Engin Arık

Engin Arık (October 14, 1948 – November 30, 2007) was a Turkish particle physicist and professor at Boğaziçi University. She led the Turkish participation in a number of experiments at CERN. 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 as an energy source. She has also represented Turkey at the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization for a number of years. As a graduate student, Arik attended University of Pittsburgh 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. Following her PhD, Arık went to University of London, 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 Laboratory. In 1983, Arık briefly left her position at the university to work in industry with Control Data Corporation.

From 1997 to 2000 Arık was appointed to represent Turkey at the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, which was held at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. After she died she was described as a "bannerbearer" for HEP in her country, and "one of the engin(es)" for the HEP community. 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. 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. 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 district in Ankara, Turkey. A monument at the Süleyman Demirel University 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.