Prof. Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir completed his undergraduate studies in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Middle East Technical University from 1987 to 1991. During this time, he concurrently earned a Minor Degree in Physics from 1988 to 1991. Subsequently, he obtained his master's degree in 1993 and completed his doctoral studies in 1995, both in the Department of Physics at Middle East Technical University.
Between 1996-1997, 1998-2000, and 2000-2003, Prof. Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir held postdoctoral researcher positions in three different institutions: the University of Pennsylvania, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute at the University of Minnesota, respectively. Subsequently, Prof. Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir worked as a faculty member at İzmir Institute of Technology from 2003 to 2019. Since 2019, he has been a faculty member at Sabancı University.
Professor Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir worked at the DESY research center in Hamburg between 2007 and 2008, having received the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award. Among other significant awards he has received are the TÜBİTAK Incentive Award (2005), TÜBA GEBIP Award (2004), Mustafa N. Parlar Foundation Research Incentive Award (1997), and Sedat Simavi Science Award (2001).
Prof. Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir was one of the editors of the LHEP Journal. In 2020, he was included among the 'Most Influential Scientists in the World.' Additionally, he was a member of the World Academy of Sciences and he was on the executive board of the Science Academy.
Prof. Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir is among the world's leading theoretical physicists. His research interests were particle physics, astroparticle physics and quantum physics. His research subjects were focused on the effects of quantum fields at low energies (quantum tunneling) and high energies (fifth force and emergent gravity).
Yasemin Keskin
Durmuş Hoca'mızı, gözlerinde parıldayan bilim, öğrenme ve öğretme tutkusuyla hatırlayacağım. Aramızdan ayrılışının derin üzüntüsü içindeyim.
Eminim ki tüm çalışmaları bilime ve insanlığa ışık olacaktır.
Allah'tan rahmet; kıymetli ailesine, sevenlerine ve biz öğrencilerine başsağlığı diliyorum.
Sevgi ve saygıyla anıyorum.
Albert Levi
Değerli Durmuş Ali Hocam,
Haberi aldığımda saatlerce kendime gelemedim. Beraber çalıştığımız, sohbet ettiğimiz, dertleştiğimiz beş yılı nerdeyse tekrardan yaşadım.
Çok zamansız oldu. Sıcak selamlaşmalarını, tatlı sohbetini, koridora yayılan ateşli fizik konuşmalarını çok ama çok özleyeceğim.
Yattığın yer incitmesin, mekânın cennet olsun.
Prof. Dr. İzzet Sakallı
Sayın Prof. Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir için derin bir üzüntüyle doluyum. Onunla geçirdiğimiz birçok değerli anı ve çalışmaları hatırlıyorum. Doğu Akdeniz Üniversitesindeki seminerleri, doktora öğrencilerimizin jürilerinde birlikte çalışmamız ve en son DAÜ Astronomi Atölyesinde (2023, Ağustos) genç öğrencilere sunduğu seminer benim için unutulmazlar arasında yer almaktadır.
TÜBİTAK proje panelist danışmanlığı sürecindeki birlikteliğimiz, onun değerli bilimsel katkılarını takdir etmemi sağladı. Saatlerce süren değerlendirmelerimiz, bilim dünyasına sağladığı katkıları daha da anlamlandırdı. Sadece bilimsel açıdan değil, aynı zamanda kişiliğiyle de büyük etki bıraktı
Durmuş Ali Demir'i kaybetmek, bilimsel camiayı ve dostlarını derin bir üzüntüye boğdu. Ancak onun bıraktığı miras, ilham veren çalışmaları ve hatıraları ile hep hatırlanacak.
Başımız sağ olsun.
Saygılarımla,
Prof. Dr. İzzet Sakallı
Fizik Bölüm Başkanı, Doğu Akdeniz Üniversitesi
Mariana Frank
I had the privilege of collaborating with Prof. Durmus Demir on several occasions. His brilliance, breadth of knowledge and sheer ability in physics always motivated and elevated our studies. I also benefitted significantly from supervising some of the students he had previously supervised and mentored at IZTECH, students of the highest quality as physicists and human beings, who consistently kept him in very high regard. They all did him proud.
I also had the pleasure to spend some time at IZTECH and socialize with Durmus, his wife and son.
