ternal activity is also a good vehicle for developing research topics and research support. • Provide funds for faculty who are actively involved in writing research proposals, publications, professionalandcommittee meetings, ete., including new technological developments and educational methods in their teaching. • in recent years, Turkish companies have been very successful abroad in competing with leading foreign companies. Therefore, support the development of programs that leaded to a better understanding of foreign cultures and languages and the practice of engineering on a global scale. • Encourage engineering faculty to re-evaluate the undergraduate/master's level interface by funding development of undergraduate/ master's level curricula, leading to articulation and integration of these programs, as well as enhancing practice-oriented content by bringing practicing engineers and engineering practice to the classroom. Strong undergraduate programs require a commitment to scholarly activity. The effective teaching, constant curriculum improvement, and student advising services required for strong undergraduate programs can be best performed by faculty wlıo are committed and dedicated to tlıeir profession. (Teaching and Research). Research should be an importantfunction in a university. The reasons are not that research enhances the reputation of the university, that it brings money to the university, o rthat it increases the quality of teaching. The real reason is that the major roles of a university are to impart current knowledge and teaching, and to expand knowledge through research. Therefore, a university without research is not truly a university. BALANCING TEACHING AND RESEARCH Some may not regard my view, but I would like to share it with you. 1 would like to spend a few moments about the research university and the question of the balance between teaching and research. What we do atthe u nive rsities will effect the quality of the lives of our students, and from our laboratories and studies will come ideasthatwill shape the intellectual fabric of the future and can greatly affect the strength and validity of our economy. A university is called a true university, ifthere is a balance between teaching and research. 1 strongly believe that research is fundamental to ou r activities at the u niversities. Our u nive rsity system is supposed to be our country's research infrastructure. it is in our besi interest that it should be so. The research is aform ofteaching, itisa form of learning. it should alsa be an integral part of how we teach graduate students, and undergraduate students as well. Being a brilliant teache r without research and scholarly activities will not be enough lor a university professor. Research and scholarship provide continuous renewal. On the other hand, if a KONFERANS professor, especially a young faculty member, emphasizes research, it must not come at the expense of teaching poorly. At the universities, my own experience is to maintain a strong commitment to both teaching and research at each stage throughout one's career. Young Ph.D. holders generally aim to join the academic life or intend to work in research institutions. Therefore, they should be soeducated that they like to teach and enjoy performing scholarly activity. lf a young Ph. □. hol der does not like to teach and does not want to do research, he should l ook lor another job. OPPORTUNITIES AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY Engineering education should look ahead to define new opportunities within industry and should explore tlıe changes that are beginning to occur in University-industry relations. The interaction witlı industry can lead the way by investing joint research ventures and otlıer innovative concepts. Cooperation between industry and academia should be viewed as a basic factor in the competitiveness of our countries' industries. (Bilim-Teknoloji-Sanayi üçlemesi). Engineering education needs to address not only the challenges of what a technological education slıould coıısist of, but who should benefit from it. The engineering profession slıould strengtlıen the concept of an "intellectual bridge" between engineering and its surrounding communities and the nation, so that scientists, engineers, and technical professionals share in gaining access to the information and material being made available. This is true of interactions between engineers in university laboratories and engineers in industry. in essence, the necessary bridges will be built by those who have had real working experience in both places. This is where the university will become more aware of the value of university partners to tlıeir own objectives. TÜBİTAK and AEK lıave been playing an important role in identifying research opportunities in industry, especiallyTÜBİTAK, through Endüstriyel İlişkiler Ünitesi. These efforts should be continued and intensified. TÜBİTAK must rely on industry to help shape the research and educational agenda, to outline the technical challenges and to assist in the support of academic institutions. By serving as a catalyst for industry/university partnerships, TÜBİTAK must help ensurethat intellectual capital and emerging technologies are broug ht togethe r in ways that promote economic growth and an improved quality of life. The selection of tlıe research topics are important. At Ph.D. and M.S. level, but preferably in Ph.D. level, research projects should resul! in original contributions forthe advancement of engineering science and applications. Thesis topics and the funding must be directed towards emerging technologies (Jenerik 19 teknolojiler, see Bilim ve Teknoloji strateji ve Politika Çalışmaları, TÜBİTAK, BTP 94/02, 1994). in our country, there is a tendency that at the universities, we compete with local industrial and consultant firms lor funded research. Universities are institutions where research and development are important (AR-GE). We have to work on tlıe projects that local firms cannotdo becauseofthe inadequacy in equipment or expertise. Therefore we have to be very selective in obtaining funded research. Ontheother hand, our industrial research and consultant activities should not be done at the expense of teaching poorly. THE TECHNOLOGY AREAS OF ECONOMIC I TEREST TO THE NATION Nit is important tlıat we have to recognize the importance of research in the technology areas of greatest economic interest to our nation. TÜBİTAK's (or other institutions') sponsored national workshops should be organized to identify tlıe specific areas of interest in variou s fields. (Examples: Energy, Communications, manufacturing and Materials Processing, Digital Data Processing, Environment, Aerospace, Nuclear Energy, ete.). TÜBİTAK has already organized one: TürkiyeÜniversite-Sanayi İşbirliği şurası, TÜBİTAK. BTP 94/02, 1994. The results of a nationwide solicitation will result in tlıe lisl of critical technologies. For example, thermal engineering, which deals with tlıe flow of fluids and the transfer of heat and mass, is one of critical importance to the industrial future of Türkiye. lmproved design of energy efficient power systems, heat-exchange equipment, processing of new materials, manufacturing processes, fluidized-bed boilers, safety of nuclear power plants, alternative and more efficient HVAC systems and advanced development in computing and information systemsareexamples of technologies whose future depend on aggressive researclı in thermal engineering. Objectives: (1) ldenlify tlıe key technology areas affecting the future economic strenglh of our country. (2) ldentify the specific research areas (electronics, thermal engineering, ete.) in specific fields holding g reatest potenlial for advancing our country's economic industrial output. As a first step in the program, a preliminary survey ofthe specific area (Thermal Engineering, Electronics, ete.) community should be conducted. The results of this nationwide solicitation will indicate the major challenges i n certain teclınology areas. M y view is that for Tlıermal Engineering, major challenges are in the following technology areas: • Energy • Heat Exclıangers • Environment
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