The Harvard University Department of Physics Gertrude and Maurice Goldhaber Prize, held by Turkish physicist Furkan Öztürk, is awarded each year to graduate students who conduct some outstanding research studies in experimental and theoretical areas.
“Groundbreaking” definition by the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist
This study, the first of which was published last year by the young Turkish physicist, was described as “groundbreaking” by Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Jack Szostak, and the scientific community reported that the discovery sheds light on many mysteries of how life began on Earth , to life in space.
In 1848, French chemist Louis Pasteur introduced the concept of “homocracy,” which states that some vital molecules exist in “mirror-image forms” of each other, just like the left and right hands, but the origin of this feature was not understood. Öztürk created new excitement in the scientific world with his discovery that revealed this mystery that science has been pursuing in the 175 years since this development.
The discovery, published in the most prestigious scientific journals and announced to the scientific world, was also documented in the USA.
“I didn’t expect the award”
Turkish physicist Furkan Öztürk and scientists from Harvard University spoke about the success story that earned Harvard the prestigious award at the top of the list of the best universities in the world.
Stating that he received very important feedback from both Turkish and global scientific circles after publishing and reporting the discovery, Öztürk stated that he continues to explain the results of his studies on important platforms.
Öztürk explained that he was a visiting researcher at the Weizmann Institute and the University of Cambridge and explained that in the light of the experiments carried out there, two new papers of which he was the first author were published.
In his assessment of the award, Öztürk said: “Since my research topic is interdisciplinary and a very niche area, this was not the result I expected.”
Öztürk expressed that he felt that scientists working in more traditional areas of physics were not very interested in or even liked his work, saying, “So I was quite surprised when I learned that I received the award. But of course it is an “Excellent development, I am very proud of it, I am very happy for myself, my family and my country,” he said.
“A creative company and a forward-looking legacy”
Emphasizing that the award will be of great benefit to his future career, Öztürk continued:
“However, receiving such an award is the result of a difficult process and may not have happened at all. What is important is that I enjoy this research and learning. I really enjoyed this process during my work. Above all, an idea that…” “I have theoretically and experimentally proposed a creative way to solve an important problem.” “It is a source of happiness for me to bring solutions. I consider what I have created as a creative work and a forward-looking legacy. “It is difficult to describe the feeling of satisfaction that comes from solving a deep problem.”
Both the joy of discovery and the happiness of being appreciated
Stating that it is a matter of pride to receive prestigious awards in the international community, Öztürk should not be the goal, emphasizing that sometimes important studies are not immediately praised in the scientific world and in such cases the work is done for this reason The joy of discovery should be continued.
Öztürk expressed his great happiness in this regard and said: “I am happy to experience both the joy of discovery and the happiness of being appreciated with the award. I hope that the award motivates young people who follow and support me in Turkey and want to get involved in science and art.”
“I failed many times, but I never lost my motivation”
Öztürk explained that his doctoral supervisor Dimitar Sasselov always supported him in generating new ideas.
Öztürk explained that his supervisor, with whom he was a very good friend, offered his students great freedom and supported them financially and morally in this difficult process, and explained the difficult processes that led to success in the following words:
“To be honest, this process was very difficult for me. I failed many times until I reached the final stage and showed that the ideas I had developed worked experimentally. I proposed it after long studies and was confident that at no point in the process did I lose my motivation. That's the nature of research and I love what I do. If you really want to create a new work, you can't predict what will work and how it will work. “You have to be prepared for difficulties.” Dimitar, who always supported me on this difficult and long journey.”
Furkan Öztürk also said that he kept Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's saying “He who resolves never to rest will never be tired” in mind during his work.
“It will test the chemical transformations predicted for life in the laboratory”
When asked what other doors his discovery will open in the world of science in the future, Öztürk said that the question of how life began on Earth is a very interesting and profound question.
Öztürk explained that his greatest dream is to understand how life arose and what mechanisms played a role in it. To achieve this, it is necessary to test the predicted chemical transformations in the laboratory under early world conditions.
Öztürk emphasized that his discovery was an important step towards understanding the origin of life, saying:
“Of course, this discovery also gives us various clues about life outside Earth. If we understand how life began on Earth, that understanding can help us search for life on other Earth-like planets and inform us where to look. Above all, understanding.” the mechanisms that give rise to life.” “My biggest dream is to study the physics of living systems. I believe my studies will shed light on both our understanding of the origins of life on Earth and the search for life beyond Earth.”
Öztürk, who will receive his award at the May 6 ceremony at Harvard University's physics department, said: “After completing my doctoral thesis in May, I would like to lead my own laboratory and continue my research on the physics of living systems and the origins of life .
“One of the most creative students I have seen in my 25 year career as a professor”
Öztürk's doctoral supervisor is a professor of astronomy at Harvard University. Dr. Dimitar Sasselov commented on his student: “Furkan is one of the most creative students I have seen in my 25-year career as a professor at Harvard. His creative intelligence and determination contributed significantly to the success of this study.”
Sasselov pointed out that the research was of great importance, saying:
“Öztürk's studies provide, for the first time in history, a complete recipe for how the basic building blocks that make up life are formed. These basic building blocks are, of course, amino acids and nucleotides. Thanks to the table that came out As a result of these discoveries and the recipe that this table revealed, homochiral amino acids and nucleotides: “It was shown how functional polymers such as proteins and RNA can arise. Of course, this is not a recipe limited to Earth. We can imagine that.” This could happen on any planet with conditions similar to those on early Earth.
“It is given to very few students.”
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Physics, Harvard University. Jacob Barandes also explained that the Goldhaber Prize was awarded to a very small number of students who passed the qualifying examinations in Harvard University's physics doctoral program and demonstrated outstanding achievements in research.
Barandes shared that the award winners are determined by the votes of faculty members after extensive discussions and negotiations: “Winning the Goldhaber Prize is a very special honor and the award winners receive their awards at a special ceremony every year.”
Turkish physicist Öztürk will defend his doctoral thesis, which will include his studies on homochirality, and receive his doctorate from Harvard University's Department of Physics later this month.
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