Elza Erkip Elected to the Science Academy Society of Turkey

NEW YORK, January 24, 2013 –Elza Erkip, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), has been elected to the inaugural class of the Science Academy Society of Turkey, a self-governing organization that aims to promote scientific merit, freedom and integrity.

Inductees into the society, which was founded in late 2011, are elected according to the highest standards of research and scholarship in the natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences and humanities, engineering and medicine, and membership is strictly merit based.  Its stated goal is to contribute substantially to the improvement of science education and the public perception of science.

NYU-Poly Acting President and Provost Katepalli R. Sreenivasan said, “NYU-Poly is pleased to have, through Elza Erkip, a connection to the Science Academy Society of Turkey, an organization with a deep dedication to the ideals of scientific inquiry and freedom of thought. We applaud Professor Erkip on this international recognition of her research and teaching.”

Erkip, who has been affiliated with NYU-Poly since 2000, holds degrees from the Middle East Technical University and Stanford University. She is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology, and has been the recipient of such accolades as the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the IBM Faculty Partnership Award. Her research focuses on information theory, communication theory and wireless communications including cooperative communications, interference in wireless networks and energy management in portable communications devices.

“I have a number of collaborators in Turkey, and regularly have visiting students and faculty from Turkey in my research group,” Erkip said. “I feel a deep connection to the country and its scientific community, so it is a real honor to be elected to its independent science academy and to represent NYU-Poly within the organization.”