turkish Armed Forces, he took part in cable, radio and satellite communication systems, encryption, information security and electronic warfare. He received his undergraduate degree from METU Computer Engineering Department and his master's degree from Bilkent Computer Engineering Department. He also received a master's degree in international relations. Şen, who worked at various levels in NATO, attended trainings on network-based structures, cyber security, information systems and information system security in the USA. He became the Deputy General Manager Responsible for Information System and Cyber Security Coordination of the Social Security Institution. Şen currently serves as General Manager at TÜRKSAT AŞ.
