ITI professor Tamer Başar awarded honorary doctorate from KTH Royal Institute of Technology

On the 15th of November, ITI Professor Tamer Başar stood center-stage in the magnificent Stockholm Concert Hall- the same arena in which the Nobel Prize is awarded each December. The KTH Royal Institute of Technology orchestra had been arranged behind the podium, and at the conclusion of their number, the white-tie ceremony proceeded with the presentation of Başar’s honorary doctorate.

For an individual outside of Sweden to receive this distinction requires, besides preeminence in his or her field, substantial involvement with KTH through both promotion and cooperation, which is criteria that Başar has far-exceeded.

Notably, upon receiving the highly competitive Linnaeus grant from the Swedish Research Council (a counterpart of our National Science Foundation), the KTH research group with which Başar works formed the Autonomic Complex Communication Networks, Signals and Systems (ACCESS) Linnaeus Centre to conduct long-term, interdisciplinary research where Başar operated first as an international expert evaluator, and, subsequently, as a research collaborator. As a result, a number of his post-docs and students have been able to work on joint publications with KTH affiliates.

When it comes to student learning and research opportunities, Başar’s impact extends well beyond the ACCESS Linnaeus Centre. Serving as a campus delegate, Başar helped usher in the establishment of INSPIRE, the innovative, award-winning strategic partnership between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and KTH. Since 2012, this collaborative venture has allowed for both undergraduate and graduate students to explore new opportunities in education, research, and service.

This honorary doctorate from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology makes the fourth honorary doctorate for Başar, who holds an award of the same name from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, and Boğaziçi University and Doğuş University, both located in Istanbul. While each honorary doctorate holds great meaning for Başar, this most recent award was unique, due to both the incredible splendor of ceremony and the stipulation that an individual may not receive an honorary doctorate from more than one university in Sweden.

In addition to his professorship with ITI, Başar acts as the director of the Center for Advanced Study, the Swanlund Endowed Chair in the department of electrical and computer engineering, a professor with the Coordinated Science Laboratory and an affiliate professor with the department of mechanical science and engineering.