Engin Arık (October 14, 1948 – November 30, 2007) was a Turkish
particle physicist
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the scale of protons and ...
and professor at
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...
.
[Physics expert, baby among plane dead](_blank)
, CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, November 30, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007. She led the Turkish participation in a number of experiments at
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...
. Arık was a prominent supporter of Turkey's membership to CERN and the founding of a national particle accelerator center as a means to utilize
thorium
Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...
as an
energy source
Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include the production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and reu ...
.
She has also represented Turkey at the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is an international organization that will be established upon the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a Convention that outlaws nuclear test explosions. I ...
for a number of years.
She died in the
Atlasjet Flight 4203 crash on November 30, 2007.
Education
Arık graduated from
Istanbul University
Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...
in 1969 with a
BSc in physics and mathematics.
As a graduate student, Arik attended
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
where she earned a master's degree in 1971 and a PhD in 1976 in experimental high energy physics, where she worked on the E583 experiment at
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratories, United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, a hamlet of the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven. It w ...
.
Arık's thesis was titled "Inclusive lambda production in sigma minus - proton collisions at 23 GeV/c." Following her PhD, Arık went to
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
, Westfield College for postdoctoral work. Here she worked in high energy physics research being carried out at the
Rutherford Laboratory and later at the
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...
Laboratory.
While working as a postdoctoral researcher, she contributed to the "measurement of observables in
."
Career
In 1979, Arık returned to Turkey and joined the Department of Physics at
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...
, first as a lecturer, then in 1981 as an associate professor.
[Petrogas "Who is Prof. Engin Arık"](_blank)
In 1983, Arık briefly left her position at the university to work in industry with
Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation (CDC) was a mainframe and supercomputer company that in the 1960s was one of the nine major U.S. computer companies, which group included IBM, the Burroughs Corporation, and the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), the N ...
.
Arık would return to
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...
in 1985 and in 1988, she received a full professorship.
While teaching at
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...
, Arık performed research in the field of
high energy physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the scale of protons and neutrons, while the stu ...
.
Her work faced limitations due to a scarcity of resources in Turkey available for this area of research.
In the early 1990s she joined experiments at CERN as a collaborator.
Experiments she was a part of include: CHARM II, CHORUS, Spin Muon Collaboration (SMC),
ATLAS
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets.
Atlases have traditio ...
, and
CERN Axion Solar Telescope
The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is an experiment in astroparticle physics to search for axions originating from the Sun. The experiment, sited at CERN in Switzerland, was commissioned in 1999 and came online in 2002 with the first data-t ...
(CAST).
During her career Arık supported a movement for Turkey to become a full member of CERN as opposed to an associate member.
A supporter of women in science, she was amongst the founders of the ATLAS Women's Network.
From 1997 to 2000 Arık was appointed to represent Turkey at the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is an international organization that will be established upon the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a Convention that outlaws nuclear test explosions. I ...
, which was held at the headquarters of the
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...
(IAEA) in
Vienna, Austria
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
.
During this time, Arık commuted between Geneva, Istanbul and Vienna.
Arık spoke often about the use of
thorium
Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...
as an energy source in a new generation of
Nuclear Power Plants
A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power s ...
, calling it "the most strategic material of the 21st century."
Throughout her career, Arık published more than 100 studies in the fields of experimental high energy physics (HEP), detectors, applications of nuclear physics, and mathematical physics.
She was the vice president of the Turkish Physical Society between 2001 and 2003. After she died she was described as a "bannerbearer" for HEP in her country, and "one of the engin(es)" for the HEP community.
Death and legacy

Arık died in the
Atlasjet Flight 4203 crash on November 30, 2007.
She was traveling with two students and three colleagues to
Isparta, Turkey for the fourth workshop on a potential Turkish particle accelerator design.
After she died a fellowship at CERN was established in her memory.
Until 2015, the fellowship supported a total of 45 Turkish students so that they could attend CERN's Summer Student Program.
Funding for the fellowship was provided by institutes, individuals, and private businesses.
An international conference was held at
Boğaziçi University
Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...
in İstanbul on October 27–31, 2008 in memory of Arık and her colleagues. Another iteration was held three years later, organized jointly by the
Doğuş and Boğaziçi Universities, with support from CERN and the
Turkish Academy of Sciences
The Turkish Academy of Sciences ( – TÜBA) is an autonomous scholarly association aimed at promoting scientific activities in Turkey. Although it is attached to the office of the Presidency and is largely funded by the government, it maintains f ...
. In 2013, her name was given to the main conference room at the accelerator institute building she helped found. The building is now part of TARLA, the Turkish Accelerator Radiation Laboratory.
A street has been named after Arık in the İlkyerleşim neighborhood of the
Yenimahalle
Yenimahalle is a municipality and metropolitan district of Ankara Province, Turkey. Its area is 219 km2, and its population is 704,652 (2022). It is a fast-growing urban residential district of the city of Ankara, Turkey's capital. Its elev ...
district in
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
, Turkey. A monument at the
Süleyman Demirel University
Süleyman Demirel University (SDU) () is a public List of universities in Turkey, university located in Isparta, Turkey. Established in 1992, the university, with around 70.000 students, is the second largest academic institution in Turkey. S ...
commemorating the six scientists who died at the plane crash has a bust of Arık specifically.
Assassination allegations
There are various assassination allegations about Engin Arık's death. After the plane crash, some groups claimed that it was an assassination and that the accident was preplanned.
An investigation has been opened on this issue and is still ongoing.
References
External links
Publications listScientific publications of Engin Arıkon
INSPIRE-HEP
INSPIRE-HEP is an open access digital library for the field of high energy physics (HEP). It is the successor of the Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System (SPIRES) database, the main literature database for high energy physics since the 1 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arik, Engin
1948 births
2007 deaths
Alumni of Westfield College
Academic staff of Boğaziçi University
People associated with CERN
Istanbul University alumni
Turkish nuclear physicists
University of Pittsburgh alumni
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Turkey
Women nuclear physicists
20th-century Turkish non-fiction writers
Turkish women physicists
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2007