Ottoman Empire
Considered as the world's second institution of higher learning specifically dedicated to engineering education Istanbul Technical University (ITU) has a long and distinguished history which began in 1773. ITU was founded by Sultan Mustafa III as the "Imperial Naval Engineers' School" (Ottoman Turkish: Mühendishane-i Bahr-i Hümayun)(Turkish: Devlet Donanma Mühendishanesi) and it was originally dedicated to the training of ship builders and cartographers. In 1795 the scope of the school was broadened to train technical military staff for the modernization of the Ottoman army. In 1845 the engineering function of the school was further widened with the addition of a program devoted to the training of architects. The scope and name of the school were extended and changed again in 1883 and in 1909 the school became a public engineering school which was aimed at training civil engineers who could provide the infrastructure for the rapidly developing country.
Modern Turkey
By 1928 the institution had gained formal recognition as a university of engineering which provided education in both engineering and architecture. In 1944 the name of the institution was changed to Istanbul Technical University and in 1946 the institution became an autonomous university with architecture civil mechanical and electrical engineering faculties.
Maçka Campus With its long history of 234 years its modern teaching environment and well-qualified teaching staff Istanbul Technical University today is the personification of the engineering and architectural education in Turkey. Istanbul Technical University not only played a leading role in the modernization movement of the Ottoman Empire but has also maintained its leadership position in the changes and innovations taking place in the construction industrialization and technological realms during the modern days of the Turkish Republic. Engineers and architects trained at Istanbul Technical University have played significant roles in the construction of Turkey's highways bridges dams factories buildings energy production plants communication networks and in the development of its villages towns and cities. Alumnis also played a significant role in Turkish politics (Turkish presidents - Turgut Ozal Suleyman Demirel and Necmettin Erbakan were all ITU graduates) Since its establishment in 1773 Istanbul Technical University has managed to keep itself up-to-date by following the technological developments which have occurred worldwide. The university offers its students an educational environment which is rooted in tradition and yet open to the very latest in modern education techniques and settings. By promoting strong international relationships this public university also offers its students truly universal educational opportunities which are not limited by national boundaries.
List of Presidents (Rectors) of ITU
Number Name Background
1. Prof. Emeritus Osman Tevfik Taylan
2. Prof. Emeritus Ahmet Hamdi Peynircioğlu
3. Prof. Emeritus Mustafa Hulki Erem
4. Prof. Emeritus Emin Onat Architecture
5. Prof. Ahmet Özel Electrical engineering
6. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Santur Physics
7. Prof. Emeritus Hilmi Civaoğlu
8. Prof. Dr. Mustafa İnan Civil engineering
9. Prof. Dr. Fikret Narter Mechanical engineering
10. Prof. Dr. Hikmet Binark Mechanical engineering
11. Prof. Dr. Sait Kuran Civil engineering
12. Prof. Emeritus Bedri Karafakioğlu Telecommunication engineering
13. Prof. Dr. Kazim Ergin Geophysical engineering
14. Prof. Dr. Galip Sağıroğlu Mining engineering
15. Prof. Dr. Kemal Kafalı Naval architecture
16. Prof. Dr. Nahit Kumbasar Civil engineering
17. Prof. Dr. İlhan Kayan Civil engineering
18. Prof. Dr. Reşat Baykal Naval architecture
19. Prof. Dr. Gülsün Sağlamer Architecture
20. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Faruk Karadoğan Civil engineering
21. Prof. Dr. Muhammed Şahin Geodesy and photogrammetry engineering
Academics
Court yard of TaşkışlaThe structure of each "Faculty" at ITU is comparable to those of "colleges" in the U.S. institutions where each faculty is composed of two or more "departments." For example the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering consists of the departments of electrical engineering computer engineering control engineering electronics engineering and telecommunications engineering.
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering
Geodesy and Photogrammetry Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Faculty of Architecture
Architecture
Urban and Regional Planning
Industrial Product Design
Interior Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering
Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
ITU Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Control Engineering
Electronics Engineering
Telecommunication Engineering
Faculty of Mines
Mining Engineering
Geological Engineering
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering
Geophysical Engineering
Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Food Engineering
Faculty of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
Naval Architecture
Ocean Engineering
Faculty of Sciences and Letters
Mathematics Engineering
Physics Engineering Chemistry
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Humanities and Social Sciences
Engineering Sciences
Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Aeronautical Engineering
Astronautical Engineering
Meteorological Engineering
Faculty of Management
Management Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Maritime Faculty
Marine Engineering
Deck
Faculty of Textile Technologies and Design
Textile Engineering
Fashion Design
Textile Development and Management
Campus
ITU is a public (state) university. It has five campuses which are located in the most important areas of Istanbul. Among ITU's five campuses the main campus of Maslak is a suburban campus covering a total area of 2.64 km². The University Rectorate swimming pool stadium along with most of the faculties student residence halls and the central library of ITU are located there.
Another suburban campus of ITU is the Tuzla Campus. It serves the Maritime Faculty students and faculty members. It is located in the Tuzla district of Istanbul which is a dockyard area.
One of the three urban campuses of ITU is the Taşkışla Campus. It was a military barracks in the Ottoman era. Taşkışla is one of the most renowned historical buildings in Istanbul.
Gümuşsuyu (Mechanical Engineering Faculty) and Maçka (Management Faculty) campuses are close to Taksim Square and they are also among the important historical buildings of Istanbul.
ITU has more engineering programs (21 as of 2005) accredited by ABET (U.S. agency recognized for accrediting science technology and engineering programs- or in other words suny programme) than any other institution in Turkey.
