Prestigious Earth Sciences Award for Our Retired Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Celâl Şengör

Prof. Dr. Celâl Şengör, a retired faculty member of ITU’s Faculty of Mines, has been awarded the 2025 Akiho Miyashiro Award by the Geological Society of Japan (JGS) for his work on the mountain belts of Eurasia and plate tectonics.

Prof. Dr. Celâl Şengör, a retired faculty member of the Faculty of Mines at Istanbul Technical University, has been awarded the 2025 Akiho Miyashiro Award, one of Japan’s most prestigious honors in the field of Earth sciences, in recognition of his scientific contributions to the discipline. The award will be formally presented to Prof. Şengör at a ceremony to be held this September at Kumamoto University in Japan.

His research on the folding and uplift processes behind the formation of Eurasian mountain ranges played a key role in his selection for the 2025 Akiho Miyashiro Award.

In addition to his work on mountain building, Prof. Şengör’s studies encompassing various geological aspects of the Eurasian continent have significantly influenced tectonic research conducted by geologists worldwide. He clarified the patterns of conceptual change in geology during the emergence of plate tectonics and offered a unique synthesis of these processes from his own perspective.

Prof. Şengör has also played a prominent role in introducing recent developments in geological and orogenic studies conducted in Japan to the broader international scientific community.

Prof. Dr. Celâl Şengör earned his Ph.D. in 1982 at the State University of New York at Albany under the supervision of Prof. Dr. John Frederick Dewey, Prof. Dr. Kevin C.A. Burke, and Prof. Dr. Akiho Miyashiro.

The textbook Orogeny, co-authored by Prof. Dr. Şengör and Prof. Dr. Akiho Miyashiro, has become a widely referenced and respected resource in the field of geology.

We extend our congratulations to Prof. Dr. Celâl Şengör.

About the award

The Akiho Miyashiro Award is presented by the Geological Society of Japan in memory of renowned Japanese Earth scientist Prof. Dr. Akiho Miyashiro (1920–2008). It aims to honor scientists who have made significant global contributions to the field of Earth sciences.