TÜBA Members to Represent Türkiye at IUPAC
The appointments of TÜBA Members Prof. Dr. Sezgin Bakırdere and Prof. Dr. Önder Metin to key positions within the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the global umbrella organization of the chemistry discipline, were officially announced during the 53rd IUPAC General Assembly held in Malaysia.
Nominated by the Turkish Chemical Society for consideration by IUPAC, the TÜBA Members stood out among applicants for their scientific contributions. Following the voting process, TÜBA Principal Member Prof. Dr. Bakırdere was elected as National Representative to “Division VII – Chemistry and Human Health,” while TÜBA Associate Member Prof. Dr. Metin was appointed as Titular Member to “Division II – Inorganic Chemistry.” Representing Türkiye in these divisions, Prof. Bakırdere and Prof. Metin will carry out projects in their respective fields and contribute to innovative chemistry research by participating in various working groups, thereby representing Türkiye at the international level.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, founded in 1919, is an international organization that fosters ongoing collaboration among chemists across member countries. It plays a central role in standardization efforts involving nomenclature, measurement, and atomic weight determination.
Who is Prof. Dr. Sezgin Bakırdere?
Prof. Dr. Sezgin Bakırdere was born in Elazığ in 1980. He graduated top of his class from the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science and Letters, Fırat University, in 2001 and completed his M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry in 2003. He earned his Ph.D. from Middle East Technical University (METU) in 2009, having carried out part of his doctoral research at the National Research Council of Canada. He was awarded the title of Associate Professor in 2012 and Professor in 2017.
Prof. Bakırdere has served as principal investigator, researcher, or advisor in 40 scientific research projects supported by various institutions, including TÜSEB and 14 projects funded by TÜBİTAK. He has also mentored over 30 undergraduate research projects under the TÜBİTAK 2209-A program, helping to foster a culture of scientific inquiry at the undergraduate level.
He is the author of 384 articles published in reputable international journals, 2 books released by international publishers, and 304 conference presentations at national and international symposia. He also holds a national patent issued in 2022. His work has earned him several distinctions, including the 2019 METU Prof. Dr. Mustafa N. Parlar Foundation Research Encouragement Award, and 16 national and regional awards as academic advisor in TÜBİTAK 2242 University Students Research Project Competitions.
Elected as an Associate Member of TÜBA in 2015, Prof. Bakırdere was promoted to Full Member in 2024 in recognition of his achievements. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) in 2022 and became a member of the Global Young Academy, which has a global membership of 200, in 2018. He is currently based in the Department of Chemistry at Yıldız Technical University (YTU), and also serves as a Member of the Executive Board and Secretary General of the Turkish Chemical Society.
Who is Prof. Dr. Önder Metin?
Prof. Dr. Önder Metin received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Çukurova University in 2002 and completed both his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees at the Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Middle East Technical University (METU) under the Teaching Staff Training Program (ÖYP) in 2006 and 2010, respectively.
During his Ph.D. studies, he conducted research at Brown University’s Department of Chemistry (Rhode Island, USA) in 2009 with a TÜBİTAK scholarship and carried out experimental work at Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany in 2010. He served as a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University (2012–2013) and held a faculty position in the Department of Chemistry at Atatürk University from 2011 to 2018.
Prof. Dr. Metin has received numerous prestigious scientific awards, including the 2013 METU Prof. Dr. Mustafa Parlar Foundation “Research Encouragement Award,” the 2014 TÜBA “Outstanding Young Scientist Award” (GEBİP), the 2017 TÜBİTAK “Incentive Award,” and the “Young Scientist of the Year” award presented by the Science Heroes Association.
In 2022, he was awarded a research grant under the TÜBİTAK 2247-A National Leading Researchers Support Program, which supports pioneering researchers with established academic credentials in Türkiye.
Prof. Dr. Metin has authored 156 articles published in SCI-indexed journals, with over 10,500 citations and an h-index of 52. He currently serves as Associate Editor of the Turkish Journal of Chemistry (published by TÜBİTAK) and sits on the editorial boards of Scientific Reports, Tungsten, and Catal (published by Springer Nature), as well as cMAT (published by Elsevier).
He has supervised 10 Ph.D. and 18 M.Sc. theses to date and has been continuing his academic work at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Koç University, since 2018.