The Coblentz Society recently honored Mustafa Unal, a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, with two awards.
He received both the Coblentz Student Award and William G. Fateley Student Award. The Coblentz Student Award is given annually to four outstanding students around the world who have shown excellence in vibrational spectroscopy research. Then, from the pool of winners of the Coblentz Student Award, the recipient of the William G. Fateley Student Award is selected by mutual agreement of the Student Affairs Committee of the Coblentz Society and the Fateley donor group.
With these awards, Unal is recognized as a promising young investigator in the field of vibrational spectroscopy research.
He is a fourth-year doctoral candidate and works in the lab of Ozan Akkus, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
During his PhD studies, Unal has made critical contributions to the development of several Raman spectroscopy-based platforms for disease diagnosis. He has developed a Raman spectroscopy-based novel nondestructive modality to assess hydration status of bone and cartilage. It was the first time in the literature that Raman water-related band region was characterized for bone and cartilage to identify different water compartments in bone and cartilage as a novel tool to assess bone and cartilage quality.
With these awards, Unal received a $1,200 monetary award, a copy of the society’s desk book, a certificate and plaque, and a year’s membership in the society.
Learn more about The Coblentz Student Award and William G. Fateley Student Award at coblentz.org/awards/coblentz-student-awards and coblentz.org/awards/william-g-fateley-student-award.