Alp received B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University. He has been a member of the Argonne scientific staff since 1984 and is also a Visiting Professor at Northern Illinois University and at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
Alp is widely known for his work in nuclear resonant x-ray spectroscopy. He was a member of the Canadian Light Source Science Advisory Committee from 1999 to 2009. Together with Herman Winick, Professor emeritus at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and Stanford University, Alp chaired the first Scientific Committee for the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East project in Jordan, and helped write the scientific case for a synchrotron in the Middle East. Alp also chairs the International Science Advisory Committee for the Turkish Accelerator Center. He received the University of Chicago Distinguished Scientific Performance Award in 1999. He has worked at different synchrotron radiation facilities in France, Germany, Japan, and the U.S.
"Working with scientists from different parts of the world made me appreciate the universal nature of science as a human endeavor,” said Alp. “The concerns we have for our scientific projects, the ambitions, the dreams, the sacrifices we are ready make, points out this commonality, and hence brings us ever closer."
The Forum on International Physics is a voluntary association of APS members who are interested in advancing the knowledge of physics and its diffusion by fostering cooperation and communication among physicists of all countries. The FIP organizes focused sessions at APS meetings, receives nominations for APS fellowships and the Wheatley Award, and communicates with its members. The FIP also cooperates with several other APS bodies in charge of international scientific affairs. Programs such as international book exchanges, equipment exchanges, travel grants, etc., have been established in the past as a result of individual initiatives of FIP members.
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