Applying with Turkcell to the Marie Curie fund set up in order to reverse the brain drain as she was studying in Canada, Dr. Güneş Zeynep Kurt was entitled to use the fund. Allocated to 100 scientists across the world each year, the fund will help Dr. Kurt realize her project on advanced global positioning systems.

Turkey’s leading communication and technology company Turkcell has added Dr. Güneş Zeynep Kurt to its staff with the “Marie Curie International Reintegration Grants” awarded to expatriate scientists in order to reverse the brain drain by encouraging their return to the EU and the EU candidate countries.

Awarded to some 100 people every year in all branches of science and engineering, the Marie Curie International Reintegration Grants are intended to encourage a return to the EU and the countries in the process of accession to the EU among scientists conducting post-graduate level research in countries such as Canada, USA, and Australia.

Noting that Turkcell always worked with the best in keeping with its vision of qualified human resources, Turkcell’s Business Support Officer Selen Kocabaş said, “As Dr. Kurt was conducting her research in Canada, she picked Turkcell as her ‘partner’ at the application stage for the Marie Curie fund. Applying together, we were awarded this two-year 50,000-euro support on free terms. Dr. Güneş Kurt is continuing her work at Turkcell now and her REALMARS Project will set an example in its category in Europe and Turkey. We’re confident that Dr. Kurt’s work will greatly benefit the entire world of science and this country. We’re also very happy to empower Turkcell with the recruitment of successful scientists.”

Dr. Güneş Zeynep Kurt, who designed modems for communication on board and between NATO aircraft for the EdgeWater Computer Systems company before she joined Turkcell, explained that the Marie Curie fund was awarded on the basis of such criteria as the researcher’s academic and R&D background, the R&D capabilities of the organization she was going to work for, and the qualifications of the jointly submitted project. Dr. Kurt said, “I applied for this fund together with Turkcell as I was returning to Turkey from Canada. Two people from the field of industry were awarded the fund this year. I’m very happy to have this opportunity to put my experience to use at Turkcell for the benefit of my country from now on.”

Along with a 50,000-euro support to be spent for their project, the Marie Curie fund awardees also receive the title of “Marie Curie Fellow.” The project is expected to be implemented in 24 months.

ABOUT THE REALMARS (Research On Location Estimation in Multi-Carrier Systems) PROJECT

Focusing on location-finding in multi-carrier, multi-antenna communication systems, the project will enable more precise identification of the locations of the users receiving service by analyzing the angles from which signals arrive at antennas, employing the FTB-OMP algorithms Dr. Kurt developed in her PhD dissertation.

Positioning systems acquire growing importance in a variety of fields, foremost among them the urgent and precise identification of the whereabouts of their users in distress. In addition, they cater to the market through their use in mobile advertising and marketing and to the end users through improved quality of communication.

The project will involve the publication of scientific articles and applications for patents as part of Turkcell’s R&D efforts. Put into practice by Turkcell, the project will also generate employment in location-based services.

ABOUT DR. GÜNEŞ ZEYNEP KURT

Born in İstanbul in 1979, Dr. Güneş Zeynep Kurt received her BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Boğaziçi University, İstanbul and her MS and PhD from the University of Ottawa, Canada.

She worked on channel encoding, dilute signal simulation, and their applications to communication problems at the CASP Research Laboratory of the University of Ottawa from 2000-2005; and on smart antenna design as an algorithm engineer for the TenXc Wireless company from 2006-2007.

Designing modems for communication on board and between NATO aircraft for the EdgeWater Computer Systems company from 2007-2008, Dr. Güneş Zeynep Kurt is currently employed as a specialist in Turkcell’s Applied Research and Development Group.

Engaged in research in the fields of smart algorithms, complex network design, communication and signal processing theory, and network-supported operational systems, Dr. Güneş Kurt has more than 30 academic papers, patents, and patent applications to her creditTurkish

US Responsible For the Majority of Cyber Attacks

Amber G5 writes “SecureWorks published the locations of the computers from which the greatest number of cyber attacks were attempted against its clients in 2008. The [0]United States topped the list with 20.6 million attempted attacks originating from computers within the country, and China ran second with 7.7 million attempted attacks emanating from computers within its borders. This was followed by Brazil with over 166,987 attempted attacks, South Korea with 162,289, Poland with 153,205, Japan with 142,346, Russia with 130,572, Taiwan with 124,997, Germany with 110,493, and Canada with 107,483.”