Miscellaneous

Event Abstract Back to Event Surface modified multi-functional PCL/TCP fibrous scaffolds Elbay Malikmammadov1, Tugba T. Endogan2, 3, Aysel Kiziltay2, 3, Vasif Hasirci1, 3, 4 and Nesrin Hasirci1, 3, 5 1 Middle East Technical University, Micro and Nanotechnology, Türkiye 2 Middle East Technical University, Central Laboratory, Türkiye 3 Middle East Technical University, BIOMATEN Center of Excellence in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Türkiye 4 Middle East Technical University, Biological Sciences, Türkiye 5 Middle East Technical University, Chemistry, Türkiye Introduction: Porous and fibrous scaffolds prepared using various methods are essential components of tissue engineering. Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), due to its biocompatibility and mechanical properties, is one of the most desirable polymers in scaffold preparation for bone tissue engineering applications, and there are many studies on modification of PCL to enhance its biocompatibility. In this study, porous and fibrous scaffolds of PCL containing TCP were prepared by wet spinning and gelatin was immobilized onto it to enhance cell attachment on the surface. In order to increase the local antimicrobial agent delivery to the application site, gelatin microvesicles carrying a model antibiotic were adhered on the scaffold surface. Scaffolds were incubated with human osteosarcoma cells Saos-2 to study its biocompatibility and the antimicrobial effect on E. coli. Materials and Methods: PCL scaffolds (PWS) and TCP-containing PCL scaffolds (PTWS) were prepared by wet spinning. Gelatin was immobilized on the scaffolds (PTWS-G) by grafting of acrylic acid onto it[1],[2]. Gelatin microvesicles which were prepared by water-in-oil emulsion (w/o) method were loaded with Ceftriaxone sodium and added on the samples via application of vacuum-pressure cycle to prepare the antimicrobial scaffolds (PTWS-G-M)[3]. The release kinetics of the drug from the scaffolds was studied. The effect of Ceftriaxone sodium on E.coli was determined by diffusion tests. Scaffolds were characterized by mechanical tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results and Discussion: SEM images showed that fibers of PWS and PTWS had defect-free, smooth surfaces with average diameters of approximately 200 µm (ImageJ, n=40). Compressive elastic moduli of PWS and PTWS were found to be 190 ± 50 kPa and 350 ± 10 kPa, respectively showing that incorporation of TCP improved the stiffness of PCL scaffolds significantly. EDX showed the presence of TCP on the fibers of PTWS. For gelatin immobilized samples, XPS results showed the presence of nitrogen of the immobilized protein on the surface of PTWS-G, confirming the presence of gelatin. C1s fitting was achieved to show amine bonding (Fig1). Scaffolds were seeded and incubated with Saos-2 cells. Cells tended to spread on the PCL, and the gelatin immobilization and TCP incorporation enhanced cell attachment and proliferation on the fibers (Fig 2). Conclusion: PCL scaffolds were prepared by wet spinning and modified with addition TCP, gelatin and antibiotic carrying microvesicles. TCP highly enhanced mechanical properties, gelatin improved cell adhesion and the antibiotic microvesicle system reduced the microbial load. These novel, multi-component and multi-functional scaffolds could be good candidates for bone tissue engineering applications. Authors are grateful for the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) Grant (No 213M708) and METU Grant (BAP-07-02-2014-007-507).; We gratefully acknowledge the support to BIOMATEN through the Ministry of Development funds and by METU.; E.M. is grateful to TUBITAK for his scholarship.; Central Lab of METU for Characterization Analysis

