The ERA-Chair Spectroscopy@IKU Project, being implemented at Istanbul Kültür University (IKU), holds the distinction of being the first project in Türkiye to receive funding from the European Research Agency (ERA) under the Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (WIDERA) ERA-Chairs Programme within the Horizon Europe Framework. The project underwent the first on-site monitoring visit by the EU Project Offıcer Dr. Karina Firkaviciute on Feb 3.

A team from Istanbul Kültür University’s Physical and Natural Sciences Advanced Research Center (IKU-SPECTRA), consisting of Vice Rector and IKU-SPECTRA Director Prof. Dr. Gülce Öğrüç Ildız, ERA Chair Prof. Dr. Rui Fausto, TTO Director Cüneyt Genç, and Researcher Dr. Bahadır Bozkurt, visited Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM).

The project ERA-Chair Spectroscopy@IKU: Manipulating and Characterizing Molecular Architecture: from Isolated Molecules to Molecular Crystals, is an innovative initiative in Türkiye, being the first to receive funding from the European Research Agency (ERA) under the Horizon Europe Framework. The project with 2.5 million euros budget is led by ERA Chair Coordinator and Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Gülce Öğrüç Ildız, while the research team is directed by ERA Chairholder Prof. Dr.