My deepest condolences go first to them, then to the Turkish Physics community, and finally to the international High Energy/Particle Physics community. A huge loss for us all.
Elham Ghorani
I started my PhD under his supervision 3 years ago. It was during Covid and I had got lots of rejection for PhD. I was hopeless and he took my hand with kindness and I was honored to be his student. He was like a second father for me in Sabanci. I cannot believe I lost him forever this early.
The courses I took from him were the best lectures I have ever attended. He was coming to the class without even a single paper or any book. He was coming with only a marker and he used to start from basics and derive everything at the moment in the class. He did this not only for basic courses but also for advanced courses like quantum field theory! He started from Newtons second law and very simple physics in the first session and continued till Dirac equation in the last session. I was all ears. I was fascinated that how he makes advance topics so simple. It was like he is telling us a very exciting story. And he was so passionate and happy while doing this. His classes was also a journey through the history of science. There is no need to mention about his personality because everyone who met him even once has noticed his kindness, generosity, and passion. During my first semester, I was feeling lonely and I wanted to go back to Iran for a while. He told me "Elham, I am your friend, whenever you feel sad or alone you can come to me." I have many things to say about him. Oh my God It was so early, so early, so early to lose him.
Recently, after one of his talks, he told me "Elham, we do not have even a single photo together. come here, let us take a photo." We took the photo and that is the only photo that I have with him. I added it to the album here. The girl wearing pink sweater and black jacket is me. When ı look at this photo, tears come my eyes... May he rest in peace...
Oleg Lebedev
My heartfelt condolences for a great physicist and collaborator.
Tuna Alp
Durmuş Hocam,
Sizin gibi değerli bir bilim insanını ve daha önemlisi tanıdığım en iyi kalpli insanlardan birini kaybetmiş olmanın derin üzüntüsü içerisindeyim. Öncelikle bana ve sizinle fizik üzerine çalışma şansı olan herkese kattığınız bütün değerler için size ne kadar teşekkür etsem az kalır, gerçekten hakkınızı ödeyemem. Sayenizde bilime ve doğaya karşı olan sevgim ve ilgim çok daha fazla arttı. Bizim için açtığınız bu yolda daha çok çalışacağıma ve daha doğru kararlar alacağıma inanıyorum.
Bunların yanı sıra bana iyi bir insan olmayı, öğrencileri ve küçükleri sevmeyi, saymayı ve kollamayı, doğayı sevmeyi ve onu anlamayı, kendime ve çevreme karşı dürüst olmayı tekrar öğrettiniz. Bunlar için size sonsuz teşekkür ederim. İyi ki sizin gibi bir insan bu dünyanın üzerinden geçti ve iyi ki sizi tanıma şansı yakaladım. Mirasınızı ömrümün sonuna kadar koruyacağım.
Işıklar içinde uyuyun değerli hocam. Sonsuz sevgi ve saygılarımla...
Keith Olive
I am very saddened to learn of Durmus' passing.
He was a valuable member of our group and it was
a pleasure to collaborate with him.
He brought great excitement to his research which we will never forget.
Maxim Pospelov
I would like to express my condolences to Durmus Demir's family and colleagues.
Durmus and I collaborated in the early 2000s, on a series of projects, when he and I were both postdocs at the University of Minnesota. I will always remember his infectious enthusiasm for science, and very passionate manner in which he pursued a variety of topics in physics. He will be greatly missed!
Ahmadjon Abdujabbarov
I have met Prof. Durmuş Ali Demir in Istanbul while I visiting Turkey in Summer 2022. I had very interesting and fruitful discussion with him at Sabanci University and after that we agreed to establish weekly meetings in oder to develop our joint projects. We have successfully finished few papers and published in highly ranked journals. Collaboration with Professor Demir was very interesting and useful for all members of the subgroup. We have learnt a lot fro him. We will miss his contribution to the Science. I believe that his former students will continue make interesting and useful research in order to tribute his memory. The GR community in Tashkent, Uzbekistan will never forget him! My personal condolences to his family members, friends and colleagues.
Those who would like to contribute their memories, thoughts, and/or photographs in remembrance of the esteemed scientist, our respected professor, and dear friend, Prof. Dr. Durmuş Ali Demir, whom we sadly lost on February 24, 2024, can use the form provided below.
