Ali Mehmet Celâl Şengör (born 24 March 1955) is a Turkish geologist. He is retired from the faculty at Istanbul Technical University, Department of Geological Engineering. Şengör is a (foreign) member of the American Philosophical Society, the United States National Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He is a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Science. He is a recipient of Gustav-Steinmann-Medaille — the highest distinction of the Geologische Vereinigung e.V.

Early life

Celal Şengör was born on 24 March 1955, in Istanbul, to a muhacir family from Rumelia. After graduating from Robert College, he received his BS (1978), MS (1979), PhD (1982) degrees from the State University of New York, Albany. He writes a weekly popular science column in the center-left daily Cumhuriyet. He is married and has a son.

Controversies

Celâl Şengör is vocal in his support of the Turkish military and the 1980 military coup in Turkey. In a very controversial interview published on the website of Radikal newspaper, Şengör argued that the root cause of Turkey's political problems was the lack of an aristocratic class, which would lead the society in cultural life and politics. According to Şengör, the Turkish military is the only elite class in society, and their refinement and education make them qualified for a rule. Most controversially, he expressed his unqualified approval of every policy of the military regime between 1980 and 1982 in Turkey by asserting that being forced to eat excrement should not be regarded as torture. But later in his statement he stated that it would not be considered torture as it was not an ongoing action. Şengör later apologized for his remarks and claimed that he was misunderstood. Celâl Şengör also stated in an interview that he preferred monarchy to republic/democracy especially for judicial independence and against corruption. In this interview, referring to Plato for the ideal political system, he advocated the rule of a cultured elite against the rule of ordinary people.

Recognition

In H988, he received a honorary Doctorate from the University of Neuchâtel. In 2012, he became a foreign member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Fossils named after Şengör

Publications

Books