Handover Ceremony at ITU

Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu, who has been serving as the Rector of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) since August 14, 2020, handed over his office to the new ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal.

According to the appointment decision published in the Official Gazette on August 16, 2024, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal became the new Rector of Istanbul Technical University (ITU). Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu, who has been serving as the Rector of ITU since August 14, 2020, handed over his duty to the newly appointed ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal. ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal assumed his new position with the handover ceremony held at the Rectorate.

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, who was appointed as the Rector of ITU, said the following in his speech: “First of all, I would like to express that I feel great pride and honor for this duty entrusted to me by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Being the rector of the Technical University, which has left behind two and a half centuries, is one of the longest-established technical universities in the world, and has played a very important role in the development and construction of our country is the greatest pleasure an academic can attain. With the awareness of the great responsibility that this duty brings, I feel the excitement and happiness that I will contribute to the academic rise of ITU among world universities. As the ITU Family, we will continue our journey of transforming a future built on the foundations of science by working together, learning together, and achieving together.”

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal proceeded as follows: “I believe that this handover will be a solid start in the academic development of ITU and the increasing momentum of its achievements with its mission to transform the future. Together with our students, academics, employees and graduates, we will continue our journey of success with the strong ties of the great ITU Family spread all over our country and the world. On this occasion, I would like to thank the esteemed scientist Prof. Dr. İsmail Koyuncu, from whom I am taking over office, for his services and work for ITU.”

About ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal was born in 1965 in Eskişehir, where he also completed his high school education. After graduating from the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at METU in 1987, he continued his academic education abroad and received his Ph.D. from Newcastle University (United Kingdom) in 1992. He conducted postdoctoral research at the same university in 1992-1994 and at the University of Karlsruhe (Germany) as an Alexander Humboldt Fellow in 1997-1998. In 1994, he started to work as an assistant professor in the Department of Ceramic Engineering at Anadolu University, where he was appointed as associate professor in 1996 and full professor in 2001.

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal has over 140 publications, 70 of which were published in SCI journals, with more than 1200 citations. Prof. Dr. Mandal also holds 6 international patents. Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal is the recipient of various national and international awards, including the TÜBİTAK Science Award. He is a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA), the World Academy of Ceramics (WAC), and the Academia Europaea (AE). In 2023, he was included in the top 2% of the “World’s Most Influential Scientists” list prepared through the cooperation of Stanford University and Elsevier.

His former administrative positions include Chair of the Global Engineering Deans Council, First Vice President of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies, President of European Ceramic Society, Vice Rector of Anadolu University and Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Anadolu University, General Secretary of the Turkish Engineering Deans Council, Board Member of ATAP and GOSB Technoparks, Board Member of Inovent, Board Member of BOREN, and Executive Board Member of TÜBİTAK’s Technology Transfer Mechanisms Support Group (TEMEG) and Engineering Research Group (MAG).

Prof. Dr. Mandal served as the Director of Research and Graduate Policies at Sabancı University between 2011 and 2015, and also as the Vice President at the same university starting from January 2012. He was appointed as a member of the Council of Higher Education (CoHE) on March 25, 2015, elected as an Executive Board Member of CoHE on April 1, 2015, and as the Deputy President of CoHE on July 21, 2016, and continued in these positions until January 12, 2018.

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal was appointed as a member of the Turkish Presidency’s Science, Technology and Innovation Policies Council on October 8, 2018, and was elected as its Deputy Chair on November 1, 2018, and as a member of the CoHE on April 27, 2019. Since January 1, 2020, he has been one of the Council Members of the Board of Directors of the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (UNTB). He was also elected as the President of the Executive Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations (WAITRO) on November 16, 2022. He continues to serve in these positions.

Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal served as the President of TÜBİTAK between February 22, 2018 and August 16, 2024. He was appointed as the Rector of ITU with the decision published in the Official Gazette dated August 16, 2024.