Arda Mevlutoglu told us in a comment to this blog, that the problems with Dr. Anilir were reported by a mainstream Turkish newspaper:
http://www.stargazete.com/guncel/nasa-kurnazi-haber-226650.htm
The article also appears to be distributed in an internet news site:
http://haber.mynet.com/detay/yasam/nasa-kurnazi/480972
UPDATE: the problem was also reported in Turkish TV (ATV)
http://www.atv.com.tr/haber_programi/haber_izle/2009/11/20
(from 3min37sec)
More detailed(?) news report on TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fw4x3xBMB8
(thanks to Anonymous comment for the information)
In response to the news reports in Turkey, Dr. Anilir posted an excuse in his Turkish blog:
http://anilir.blogcu.com/aciklama/6418939
His Japanese blog remains silent after September 26th, although he used to post at least one entry every month until September.
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Denied in Turkey
Breaking News --- another report by a major newspaper
Asahi Shimbun, one of the largest newspapers in Japan, published an article entitled "Todai Assistant Professor Claiming an Astronaut Candidate: Reasoning Denied by Turkish Government" on the web and in the November 14th printed issue.
This time, the article explicitly mentions the name "Serkan ANILIR". According to the article, Dr. Anilir had submitted a document issued by Turkish Ministry of Transportation to the University of Tokyo, as an evidence of his claim that he is an astronaut candidate. (It is not clear from the article when the document was submitted by Dr. Anilir. Maybe during the recent investigation.) However, on November 13th, Asahi Shimbun obtained a written comment from Turkish government that "the document is not issued by Turkish MInistry of Transportation, and the content does not represent the fact".
The article also reports that Dr. Anilir also submitted similar letters which are supposed to be issued by NASA and a Professor in the US who invited him to NASA projects. However, they also denied the authenticity of the letters.
Asahi Shimbun interviewed Dr. Anilir in late October about the suspicion surrounding his astronaut candidate claim. He told the newspaper that he took an astronaut training course, based on an agreement between Turkish Air Force and NASA. He could not speak more details because it is a military matter.
The article also reports the problems with his publication list, which was already published by Nikkei.
Well, misrepresenting career in Japan is one thing (which would be certainly very bad), but fabricating an official document from Turkish government is quite another. Wouldn't it be a criminal offense in Turkey? Maybe Dr. Anilir is feeling so sorry about the problem, that he is cornering himself? An interesting observation is that, apparently he did not submit an "official document" from Turkish Air Force which played part according to his story. (see also this entry.)
Asahi Shimbun, one of the largest newspapers in Japan, published an article entitled "Todai Assistant Professor Claiming an Astronaut Candidate: Reasoning Denied by Turkish Government" on the web and in the November 14th printed issue.
This time, the article explicitly mentions the name "Serkan ANILIR". According to the article, Dr. Anilir had submitted a document issued by Turkish Ministry of Transportation to the University of Tokyo, as an evidence of his claim that he is an astronaut candidate. (It is not clear from the article when the document was submitted by Dr. Anilir. Maybe during the recent investigation.) However, on November 13th, Asahi Shimbun obtained a written comment from Turkish government that "the document is not issued by Turkish MInistry of Transportation, and the content does not represent the fact".
The article also reports that Dr. Anilir also submitted similar letters which are supposed to be issued by NASA and a Professor in the US who invited him to NASA projects. However, they also denied the authenticity of the letters.
Asahi Shimbun interviewed Dr. Anilir in late October about the suspicion surrounding his astronaut candidate claim. He told the newspaper that he took an astronaut training course, based on an agreement between Turkish Air Force and NASA. He could not speak more details because it is a military matter.
The article also reports the problems with his publication list, which was already published by Nikkei.
Well, misrepresenting career in Japan is one thing (which would be certainly very bad), but fabricating an official document from Turkish government is quite another. Wouldn't it be a criminal offense in Turkey? Maybe Dr. Anilir is feeling so sorry about the problem, that he is cornering himself? An interesting observation is that, apparently he did not submit an "official document" from Turkish Air Force which played part according to his story. (see also this entry.)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Finally, mass media is catching up
Breaking news ----
Nihon Keizai (abbrev. Nikkei) Shimbun, one of the largest newspapers and probably the most important financial newspaper in Japan, reported problems of "Assistant Professors of the University of Tokyo". The web article is here (in Japanese). In the printed evening issue of November 9th (Monday), more details are given.
Although Nikkei does not give the name of the person explicitly, it describes the person as
The Nikkei article, nevertheless, gives several interesting new information. According to the article, NASA commented that "There is no such fact (that Dr. Anilir is an Astronaut Candidate). Now the issue is investigated by NASA security office."
Moreover, Nikkei published comments by Dr. Anilir himself about the problems. According to the article, concerning the paper in which he replaced different person's name by his name, he claimed that he "wrote an article with the same content in Turkish." Concerning the non-existent paper in PRL, he "submitted a draft". FInally, concerning the Astronaut Candidate, he "participated in a special program between NASA and Turkish Air Force" (hey, didn't he write that he did not have military background??).
In addition, Jiji, a major news agency in Japan, also reported the problem on web (in Japanese). It is rumored that there will be more coverage in the morning issue of newspapers today (November 10th).
Nihon Keizai (abbrev. Nikkei) Shimbun, one of the largest newspapers and probably the most important financial newspaper in Japan, reported problems of "Assistant Professors of the University of Tokyo". The web article is here (in Japanese). In the printed evening issue of November 9th (Monday), more details are given.
Although Nikkei does not give the name of the person explicitly, it describes the person as
- Male Assistant Professor in his 30s, at School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo
- Obtained Ph. D. in Architecture from the University of Tokyo, in 2003
- Belonged to JAXA as a researcher on termed contract, until 2005
- Recruited by the University of Tokyo as "Joshu" in 2005, and "Jokyo" in 2007
- Has written books on the space etc.
- Appeared in various media
- Claimed being the "first Turkish Astronaut Candidate", presenting a photo of himself wearing NASA spacesuit
Well, that should be more than enough to specify the person. You will also find that all of the above descriptions are completely consistent with what has been discussed in this blog.
Nikkei article reports that JAXA removed 4 papers from the activity report for the year 2003 because "their existence could not be proved". According to JAXA, in one of the 4 papers, the name of an author of an existing paper was replaced by his name. Another paper was claimed to be published in "Physical Review Letters" (PRL), one of the most respected journals in physics, but it cannot be found in any issue of PRL. Well, they are not news at all, for the readers of this blog :)
The Nikkei article, nevertheless, gives several interesting new information. According to the article, NASA commented that "There is no such fact (that Dr. Anilir is an Astronaut Candidate). Now the issue is investigated by NASA security office."
Moreover, Nikkei published comments by Dr. Anilir himself about the problems. According to the article, concerning the paper in which he replaced different person's name by his name, he claimed that he "wrote an article with the same content in Turkish." Concerning the non-existent paper in PRL, he "submitted a draft". FInally, concerning the Astronaut Candidate, he "participated in a special program between NASA and Turkish Air Force" (hey, didn't he write that he did not have military background??).
In addition, Jiji, a major news agency in Japan, also reported the problem on web (in Japanese). It is rumored that there will be more coverage in the morning issue of newspapers today (November 10th).
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