In a formal or an informal manner, computer graphics has been a field of research and education since the early 1970s in Turkey. The earlier examples of academic research work came from Istanbul Technical University and Middle East Technical University in Ankara. Istanbul Technical University research efforts were basically on computer-aided design, whereas at the Middle East Technical University, more theoretical computer graphics work has been carried on.Two examples can be given of early theoretical graphics work: A hidden line elimination algorithm by Ibrahim Canbulat, and an automated drafting algorithm by the author [2, 3]. To the best of my knowledge, the earliest official computer graphics course was offered at the Middle East Technical University in 1979. With the establishment of Bilkent University in Ankara, the first private university in Turkey, computer graphics became an official track of study, not only in computer engineering, but in fine arts as well.In this paper, we examine the current state of computer graphics education in Turkey under two main headings. First, the educational activities within the departments of computer science will be examined. Then, the educational activities within the schools of art and design will be looked at. In order to find out the educational activities at various universities, we have written to 52 departments at 40 universities. The information given in this report is based on the responses from these departments. Many departments at various schools offer technical drawing courses by the use of drafting software. These have not been classified as computer graphics courses.

Event Abstract Back to Event CpG Oligodeoxynucleotide/cationic peptide nanorings as immunotherapeutic agents Bilgi Gungor1*, Fuat C. Yagcı2, Ihsan Gursel2 and Mayda Gursel1 1 Middle East Technical University, Biological Sciences, Turkey 2 Bilkent University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Turkey Synthetic CpG containing oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) mimic the immunostimulatory activity of bacterial DNA and induce a strong pro-inflammatory response via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) signaling. To date, most of the human clinical trials involved one type of CpG ODN (known as K-type or B-type) whereas the therapeutic potential of the G-quadruplex forming type I interferon inducing D-type ODN (or A-type) remained unexplored due to product aggregation that complicates the pharmaceutical manufacturing of this ODN type. Herein we show that a short K-type ODN and the HIV-derived cationic peptide Tat(47-57) condense to form monodisperse nuclease resistant nanorings that replicate the high type I interferon stimulating activity of D-type ODN in human blood. The nanorings provide nuclease resistance, enhance the cellular uptake and alter the subcellular distribution of the associated CpG ODN. Consistent with their IFNa inducing activity from plasmacytoid dendritic cells, the nanorings localize to early endosomes. In conclusion, these immunostimulatory nanorings are effective D-ODN surrogates and could prove to be of value as anti-viral or anti-cancer agents and vaccine adjuvants in the clinic. Acknowledgements This work was supported by a TUBITAK grant (111S151) Keywords: CpG ODN, TLR 9, IFNa, Tat peptide, Nanoring Conference: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Milan, Italy, 22 Aug - 27 Aug, 2013. Presentation Type: Abstract Topic: Translational immunology and immune intervention Citation: Gungor B, Yagcı FC, Gursel I and Gursel M (2013). CpG Oligodeoxynucleotide/cationic peptide nanorings as immunotherapeutic agents. Front. Immunol. Conference Abstract: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2013.02.00171 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 11 Mar 2013; Published Online: 22 Aug 2013. * Correspondence: Mrs. Bilgi Gungor, Middle East Technical University, Biological Sciences, Ankara, 06800, Turkey, bilgigungor@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Bilgi Gungor Fuat C Yagcı Ihsan Gursel Mayda Gursel Google Bilgi Gungor Fuat C Yagcı Ihsan Gursel Mayda Gursel Google Scholar Bilgi Gungor Fuat C Yagcı Ihsan Gursel Mayda Gursel PubMed Bilgi Gungor Fuat C Yagcı Ihsan Gursel Mayda Gursel Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

<p>This paper presents a 3D guidance scheme for<br>\nUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The proposed guidance scheme<br>\nis based on the sliding mode approach using nonlinear sliding<br>\nmanifolds. Generalized 3D kinematic equations are considered<br>\nhere during the design process to cater for the coupling between<br>\nlongitudinal and lateral motions. Sliding mode based guidance<br>\nscheme is then derived for the multiple-input multiple-output<br>\n(MIMO) system using the proposed nonlinear manifolds. Instead of<br>\ntraditional sliding surfaces, nonlinear sliding surfaces are proposed<br>\nhere for performance and stability in all flight conditions. In the<br>\nreaching phase control inputs, the bang-bang terms with signum<br>\nfunctions are accompanied with proportional terms in order to reduce<br>\nthe chattering amplitudes. The Proposed 3D guidance scheme is<br>\nimplemented on a 6-degrees-of-freedom (6-dof) simulation of a UAV<br>\nand simulation results are presented here for different 3D trajectories<br>\nwith and without disturbances.</p>

