Winners
Prof. Dr. Aytül ERÇİL received her double major bachelor’s degree from Bosporus University Departments of Electrical Engineering and Mathematics in 1979, master’s degree from Brown University Applied Mathematics Department in 1980 and her Ph.D. degree from the same university in 1983. After working in General Motors Research Laboratory for five years, she served as a lecturer at Bosporus University between 1988-2001 and participated as a founder at Bosporus University Psychological Research and Application Center (BUPAM) Artificial Visual Laboratory. Since 2001, she has been serving Sabancı University as a professor and the founding director of the VPALAB visual laboratory at Sabancı University.
Considered as one of the pioneers in the field of processing industrial images Prof. Dr. Erçil was honored with many awards in this regard. Owing to her fund of knowledge and experience in both theoretical and industrial applications of artificial vision Prof. Dr. Erçil is regarded as one of the few experts of this major in the world. Having worked as a researcher/project executive in various international projects (NATO, FP4, EUREKA, NSF, FP6, NEDO, FP7), Prof. Dr. Erçil is both the founding president of Turkish Association of Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis (TÖTİAD) and a Board Member of the International Association of Pattern Recognition (IAPR).
Vistek ISRA Vision A.Ş., which is founded by Prof. Dr. Erçil in 2006 was acquired in December 2013 by the German ISRA Vision company, which is ranked as the first in Europe and third in the world in terms of artificial vision. Prof. Dr. Erçil has been deemed worthy for many national and international awards in International Achievement Awards, Eureka Success Stories, Endeavor Entrepreneur 2010 Technology Awards Finalist, Veuve Clicquot “The Most Active Female Entrepreneur of the Year” Award, Machinery and Accessories Manufacturing Technology Winner, “2013 Turkey’s Female Entrepreneur”, “Crystal Tree Female Entrepreneur of the Year”, 2014 ANSİAD Female Entrepreneur of the Year and “Microsoft Awards for the Female Leader making a difference in IT”. Prof. Erçil, who continues to work as an entrepreneur, Is a shareholder of Vispera Information Technologies and Rebuslabs.
Having been considered as one of the most sophisticated researchers in Turkey, Prof. Dr. Erçil was granted a Selçuk Yaşar Award.
ALİ NİHAT GÖKYİĞİT
Born in Artvin in 1925, Ali Nihat Gökyiğit completed his undergraduate education at Robert College in 1946 and received his master’s degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1948. In 1956, together with his partners Feyyaz Berker and Necati Akçağlılar, he founded FNN Müşavir Mühendislik, the basis of today’s Tekfen Holding. He has still been working as a Member of the Board or a Chairman in more than 50 group companies of Tekfen Group since 1956. Ali Nihat Gökyiğit has been referred to as Tekfen Holding Founder and Honorary President since May 2015.
He served as the Head of High Advisory Committee of the world’s largest student organization AIESEC-Turkey for 35 years. Gökyiğit, who is the founding member of TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry and Business Association) and DEİK (Foreign Economic Relations Board), served as a member of Board of Directors of DEİK between 1988-2005 and of TÜSİAD between 1985-1987. Gökyiğit, who has undertaken duties such as Turkey-CIS Business Council Presidency and Turkish Representative in Black Sea Business Council within DEIK for 10 years, is the Honorary Consul of Georgia and Kyrgyzstan as well as an honorary citizen of Georgia. He is still a member of TÜSİAD and an Honorary Member of DEİK.
Gökyiğit is still the Honorary Founder of ÇEDBİK (Environmentally Friendly Green Buildings Association) and TEMA Foundation (The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats). He has undertaken the sponsorship of TEMA Foundation and mobilized its first projects towards protecting the environment and natural assets and supporting rural development. Among these projects, Camili Town Sustainable Development Project was awarded at the Johannesburg World Summit Conference. Ali Nihat Gökyiğit established Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanical Garden on an area of 50 hectares in İstanbul in memory of his wife through his ANG Foundation. He is also the founder of Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra, one of most significant cultural activities that serve world peace.
Gökyiğit was awarded the Environmental Service Award by Akdeniz University and granted a title of Honorary PhD by Çukurova, Bosporus and Gazi Osman Paşa Universities. A. Nihat Gökyiğit was awarded with the Republic of Turkey Meritorious Service Medal in 1997 and Outstanding Service Award by TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 2010; and was deemed worthy for Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young in 2009, Japan-Golden Lights, Rising Sun Seal and Neck Tie Awards in 2017.
Gökyiğit has been awarded the Selçuk Yaşar Award, owing to the social activities where he contributed greatly to the recognition of our country as well as his “socially entrepreneur” character.