Cengiz Yalçın was born in 1934 in Gerede, Bolu. He received his bachelor's degree in 1960 and master's degree in 1961 from Ankara University, Department of Physics, and his doctorate in Nuclear Physics from Sussex University in 1965. After working as an Assistant Professor at METU between 1967-1969 and as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sussex between 1969-1971, he received the title of Associate Professor at METU in 1972 and professor in 1977 and retired in 2001. Head of METU Physics Department between 1972-1976 and 1982-1987, Member and Vice President of TÜBİTAK Board between 1985-1990, Member of the Board of Directors of the "European Science Foundation" between 1989-1997, President of the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority between 1998-2001. He undertook many academic and administrative duties such as. Between 1987 and 1998, he was a member of the Turkish Physical Society, the European Physical Society, the American National Association of Science Teachers, and the New York Academy of Sciences. He expanded the horizons of different generations of students with his scientific research on nuclear physics and many courses he gave, especially modern physics courses, and he made an outstanding contribution to the development of METU Physics Department to reach today. He has 12 published books. The Fundamentals of Physics books, which he translated from English into Turkish, played an important role in the development of science in our country and in bringing the foundations of physics to a wider audience of students. After his retirement, he continued to write books and continued to work for the adoption of leadership in science and technology with his columns. He is married and has a child.
