– because I was involved in engineering and doing well in school .”
The choice of university for Acar wasn ’ t difficult . Istanbul Technical University opened its doors in 1773 – the same year British subjects in North America were tossing tea into Boston Harbor - to , “ provide engineering education in [ the ] western sense for the first time in the Ottoman empire ,” according to the university ’ s web page .
As one of the oldest and most respected engineering schools in the country , Acar excelled in college and joined the ranks of women who moved on from undergraduate to graduate studies there .
“ As a female researcher I didn ’ t experience any difficulty in Turkey when growing up because of my gender . This is because we used to have a different perception at the college level ,” Acar said . “ Since the academic faculty don ’ t earn as much as those in the industrial sector , those who stay in academia are the people who really want to do it . Unfortunately these things have been changing in a negative sense in Turkey so far but when we were growing up the perception was that female students were usually more hardworking and more likely to continue in graduate studies , especially in engineering , and thus they were highly encouraged to stay in academia . I was also encouraged by my MSc advisor , Melike Nikbay , to continue my graduate studies .”
" Everyone has the ability to think of something that others cannot even dream of ."
Another difference Acar noted was that the percentage of females in graduate programs increased in Turkey as men were more likely to take jobs in industry .
“ I know female friends who went to work in industry and unfortunately that sounds more problematic for women compared to the academic environment ,” she said . “ The women have to compete with male candidates for jobs and promotions under unequal conditions , since I know in some companies women are asked questions they are not supposed to be asked and that affects the decision of the company . Questions like , ‘ are you thinking of having a child at some point ?’ or , ‘ are you married ?’ Those questions are unfortunately used to eliminate them from a potential competition with male candidates .”
After earning her master ’ s degree in aerospace engineering , Acar stayed in Istanbul for a year of doctoral work before looking outside the borders of her home country .
“ At some point I decided in my graduate studies that I should be going somewhere else for my PhD to accomplish more ,” she explained . “ Even though we had good potential in terms of quality , there were limitations on what you could do during your PhD in Turkey , so I decided to broaden my horizons and apply to a university in the United States .”
Choosing the University of Michigan , Acar moved to America to work in the area of multi-scale materials design with her advisor , Veera Sundararaghavan .
“ The first reason I applied at Michigan was that it was one of the most prestigious universities in the world and I was sure I would be provided the best opportunities to accomplish a high-quality work .”
“ I had a very productive PhD with Veera because we had a similar way of mathematical
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