We Bid Farewell to Prof. Dr. Aral Okay on His Final Journey

Prof. Dr. Aral Okay, retired faculty member of ITU Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, who passed away on Sunday, November 12, 2023, was sent off to his final journey by his loved ones and students after the ceremony held at ITU SDCC.

Istanbul Technical University bid farewell to Prof. Dr. Aral Okay, one of Türkiye’s most important figures in the field of geology, on his last journey. Retired Prof. Dr. Okay, who had worked in the field of geology at ITU Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, passed away on November 12, 2023.

Our professor, who had a worldwide impact with his studies in fields such as general geology, field geology, stratigraphy, and tectonics, was commemorated with a ceremony held at ITU Ayazağa Campus Süleyman Demirel Cultural Center on November13, 2023. Following the funeral prayer at ITU Abdülhakim Sancak Mosque, Prof. Dr. Okay was interred at Kilyos Cemetery.

About Prof. Dr. Aral Okay

Born in Istanbul in 1953, Prof. Dr. Aral Okay completed his undergraduate education (1973-76) at the University College London in England, where he went on a scholarship from the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute (MTA), and received his PhD (1976-80) at University of Cambridge. Returning to Türkiye afterwards, Prof. Dr. Okay worked as a geologist at the MTA Institute in Ankara between 1980-83 and became a faculty member at Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Mines, Department of Geological Engineering in 1983. 

Prof. Okay, who worked as a researcher in various countries such as Germany and the USA and is an Honorary Member of TÜBA, was awarded the TÜBİTAK Incentive Award in 1986, Sedat Simavi Science Award in 1992 and TÜBİTAK Science Award in 2002. Prof. Dr. Okay was elected as Honorary Member of Mineralogical Society of America in 2009, and received the Georg Forster Award, given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany for lifetime scientific contributions, in 2019.