Astronomer
(B. August 14, 1910, Istanbul, Turkey - D. April 24, 2003, Istanbul, Turkey).
His father was Major General Mehmet Zihni Toydemir friend of Atatürk from the
army and her mother was Nebihe Hanım. She was the wife of co-founder of Istanbul
Technical University, and former Minister of Public Works, Mukbil Gökdoğan and
the mother of Prof. Dr. Gönül Gökdoğan, retired from the Conservatory of Istanbul
University and Prof. Dr. Can Gökdoğan, at Cerrahpaşa Medicine Faculty. She is the first woman astronomer and dean of
Turkey.
After
graduating from Erenköy Kız High School, she won a state scholarship and went
to France to have undergraduate education on mathematics-physics program (1928). After completing her mathematics
undergraduate education at the University of Lyon in 1932, she received the
certificate of “Diplome d'Etudes
supérieures” from the University of Paris. Following her internship at Paris
Observatory for a while, she returned home. She was the first Turkish professor
at Istanbul University who was assigned to the chair of astronomy, which was established
after the university reform. In 1936, she was appointed as assistant professor to
the Istanbul Technical University and she was the first woman employee of the
institution. She stayed in her position until 1946.
In
1937, she completed her doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Science of Istanbul
University. Her study was recorded as the “first” doctorate thesis (Contributions
aux Recherches sur l’existence d’une Matière Obscure Interstellaire Homogène
Autourdu Soleil) in the records of Istanbul University’s Faculty of
Science. She became an associate
professor in 1940 and became a professor in 1948. She was among the founders of
Turkish Mathematical Society (1948) and of Turkish Women's Association (1949). She
served as the president of Turkish Women's Association at various times. She
was chosen as the representative of our country for the International
Astronomical Union and the member of Committees of Solar Physics and Spectroscopy.
In 1954, she founded Turkish Astronomical Society along with a few astronomers and
was the chairman of the society for twenty years.
She
was chosen as the dean of Faculty of Science of Istanbul University in June 23,
1954. Beginning from 1958, she served as president of the astronomy department
for twenty-two years. She organized the “Keppler
Symposium” which astronomers from Turkey and Balkans joined together at the
Astronomy Department in December 1971. She was chosen as dean for the second
time in 1978. While continuing her position as the dean and the head of the
department; she retired in 1980. Throughout her academic life, she translated
her own books, as well as other scientific works. Developing joint research
programs with Meudon and Nice Observatories in France, Basel Observatory in Switzerland
and Asiago Observatory in Italy, her articles were published in many
international journals of science.