Cem Berk Senel is a laureate of EOS Pipet 2024
The Flemish popular science magazine EOS Wetenschap has recently presented five young scientists in its contest EOS Pipet 2024. Each was chosen for their significant contribution to scientific research. Among them is Cem Berk Senel, postdoctoral researcher at the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), who recently published a paper in Nature Geosciences that attracted a great deal of media attention.
After a master’s degree at the Technical University of Istanbul, Cem Berk Senel developed his expertise in atmospherical sciences during his post-master’s degree at the von Karman Institute, followed by a PhD degree at ROB and Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), which he completed in 2023. During his doctoral thesis, together with Orkun Temel and Özgür Karatekin (both also from ROB), he developed a model that simulates the Earth’s climate just after the Chicxulub impact 66 million years ago. Paleoclimate simulations show that the fine dust generated by the meteorite impact caused a global cooling of the planet and disrupted photosynthesis of the vegetation present at that time.
The results of this research, also carried out in collaboration with researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Philippe Claeys, Pim Kaskes, Steven Goderis), the KU Leuven and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Johan Vellekoop), were published in Nature Geosciences on October 30, 2023. The publication attracted considerable attention from the Belgian and international media, demonstrating the high level of public and media interest in this significant contribution to research. Featured in a curated collection by Nature (Dinosaur 200th Anniversary Collection), this research was selected for The Top 10 Dinosaur Discoveries of 2023, by Smithsonian Magazine.
By becoming one of the five laureates of EOS Pipet 2024, a contest organised in collaboration with the Jonge Academie, he has received further recognition for his scientific achievements from the jury, made up of Flemish science journalists and communicators. The public can now choose which of them they consider to be the best for the People’s Choice Award via https://www.eoswetenschap.eu/eospipet2024. Voting will continue until September 2024, when the winner will be announced.
Congratulations, Cem, and good luck for the People’s Choice Award!
Interview of Cem Berk Senel by EOS Wetenschap (in Dutch): https://www.eoswetenschap.eu/natuur-milieu/cem-berk-senel-ontrafelde-hoe-fijnstof-66-miljoen-jaar-geleden-het-leven-decimeerde
News publication “Dust played a major role in dinosaur demise”: https://www.astro.oma.be/en/dust-played-a-major-role-in-dinosaur-demise/