The UN has designated 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies. To celebrate the occasion – which also marks the 100th anniversary of the general theory of relativity – a series of talks will be held at Bilkent University this spring between March 18 and May 20.
The International Year of Light is a global initiative intended to highlight to the citizens of the world the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures and for the development of society. As the centenary of the general theory of relativity, the year 2015 was chosen to celebrate all of the discoveries and inventions that have led to the modern science and engineering of light.
Wednesday, March 18
“100 Years of General Relativity,” by Prof. Rahmi Güven (Boğaziçi University)
Wednesday, April 22
“55 Years On: Toward a Dominion of Coherent Light Over Matter,” by Assoc. Prof. Ömer İlday (Bilkent University)
Wednesday, May 6
“The Dark Side of the Universe and Its Future History,” by Prof. Tekin Dereli (Koç University)
Wednesday, May 13
“Emerging Schemes of Femtosecond Pulse Generation from Tunable Solid-State Lasers,” by Prof. Alphan Sennaroğlu (Koç University)
Wednesday, May 20
“Quantum Theory of Gravitation,” by Prof. Bayram Tekin (METU)