Semahat S. Demir, Ph.D. Receives Society of Women Engineers' Emerging Leaders Award for Academia; Dr. Demir recognized for her contributions to engineering academia and leadership.

CHICAGO -- The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) today announced Semahat S. Demir, Ph.D. recipient of the 2005 Emerging Leaders Award in Academia for her demonstrated leadership in academia.

Dr. Demir is currently serving as program director for biomedical engineering and research to aid persons with disabilities (BME/RAPD) for the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this position, Dr. Demir directs, administers, sets review panels, and makes award/decline recommendation decisions in the BME/RAPD program and also participates in five other cross-directorate programs at NSF. She has been the solicitation coordinator for the Interagency Program in Multi-Scale Modeling in Biomedical, Biological, and Behavioral Systems for NSF, NIH, NASA and DOE. In addition, she reaches out to the academic community by giving NSF Funding Opportunities presentations at universities, conferences, workshops and panels in the U.S. and abroad. Since June 2004, she has been on a leave from her primary academic position as professor of Biomedical Engineering from the Joint Program, of the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee, Health Science Center.

"Semahat Demir has truly taught through demonstration," says Ronna Robertson, president of the Society of Women Engineers. "Dr. Demir continues to place education and engineering at the forefront of her career while encouraging women students to do the same."

In addition to her positions at NSF and the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee, Dr. Demir served as adjunct professor at Isik University, a visiting professor at Istanbul Technical University and a visiting professor at the Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Demir served both as an Expert Scientist and a Consultant (for the Bioinformatics Research Initiative funded by the World Bank) for The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey under the Prime Ministry of Turkey (Ankara, Turkey, 1999-2000). In industry, Dr. Demir worked as the Technical Manager and Medical Laser Engineer for Messerschmidt Bolkow Blohm and Rodenstock, in Turkey (1988-1989). She was also a research and development engineer in the X-Ray Division of the Medical Engineering Center of Siemens Company in Erlangen, Germany (1988).

In addition to her professional contributions, Dr. Demir has been very involved in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) and Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), holding various positions throughout her membership. She has been equally active in SWE, where she was instrumental in revitalizing the SWE Rice Student Section and also the SWE Women in Academia Committee as the Chair. She currently serves as counselor to the Memphis Student Section and the chair for the SWE International Outreach Taskforce. Dr. Demir is also the recipient of the 2003 SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award.

"Dr. Demir is a highly outstanding scientist and an excellent educator who has accomplished a great deal in her academic career," says Banu Onaral, Ph.D., H.H. Sun professor and director, school of biomedical engineering, science and health systems at Drexel University. "She continues to be an excellent role model and stimulates other women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders."

Dr. Demir earned her B.S. degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering from Istanbul Technical University, her M.S. degree in biomedical engineering from Bogazici University, and her second M.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering and her Ph.D. degree in computer and electrical engineering from Rice University. She did her postdoctoral training at Biomedical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University.

This marks the inaugural year for the Emerging Leaders Awards. These awards were created in response to overwhelming demand from our corporate partners and members to recognize the accomplishments of mid-career women. The Emerging Leaders Awards honor women engineers who have demonstrated outstanding technical excellence as an individual resulting in significant accomplishments in the following areas: academia; manufacturing and construction; procurement/logistics; product research, design, and engineering; quality; safety, health and environment; and sales and marketing.

The Emerging Leaders Awards will be formally presented Friday night, November 4, 2005, at SWE's National Conference Awards Banquet in Anaheim, Calif. The National Conference, "Women Engineers Leading Global Diversity," is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center, November 3-5, Anaheim. The more than 3,000 attendees include professionals from every discipline of the engineering profession and a large number of engineering students and educators. The 2006 Conference is scheduled for October 11-14 in Kansas City, Mo.

About SWE

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and receive the recognition and credit for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders. For more information about the Society please visit www.swe.org or call [phone].