Acta Neurologica ScandinavicaVolume 137, Issue 3 p. 370-370 LETTER TO THE EDITOR Preexisting cognitive impairment in intracerebral hemorrhage: Methodological issues S. Safiri, S. Safiri orcid.org/0000-0001-7986-9072 Managerial Epidemiology Research Center, Department of Public Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranSearch for more papers by this authorM. J. M. Sullman, M. J. M. Sullman Department of Psychology, Northern Cyprus Campus, Middle East Technical University, Güzelyurt/Morphou, Northern CyprusSearch for more papers by this authorE. Ayubi, E. Ayubi aubi65@gmail.com orcid.org/0000-0002-8829-9304 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranSearch for more papers by this author S. Safiri, S. Safiri orcid.org/0000-0001-7986-9072 Managerial Epidemiology Research Center, Department of Public Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranSearch for more papers by this authorM. J. M. Sullman, M. J. M. Sullman Department of Psychology, Northern Cyprus Campus, Middle East Technical University, Güzelyurt/Morphou, Northern CyprusSearch for more papers by this authorE. Ayubi, E. Ayubi aubi65@gmail.com orcid.org/0000-0002-8829-9304 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 February 2018 https://doi.org/10.1111/ane.12878Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume137, Issue3March 2018Pages 370-370 RelatedInformation

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board of the ASME Letters in Dynamic Systems and Control would like to thank all of the reviewers for volunteering their expertise and time reviewing manuscripts in 2021. Serving as reviewers for the journal is a critical service necessary to maintain the quality of our publication and to provide the authors with a valuable peer review of their work. Below is a complete list of reviewer's for 2021. We would also like to acknowledge two outstanding Reviewers of the Year.2021 Reviewers of the YearKunsoo Huh — Hanyang University, South KoreaMehmet Caliskan — Middle East Technical University, TurkeyThe Reviewers of the Year Award is given to reviewers who have made an outstanding contribution to the journal in terms of the quantity, quality, and turnaround time of reviews completed during the past 12 months. The prize includes a Wall Plaque, 50 free downloads from the ASME Digital Collection, and a one year free subscription to the journal.