Instruction is both in Turkish and English (circa 70% Turkish and 30% English).
Mustafa Inan Library
ITU Mustafa Inan Library has approximately 533000 books 500000 volumes of book periodicals and 6000 rare Ottoman/Latin books. ITU Library has access to international libraries and online databases. It has the largest collection on technical materials (science and engineering) in Turkey. It is Turkey’s most contemporary and technically rich library. ITU Mustafa Inan Library is the central library of the six libraries and coordination center of the library services of the Technical University. ITU Library Services' history goes back to 1795 the printing house of the Mühendishane-i Berri-i Hümayun of Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Empire's engineering school for territorial military applications - the third oldest technical university of the world).
Triga Mark-2 Nuclear Reactor and Supercomputer
ITU's nuclear reactor of Triga Mark-2 is in the Maslak campus. It is located at the Energy Institute. There are also legends which say that the ITU Lake is the cooler for this reactor. Furthermore ITU has a supercomputer and this computer is the only super computer in top 500 that Turkey has.
Arı Technopolis
ARI Teknokent (Technopolis) which is located at the Ayazağa Campus provides companies with researching technology development and production opportunities at the university in cooperation with the researchers and academicians. The technopolis have two buildings:Arı-1 and Arı-2
National High Performance Computing Center
NHPCC is located at the Ayazağa Campus. It is the national center for high performance computing. The super computer of this center is one of the world's top 500 list super computers (239th).
Atlethics
Having a suburban campus like Maslak has created the opportunity of building many sports areas. Ayazağa Gymnasium is the center of sports in ITU. Ayazağa Gymnasium also has a stadium with a seating capacity of 3500 for basketball and volleyball matches. A fitness center is also located there.
Basketball matches are among the most important sports activities in ITU. ITU Basketball Team which won the Turkish Basketball League Championship for 5 times currently plays in the Turkish Basketball League's 2nd Division (TB2L). Ayazağa Gymnasium is the home of the ITU Basketball Team. Needless to mention that the students are the team's biggest supporters.
Despite the successes in basketball the football team of ITU plays in the amateur league. A football (soccer) stadium is also located in Ayazağa where the football team plays its matches.
Tennis courts and an indoor olympic swimming pool which is opened in May 2007 are also available in the Ayazaga Campus. An open-air swimming pool serves the ITU faculties.
Other sports clubs/activities in ITU are: Badminton fencing diving winter sports dancing and gymnastics tennis paintball aikido athletics mountaineering bridge swimming cycling and triathlon skiing parachuting American football korfball handball iaido capoeira wrestling and archery.
Social Life
ITU offers many options to students who like doing extra-curricular work during their studying years. The most popular ones are Rock Club Cinema Club EPGIK. Also ITU has an option for those who like to organise events and socialise with people from various European countries in the Local Board of European Students of Technology Group which had 40 members in 2007. Despite all these it can still be a little quiet in the campus from time to time because students can choose the city of Istanbul over the campus life.
Housing
ITU has a capacity of 3000 studeng housings:Lakeside Housings IMKB Dormitory Verda Urundul Ayazaga Dormitory and Gumussuyu dormitory.
Noted faculty and alumni
Ayazağa Campus ITU Lake
[edit] Faculty
Aykut Barka - Geologist
Rudolf Belling - Sculptor
Nihat Berker - Physicist and chemist
Ratip Berker - Mechanical engineer and physicist
Bülent Evcil - Flutist
Mustafa Inan - Civil Engineer
Kamran Ince - Composer
Arnold Reisman - Historian and engineer
Celal Şengör - Geologist
Karl von Terzaghi - Mechanical engineer founder of soil mechanics
Noted alumni
Main article: List of Istanbul Technical University alumni
Most of the engineers and architects graduated from ITU are successful on their profession. Many of graduates help Turkey developing. Many of the graduates played significant roles in constructing bridges roads and buildings. For instance Emin Onat and Orhan Arda are architects of Anıtkabir. Funda Arar and Celik are very famous singers. Süleyman Demirel (civil engineer) and Turgut Özal (electrical engineer) are the two presidents of Turkey. Other famous graduates are listed below:
Necmettin Erbakan - Mechanical engineer former prime minister of Turkey head-designer of the German Leopard tank the first 27-year-old associate professor doctor of Turkey
Ali Akansu - Academic New Jersey Institute of Technology USA
Zeynep Ahunbay - Academic
Oğuz Atay - Novelist
Bedrettin Dalan - Former mayor of Istanbul
Çağla Kubat - Model
Yilmaz Erdogan - Actor
Ali Erdemir - Tribologist
Üzeyir Garih
İshak Alaton
Şarık Tara - businessman
Semih Tezcan - Academic
Mehmet Önder Yetiş - Head of the National Research Institute of Electronics and Cryptology
Faruk A. Yarman - Head of the National Aeronautics Electronics Corporation (HAVELSAN)
Sıddık Yarman - Microwave and Electronics Engineer (Specialist)
Mehmet Toner - Cryobiologist Professor at MIT and Harvard University
Ahmet Yalcinkaya - poet
Hakan Kostepen - Director of Planning and Innovation / Chief Product Strategist - Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America
Temel Kotil - Mechanical engineer and CEO of Turkish Airlines
Waleed a. Samkari Brigadier general. Former director of the Jordanian maintenance corp.
Celik Erisci Singer
Ahmet Toprak Director SF Turkish Radio (http://turkradio.us)
Paylaş