Volkan Ş. Ediger, scientist, writer, bureaucrat. Assigned as the first Energy Adviser to the President of Turkish Republic in 1998 and has worked with three presidents since then. Awarded with Sedat Simavi Social Sciences Award in 2006 for his book Neft and Petroleum in the Ottoman Empire and became one of the few scientists awarded on social sciences field. He is also the first recipient of the Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists’ Cevat Eyüp Taşman Award in 2007. Recently nominated for his studies on sustainable energy to the “Eni Award 2009” which is expected to be the future Nobel Prize of Energy.

Education

Ediger completed his undergraduate (1976) and M.Sc. (1980) studies at Geological Engineering Department of the Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkey and Ph.D. study at the Department of Geosciences of the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), USA (1986). He was entitled as Associate Professor in 1992.

R&D Works in Industry

Dr. Ediger’s professional career has been shaped between industry, academics and bureaucracy simultaneously. He started his works in industry at the Research Center of Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in 1977 and served here as chief, manager, deputy head, and project adviser over the years. His career at TPAO mostly included implementation and management of a number of national and international petroleum research projects until 1998 when he became advisor to the president of Turkey. During his industrial career, with the help of United Nations Development Programme Fellowship, he gained great experience on R&D project management during his visit to oil companies and universities in the USA. His research studies on petroleum, coal and other energy issues, which he conducted at TPAO, PSU and METU, were published in various national and international scientific and technical periodicals.

Academic Studies

Dr. Ediger started his academic studies as teaching assistant in METU in 1976-1977 and continued in PSU as research and teaching assistants and laboratory coordinator between 1982 and 1985. He has been giving undergraduate and graduate courses on various energy subjects and also supervising M.Sc and Ph.D. thesis in METU since 1987. His teaching was awarded by the students of the Department of Geological Engineering of METU in 2001. He also received the METU Best Thesis Supervisor Award in 2006.

Sedat Simavi Award

He is the recipient of the Turkish Journalists Associations, Sedat Simavi Social Sciences Award of 2006 for his book Neft and Petroleum in the Ottoman Empire, which is based on the meticulous research and investigation carried out for 13 years by Ediger on the petroleum phenomenon during the Ottoman Empire Era. The book, which appraises more than one hundred original documents obtained from the Ottoman Archives, also reviews almost all previous literature. In this context Neft and Petroleum in the Ottoman Empire is not only about the petroleum history but also about the energy history, discussing the major economical and political dynamics of energy resources.

Awards

Apart from the awards stated above, Ediger was given Etibank University Scholarship during his undergraduate study and National Science Foundation Research Scholarship during his Ph.D. study in the USA. He won various honors during his education and on his graduation. He has been an elected member of the Sigma XI Scientific Research Society in 1984. He is the owner of Special Contribution Award in Eighth Petroleum Congress of Turkey organized by Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists in 1990 and Conference Special Award in Geological Aspects of Reservoir Characteristics Conference in Baku in 1995. He was given the Certificate of Appreciation in 2000 and Letter of Appreciation in 2001 by the General Secretariat of the President’s Office of Republic of Turkey. He is the first owner of Cevat Eyüp Taşman Award given by Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists in 2007. He was included into "Who is Who in Turkey" in 2000 and into "Who is Who in the World" in 2009.

Editorships and Scientific Committee Memberships

Ediger is referee, editor, evaluator or scientific committee member of several national and international scientific/technical organizations such as Turkish Chamber of Geological Engineers (1979-1982: Petroleum Commission Member), 5^th Petroleum Congress of Turkey (1980: Technical Programme Committee Secretary), TAPG Bulletin (1988-1998: Scientific Committee and Editorial Board Member), TÜBİTAK Doğa Turkish Scientific Journal (1988-1998: Editorial Board Adviser), Regional Committee on Mediterranean Neogene Stratigraphy (1989-1998: Member), 8^th Petroleum Congress of Turkey (1990: Scientific Committee Member), IESCA International Earth Sciences Congress of Aegean Region (1990: Scientific Committee Member), State Planning Organization 7^th Five-Year Development Plan (1991-1995: Energy Commission Member), Ozan Sungurlu Science, Education, and Aid Fund (1994-1998: Science and Education Committee President), Symposium of Geology of Thrace Basin (1995: President of the Scientific Committee), 6^th International Symposium on Fossil Algae and Carbonate Platforms (1995: Scientific Committee Member), 11^th Petroleum Congress of Turkey (1996: Scientific Committee Member), 2^nd International Symposium on the Petroleum Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Black Sea Area (1996: Scientific Committee Member), Bulletin of Earth Sciences Application and Research Center of Hacettepe University (1997-: Scientific Committee Member), Niğde University Bulletin of Engineering Sciences (1998-: Scientific Committee Member), İstanbul University (2003-: Scientific Project Evaluation Referee), Energy Policy (2003- : Referee), Strategic Research Center Perception Bulletin (2005-: Referee), İstanbul technical University (2006-: Industrial Adviser Board Member), TÜBİTAK Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences (2006-: Referee), The Journal of International Trade and Diplomacy (2007-: Referee), General Staff of Turkey Strategic Research and Study Center SAREM (2007-: Energy Specialist), Marine and Petroleum Geology (2008-: Referee), Bilig Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World (2008-: Referee), Journal of Service Science and Management (2008-: Referee).

Association, Board, Committee, Commission Memberships

Ediger served and has still been serving as member, executive member, and representative at professional societies such as Geological Society of Turkey (1973-1987: Member; 1980: Executive Board Member), Chamber of Geological Engineers of Turkey (1976- : Member; 1976: METU Representative), Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists (1978- : Member), American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists (1979-1998: Member; 1989-1992: Middle East Regional Representative), International Federation of Palynological Societies (1979-1990: Turkish Representative), Ozan Sungurlu Science, Education, and Aid Fund (1992- : Member), World Energy Council Turkish National Committee (1997- : Member), IAEE Turkish Association for Energy Economics (2005- : Member; 2005- : Executive Board Member).