in English This study investigated the social interactions of Pakistani students with their Turkish friends at a Turkish host university, Middle East Technical University (METU). The article describes the nature of the communication between students from different backgrounds from the perspective of Pakistani students, focusing on communication occurring in dorms and during breaks as settings of student interaction beyond the classroom. Qualitative data was collected through four weekly rounds of semi-structured group interviews with six Pakistani male students. The participants discussed their relationships with Turkish students, interaction patterns, and topics of their dialogue. The data demonstrates that Pakistani students had initiated and maintained conversations but as time passed, Turkish students began reciprocating and initiated conversations. The topics discussed among the two groups varied from exams to cultural differences. The findings shed light on the evolving relationships between international (Pakistani) students and Turkish students at METU, highlighting how cultural differences and language barriers impact social interactions and intercultural exchange. The significance of this study lies in its emphasis on the need for inclusive environments that facilitate international students' integration, the importance of enhancing support systems for language and intercultural communication, and its valuable insights for Global South-South study abroad programs to strengthen cultural ties. Abstract in Turkish Bu çalışma, Pakistanlı öğrencilerin Türkiye’de bir üniversite olan Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'ndeki (ODTÜ) Türk arkadaşlarıyla sosyal etkileşimlerini araştırmıştır. Makale, farklı geçmişlere sahip öğrenciler arasındaki iletişimin doğasını, Pakistanlı öğrencilerin bakış açısıyla tanımlamakta olup öğrenci etkileşiminin sınıf dışında gerçekleşen ortamlarda, yurtlarda ve ders aralarında, olanları üzerine odaklanmaktadır. Nitel veriler, altı Pakistanlı erkek öğrenciyle yapılan dört haftalık yarı yapılandırılmış grup görüşmeleriyle toplanmıştır. Katılımcılar, Türk öğrencilerle olan ilişkileri, etkileşim şekilleri ve diyalog konuları ile ilgili yanıtlar vermiştir. Veriler, Pakistanlı öğrencilerin diyalogları başlatıp sürdürdüğünü, ancak zamanla Türk öğrencilerin karşılık verip konuşmalar başlatmaya başladığını göstermektedir. İki grup arasındaki tartışılan konular, sınavlardan kültürel farklılıklara kadar çeşitlenmiştir. Bulgular, ODTÜ’deki uluslararası (Pakistanlı) öğrenciler ile Türk öğrenciler arasındaki gelişen ilişkileri aydınlatmakta olup, kültürel farklılıkların ve dil engellerinin sosyal etkileşimleri ve kültürlerarası değişimi nasıl etkilediğini vurgulamaktadır. Bu çalışmanın önemi, uluslararası öğrencilerin entegrasyonunu kolaylaştıran kapsayıcı ortamlar oluşturulması gerekliliğine, dil ve kültürlerarası iletişim için destek sistemlerinin güçlendirilmesinin önemine ve kültürel bağları güçlendirmek amacıyla küresel öğrenci değişim programlarına dair değerli içgörüler sunmasına odaklanmaktadır.

The International Virtual Design Studio (MIVDS) that was originated between the Departments of Mechanical Engineering of Union College (UC) and the Middle East Technical University (METU) is now extended to include the Mechanical Engineering Department at Queen's University in Canada, the Computer Systems Engineering/Electrical Engineering Department at UC, and the Electrical/Electronics Engineering Department of METU. The design teams that participate in this project are composed of various combinations of mechanical, electrical, and computer systems engineering students. Design project topics are selected to cover mechatronic concepts that force students toward mechatronic design solutions. After years of experience, it is now possible to draw some conclusions and report on the concept and implementation of the multidisciplinary IVDS (MIVDS) project. One important conclusion is that a strong combination of institutional support and multidisciplinary faculty commitment is required for project initiation. Success in MIVDS is highly dependent on well-defined project specifications, a single source of project information, incentives for students to participate, travel to participating countries, a balanced team structure, common design and productivity tools, 24-hour access to MIVDS facilities, and participation by all students in the manufacturing phase of the project.

Giving Art Education to Students from Different Disciplines

The concepts of efficiency and productivity are of vital importance in a world of limited resources. In this study, the productivity of state universities in Turkey is determined through data envelopment analysis, and the universities are ordered according to efficiency using a super efficiency model. Then, factors affecting efficiency are examined by Tobit and beta regression analysis; the results obtained from the two different methods are analyzed on a comparative basis. In the study, data from the 2014–2015 academic year are utilized to measure the training efficiency of 43 state universities in Turkey. As a result of data envelopment analysis, Gebze Technical University, Anadolu University, Middle East Technical University, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul University, Marmara University, Hacettepe University, Gazi University, Ankara University, and Ege University are found to be effective universities. Generally, 22% of state universities are found to be effective. In terms of the criteria discussed in this study, Cumhuriyet University has the lowest efficiency value. According to the results of the Tobit and beta regression and h-index, the number of graduated students improves the efficiency value of state universities, while the presence of medical schools decreases the efficiency value.

