A Morning with Dr. Canan Dağdeviren
On Friday, December 16 TAC students had a chance to talk to Dr. Canan Dağdeviren, the professor of physics and the first Turkish scientist to be elected as “Junior Fellow of Harvard”.
Our sister school in Istanbul, SEV American College (SAC) hosted the talk, sharing it with the live broadcast of SAC Live TV’s youtube livestream. At the Tarsus end, we watched the real-time event featuring the inspiring scientist with the teachers of the science department, grade 10, 11 and 12 IB classes. During her remarks, Dr. Dağdeviren talked about her academic career, the education and research systems in the US, sharing her views about the collaborations between the disciplines of medicine and engineering, as well as new Technologies. She talked about the details of her “non-battery operated pacemaker” project and her upcoming projects. The remarks of Dağdeviren, who managed to introduce many innovations in her area thans to her hardworking, persistent, unyielding character which helps her persevere despite challenges, were very enlightening and inspiring for many students. We were looking forward to the Q&A part of the livestream so that we could ask some questions arising the conversation as well as the preliminary research about her. Some of our questions are below:
Sema Nil Yılmaz, Grade 12 IB: Were you raised under a particular culture in Turkey? What were your observations when harmonizing the western culture of science with the one you grew up in?
Dr. Canan Dağdeviren: I think that I have thrived in many cultures, with Turkey being a place where many of them blend. It helped me immensely, making me a person who can synthesize different views with tolerance for different visions. I believed in the importance of working in collaboration with everyone, without any discriminations. I do not think that we are different from the western world and that we are all the children of the modern world. Indeed, I believe that we have many unique and special characteristics. I believe in the importance of being versatile, constantly thinking about tomorrow, setting goals and believing that we can produce things from scratch. When many times I did not see a progress with my experiments – for instance, on the first three years of my doctorate, there was no progress in any of my projects and I was very unhappy – this does not set me back. We are the children of a nation which has risen from the ashes, from nothing. We are the citizens of modern Turkey which was built collaboratively by Ataturk, the valuable people, soldiers and the Turkish people at the times when the money was low and a very small amount of workforce was available. If they were able to do that, then we can, since we have many more opportunities now. Therefore, I think that the culture, being from Turkey, a culture which is blend of many people’s ideas and perspectives have contributed a lot to me, reinforcing my analytical thinking skills.
Umut Barış Özen, Grade 11 FM: Where did you have the background knowledge about the software you developed for the pacemaker?
Dr. Canan Dağdeviren: Actually it does not require a lot of knowledge about software, rather, it requires skills of design. For the software part, you use a system already available in many parts of the US: it’s like taking direct voltage and saving it on the computer or the use of the interface systems. I learned about these systems during my internship at Bilkent while studying at Hacettepe. I even waited at the door of my lecturers, asking a lot of questions so that they could sign me up on the internship.
Handa Şahin Duran, chair of the TAC Science Department: You mentioned that you ask a lot of questions, feeding from many different people and resources. Which print and visual resources do you use?
Dr. Canan Dağdeviren: I generally love to read biographies. I love to read about the achievements and failures of the people who made a mark on history. For instance, Türkan Saylan, as told by Ayşe Kulin. Rosalind Franklin, who discovered DNA, is a hidden heroine in history, and a scientist who was subject to unfairness. Reading about her life was personally, greatly enriching. I also read about Erdal İnönü’s book. The number of such books pales in comparison to the scientific publications of course, but still, reading biographies is one of my favorite activities. I really like reading online fora, since I can get a quick response to my posts. When you e-mail someone, it may take a while to get a response from them. Fora are not like that. I can get response very quickly since it’s a platform mostly used by my younger colleagues. These are not necessarily platforms related to my area, it can also be fora for medical doctors. Membership in clubs can also be very beneficial. When I was at Hacettepe, I was the Turkey representative of the Global Association of Students of Physics. I learned a great deal there, I travelled to many different countries, meeting different people. Fora, biographies and conferences had huge benefits on me.
As the TAC family, we thank the teachers of SEV American College for organizing and sharing this thought-provoking talk.