Turkey’s first female math professor laid to rest

ISTANBUL

Dr. Selma Soysal, Turkey’s first female math professor, was laid to rest in an Istanbul cemetery yesterday following a commemoration ceremony held in her honor at Istanbul Technical University’s (İTÜ) Taşkışla campus.

“As far as I am concerned, work that is conducted in İTÜ in the field of mathematics also bears Selma’s contributions. As a woman of science and a modern Turkish woman, Selma has represented our country abroad with pride. I learned about what a human being, a teacher, an academic [and] a university ought to be like by watching her,” Professor Mümtaz Soysal, a legal expert, politician and Dr. Soysal’s brother, told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Selma Soysal was born in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak in 1924. She entered Istanbul University’s Math and Astronomy Department in 1941 and was taught by world-renowned mathematician Cahit Arf. Her doctorate thesis titled “Infinite Dimensional Hilbert Space” achieved worldwide fame.

She also attended specialty programs at universities in Paris and London, at Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She trained thousands of scientists throughout her 47-year career at İTÜ.

Soysal’s funeral was held at Şişli Mosque yesterday, after which her body was buried in the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.

İTÜ’s Deputy Rector Derin Ural also expressed the deep grief felt by the university in its loss, while retired İTÜ faculty member Professor Hande Suher said Soysal’s mentorship qualities were exceptional.

The ceremony was attended by a host of academics and university administrators from İTÜ, as well as Soysal’s family, students and acquaintances.

via Turkey’s first female math professor laid to rest – Hurriyet Daily News.