Archives of Facial Plastic SurgeryVol. 9, No. 5 BeautyFree AccessFrank W. Benson’s Portrait of My DaughtersLisa Duffy-ZeballosLisa Duffy-ZeballosSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Sep 2007AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Frank Weston Benson was born into a prosperous maritime family in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1862. When he was 18 years old, Benson attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts. He later traveled to Paris, France, where he attended the avant-garde Académie Julian and studied under Gustave Boulanger and Jules Joseph Lefebvre. In Paris, Benson saw the works of the great Impressionist masters and began to experiment with painting out of doors (en plein air) himself, producing works like Paris Parade (private collection). Although Benson's submission was not accepted for the Paris Salon, the official exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, his painting After the Storm (private collection), depicting 2 Breton girls standing on the shore overlooking rough seas, was accepted by the British Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1884. Bolstered by this success, the young artist set up a studio and executed portraits for members of Boston society. One of his most sensitive and intimate paintings is his portrait of the young Gertrude Schirmer (Museum of Fine Arts). In a style derived from John Singer Sargent's intimate portraits of children, Benson portrays her seated in a diminutive rocking chair. Formally perched in a stiff ruffled frock, she seems constrained by the formality of her surroundings; her delicate pink dress emphasizes her youth, and her face conveys the suppressed energy of childhood.Benson served as co-director of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts with Edmund Tarbell and continued to teach there until 1930. In his later years, he turned his attention to still-life paintings and etchings of sportsmen hunting and fishing. By the time of his death in 1951, Benson had accrued numerous academic honors and enjoyed unprecedented financial success as well.Benson was a founding member of the society of the Ten American Painters. Known simply as “the Ten,” this society comprised a group of American painters who exhibited jointly: Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, Thomas Dewing, Robert Reid, Edward Simmons, Willard Metcalf, and Joseph DeCamp, as well as Tarbell and Benson. Most, but not all, of these artists had adopted the Impressionist style while studying in Paris. More conservative than their French counterparts, the American Impressionists painted in a high-keyed pastel palette with more subtle value contrasts. And, whereas Monet and Renoir occasionally painted urban settings, the Americans painted figures enjoying the countryside or in quiet domestic interiors.Benson was initially hesitant to adopt the Impressionist dissolution of form in the depiction of his figures' faces, which he solidly and realistically rendered. Like Renoir, Benson used tight, even brushstrokes to delineate his subjects' features and limited his experiments with the effects of sunlight on different surfaces to the rendering of the background and his figures' clothing.However, by the turn of the 20th century, Benson had fully embraced the Impressionist credo of representing only impressions, or the effects of light and atmosphere on his subjects. As he instructed his eldest daughter Eleanor, “Don't paint anything but the effects of light. Don't paint things.”1 In his plein-air paintings like Sunlight (Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana) and Eleanor (Museum of Fine Arts), Benson employs characteristic short brushstrokes with a quick application of paint to capture the fleeting effects of light on dappled surfaces, and background details are lost in a surfeit of light. Benson's Hilltop (Malden Public Library, Malden, Massachusetts) depicts Eleanor standing atop a hilltop bluff, accompanied by her brother George, overlooking the shore. Eleanor holds a white kerchief above her head, signaling the unseen ships in the distance. The movement of the handkerchief caught in the breeze is echoed by her blue sash and the hem of her dress, which wave frantically in the sea breeze. Yet amid this swirling rush of fabric, the children's faces are impassive as they gaze out toward the sea.Benson's most beloved paintings evoke the seaside retreat of his country home near Penobscot Bay, Maine. Benson's favorite models were his 4 children, whom he immortalized in paintings evoking the eternal New England summer. Eleanor (born in 1890), was his favorite model, and she posed for some of his greatest plein-air canvases, including Sunlight, Eleanor, and The Reader (private collection), and later posed with her son in Eleanor and Benny (private collection). Benson painted Portrait of My Daughters (Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts) in the summer of 1907 at Wooster Farm, his summer home on North Haven Island in Maine. Earlier that summer, he painted Eleanor alone in profile perched on top of a picket fence before an idyllic landscape background, a beach cabana visible at the left and a view of the sea in the distance. In the present painting, he depicts his 3 daughters half-length before the same background. Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth, on the left, gazes down at the small basket of orange nasturtiums on her lap. Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is on the far right, turned away from the viewer, resting her arm against the railing of the bench, as she looks out toward the ocean beyond. Standing between them, 9-year-old Sylvia grasps a lock of her long brown hair and glances off to the left. Such feminine figural groupings were common in the works of the Boston School. Many of these decorative paintings of women indoors or seated out-of-doors depict “reveries,” and, indeed, each girl seems absorbed in her own thoughts and makes little attempt to engage each other or the viewer. The girls' interior serenity contrasts with the agitated light and movement of their surroundings. Benson employs the Impressionist broken color technique, in which complementary colors are placed next to each other to produce dazzling visual effects. In the landscape behind Eleanor and in the flowers in Elizabeth's lap, Benson placed flecks of blue paint next to dabs of orange to produce a visual resonance of color. His quick, staccato brushstrokes animate the natural surroundings, evoking the rustling leaves in the trees; the wind blows the girls' tresses, and the grasses wave in the breeze. In contrast to the serene stillness put forth by the academic style, with their glasslike surfaces, Benson's canvas scintillates with impasto energy, capturing the sights, sounds, and exhilaration of a perfect summer's day.W. Benson (1862-1951). Portrait of My Daughters, 1907. Oil on canvas, 26 × 36⅛ in. Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts.Reference1. Bedford FA. Frank W. Benson: American Impressionist. New York, NY: Rizzoli; 1994:175 Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 9Issue 5Sep 2007 InformationCopyright 2007 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.To cite this article:Lisa Duffy-Zeballos.Frank W. Benson’s Portrait of My Daughters.Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.Sep 2007.376-377.http://doi.org/10.1001/archfaci.9.5.376Published in Volume: 9 Issue 5: September 1, 2007PDF download

