Friends, colleagues remember Bilgutay's successes
Nancy Lan
Issue date: 7/11/08 Section: News


Dr. Nihat M. Bilgutay, 56, a professor and former head of Drexel's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, died July 1 at his home in Wallingford, Pa., after a two-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
During his 26 years at the University, Bilgutay was a driving force in the ECE department's success and growth, according to Moshe Kam, ECE department head and professor. Bilgutay was instrumental in building some of the area's most advanced laboratories, and was a pioneer in bringing multidisciplinary collaborations to the department, Kam said.
"His work … took the College of Engineering a very important step forward," Kam said. "It presented the faculty with opportunities we didn't see before."
Another significant project Bilgutay coordinated was the ECE's move from Commonwealth Hall to its current home in the Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise Center, Kam said, a transition that took about two and a half years to complete. This was a difficult time for the department, but Bilgutay was able to coordinate a smooth technical transition while never losing sight of providing the best accommodations to students and faculty.
"This project took a lot out of him. You have no idea how good he was at getting this extremely complex project done. He was a very methodical, very meticulous man," Kam said.
Though Bilgutay garnered many professional achievements throughout his career, many of his colleagues expressed that they will remember him most of all for his spirit and personality.
"He was a very kind, considerate, thoughtful person. I found him a real gentleman and a real scholar," Mark Greenberg, interim provost, said.
According to Greenberg, Bilgutay was an exceptional teacher and showed his passion for students time and time again by volunteering to teach honors courses at the University.
However, students were not the only group Bilgutay sought out to teach - according to Kam, Bilgutay was a mentor to faculty members as well.

"When I was a young professor, in spite of the fact that he had no formal obligation to, he made sure … that he gave me advice, checked up on me," Kam said.
"He propelled us [young professors] forward. My gratitude to him knows no bounds."
Bilgutay's care for other people did not stop at mentoring and teaching; he also often wrote award nominations for his fellow colleagues and was always "looking for opportunities to promote and reward others," Kam said.
Even after being diagnosed with ALS, Bilgutay still made his students and colleagues a priority, according to Margaret Wheatley, a professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science & Health Systems.
"He was incredibly brave, courageous. He remained a perfect gentleman under all that he had to suffer. … He was coming in [to work], sitting at his desk when other people would have long given up," Wheatley said.
She added that even through the decline of his health, Bilgutay was still able to maintain a sense of humor, lifting the spirits of others around him.
"His loss is very palpable. His disease, you know, is not one anyone should have to go through that and he went through it with such courage," Wheatley said.
Bilgutay was born on March 31, 1952 in Turkey. He wed his wife, Kathy, in 1977 after meeting her at her cousin's wedding in 1974, according the The Philadelphia Inquirer.
He went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in 1973 from Bradley University, as well as a master's degree and doctorate from Purdue University in 1975 and 1981, respectively.
In 1982, Bilgutay came to the University as a Drexel Fellow and was made full professor in 1992, Greenberg wrote in an email statement.
Aside from serving as ECE's department head, Bilgutay was also a Vernon L. Newhouse Professor of electrical and computer engineering, associate dean for graduate programs and research (1990-1995) and the leader of the Gateway Engineering Education Coalition.
According to Greenberg's statement: "[Bilgutay's] research interests included ultrasonic nondestructive testing and imaging and digital signal processing, and he developed an international reputation in the field of ultrasonics, especially split spectrum techniques. He was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a recipient of that organization's Third Millennium Medal."
In addition to his wife, Bilgutay is survived by his parents, Sabahattin and Utarit, three daughters, Canan Ayse, Aylin Nur and Denis, one brother and one sister.
Donations may be made to the ALS Association at 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 250, Calabasas Hills, Calif. 91301.

http://media.www.thetriangle.org/med...-3390076.shtml