By Jeremy Bailin
On August 14, 2023, Google honored astronomer Nüzhet Gökdoğan with a Google Doodle. Gökdoğan was born in 1910 in İstanbul, Türkiye, and received an undergraduate degree at Lyons and a graduate degree in physics at the University of Paris before returning to join the faculty at İstanbul University in 1934. Her Ph.D. dissertation at İstanbul University was the very first doctoral thesis in the Faculty of Science. She was the founding president of the Turkish Astronomy Society, Chair of the Astronomy Department from 1958-1980, and served as first female dean of the university's Faculty of Science. Her work included stellar and solar abundances, and the history of astronomy in Turkey.
Gökdoğan paved the way for an outstanding current generation of women from Turkey in astronomy, including Feryal Özel, Chair of the School of Physics at Georgia Tech, who said "she's an inspiring scientist who was ahead of her time and paved the way for women in Turkey through all the roles she held and the institutions she started. A Turkish woman completing an astronomy PhD in 1930s and going on to lead academic institutions and observatories... what a remarkable achievement!", and Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College, who said "Nüzhet Gökdoğan is an inspiration to women everywhere, not only in Turkey. It's unfortunate that I became aware of her life much later than I should have, and sadly, this is a situation shared by many extraordinary female scientists whose accomplishments aren't given the recognition and celebration they deserve."
Join us in celebrating Gökdoğan, and read more about her life and contributions here.
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