The first seeds of the National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) were sown on the Bilkent University campus in 2007. Over the past 10 years, in the ecosystem of the Bilkent University research landscape, UNAM has grown and flourished with an extraordinary track record of research success, evolving into an internationally recognized center of excellence in nanotechnology and materials science.
In this short time span, 161 international and national projects with a total research budget of over 125 million TL have been successfully executed; the related research activities have resulted in more than 800 SCI publications, 16 spin-off companies and 30 patents.
Eighty-five MS and 37 PhD students have graduated from the UNAM-MSN graduate program; some of these alumni have landed academic positions and/or received postdoctoral research fellowships at leading institutions abroad. The various achievements of faculty members associated with UNAM over its short history have been recognized with more than 60 international and national awards.
UNAM’s achievements are also reflected in its Nature Index ranking. UNAM-addressed publications in Nature Index journals constitute 10 percent of the total Nature Index publications from Turkey, making UNAM second in this ranking after Bilkent University among all institutions in Turkey.
UNAM’s administrators note that the Center has been striving for excellence in science and technology from the day it was established and has aimed to assume a leadership position in the areas of nanotechnology and nanoscience in Turkey. With 9,200 square meters of total space, including state-of-the-art shared facilities as well as 70 specialized laboratories housed in a six-floor building, UNAM is currently serving over 1,250 researchers both on campus and across Turkey, thus playing an important role in the advancement of science and technology in this country.