Renewable energy sources are those which are abundantly available in nature. These are solar, wind, sea, geothermal and biomass and energy generated from these sources are carbon free with less pollution and capable enough to compensate the energy generated from coal and other fossil fuels. Wind and solar energy are becoming popular owing to abundance, availability and ease of harnessing for electrical power generation. It is very common to use these two aforementioned sources to generate electricity independently, i.e. solar power acting alone or wind power alone. Sometimes, though, it is desired that two of these renewable energy resources are combined together to generate electricity and these types of systems are called a Hybrid Power System (HPS). Hybrid power systems therefore, provide increased system efficiency and greater balance in supply of energy. The presentation will be a brief overview of research conducted around the world to design and implement HPS-s that combine wind and solar energy to produce reliable and sustainable electricity for local purposes. Also, information about the research conducting in these directions at the “Novel Alloys Design and Development Lab” (NOVALAB) of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department in Middle East Technical University (MetE-METU) and "New Materials and Nanotechnology" Center of Excellence of Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU) and the details of joint research project proposal within the framework of the Japan-Azerbaijan technical cooperation program in the designing and implementation of solar-wind hybrid energy system at main campus and Techno-park of AzTU in order to supply full electricity demand from green energy sources will be given.

Guest Editors’ Introduction

Middle East Technical University, Ankara

Displaying the stages of my expedition in logic, the purpose of this essay is to admit how I have been involved in the field of logic from time to time –and how, sometimes, I have not. Therefore, starting from my undergraduate years, I shared my first acquaintance with logic and the following processes. My interest in logic has continued after my graduation and throughout my teaching life, and has never decreased. My education in logic started at the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, and continued at the Middle East Technical University and then at the University of Pittsburgh. I have contributed to the field of logic with the courses that I instructed after finishing my PhD, and along with my studies on logic, yet my competence in this field has not always satisfied me. That is why I have always asked myself: To what degree I am a logician? This essay, which is a kind of short autobiography, also allows me to respectfully acknowledge the logicians who contributed to me. This essay, which also sheds light on the past 40 years of the logic studies in our country, demonstrates the current level of logic studies. The continuation of the studies under the umbrella of the Logic Association would provide a positive impact on the logic studies in our country.