Information about 2022 Ceremony and Recipient
Awarded for the seventh time on 27 December 2022, the Koç University Rahmi M. Koç Medal of Science was presented in the fields of “Science, Engineering and Medical Sciences” to Professor Bilge Yıldız for her seminal contributions to the understanding and design of novel surface chemistries, materials for efficient and durable electrochemical energy conversion, and energy-efficient ionic computing devices.
Selection Committee
Chaired by Prof. Umran S. Inan, the Selection Committee included individuals from very prominent institutions around the globe; Professor Serdar Bulun (Northwestern University), Professor Ataç İmamoğlu (ETH Zurich), Professor Hatice Altuğ (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and Professor Metin Sitti (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems).
About Professor Bilge Yıldız
Professor Bilge Yıldız’s research focuses on laying the scientific groundwork to enable next generation electrochemical devices for energy conversion and information processing. The scientific insights derived from her research guide the design of novel materials and interfaces for efficient and durable solid oxide fuel cells, electrolytic water splitting, brain-inspired computing, and solid state batteries. Her laboratory has made significant contributions in advancing the molecular-level understanding of oxygen reduction, water splitting, ion diffusion, and charge transfer on mixed ionic-electronic conducting oxides. Her research has uncovered the effects of surface chemistry, elastic strain, dislocations, and strong electric fields on the reactivity, efficiency, and degradation in these applications. Her approach combines computational and experimental analyses of electronic structure, defect mobility and composition, using in situ scanning tunneling and X-ray spectroscopy together with first-principles calculations and novel atomistic simulations.