Cullen College’s biomedical engineering department was host to Houston’s Turkish consul general on Nov. 1. Ferhat Alkan met professors and visited labs before having lunch with a few faculty and staff members.
A friendly supporter of the department, Alkan often invites department chair Metin Akay, John S. Dunn Endowed Chair Professor and other faculty members to local Turkish functions he hosts related to energy and healthcare.
“He was impressed with our faculty, staff and students as well as our ongoing research activities,” said Akay.
Akay said they discussed the “possibility of building a sustainable collaboration with the Turkish research institutes, universities and entrepreneurs” and Alkan suggested joint proposals to the National Institutes of Health Research Grant Program.