Prof.Dr. Lütfi Biran
Lütfi Biran was born on May 21, 1908, in Istanbul. After completing his secondary education at Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, he was sent to France in 1928 with a scholarship from the Ministry of National Education. He graduated from Montpellier High School in 1931 and the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Science at Montpellier University in 1936. In 1936, he became an assistant at Istanbul University Faculty of Science. In 1941, under the guidance of William Prager, he completed his doctoral thesis titled “Les surfaces réglées étudiées en analogie avec les courbes gauches.”
At the end of 1941, Lütfi Biran was appointed as an associate professor of mathematics at Istanbul Technical University. In 1944, after passing the Associate Professorship Exam, he returned to Istanbul University Faculty of Science as an associate professor of mathematics. He became a mathematics professor at Istanbul University in 1948. He was among the founding members of the Turkish Mathematical Society, established in 1948. He served as the chair of the Applied Mathematics Department in 1961 and held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Science six times during the periods of 1952–1954, 1958–1960, 1966–1968, 1968–1970, 1974–1976, and 1976–1978. He participated in the VIth International Congress organized by the Italian Mathematical Society in Naples in 1959 and the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Stockholm in 1962.
During the period of May 27, 1960, as the Representative of the University in the Founding Assembly (January 6, 1961 – October 25, 1961), Lütfi Biran was elected to participate in legislative activities in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). On July 13, 1978, while serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Science at Istanbul University, he retired due to reaching the retirement age. After the enactment of the Higher Education Council (YÖK) law, he resumed work at Marmara University. In 1977, he was honored with the Sedat Simavi Foundation Award. In 1993, the Senate of Istanbul University conferred upon him an “Honorary Doctorate in Science.”
Lütfi Biran, a professor at Istanbul University and the brother-in-law of Prof. Dr. Sıddık Sami Onar, passed away in Istanbul on October 1, 1995. He was married to Neriman Hanım, and they had one child. Following the ceremony held at Istanbul University Rectorate on Tuesday, October 3, 1995, Prof. Dr. Lütfi Biran was laid to rest at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
**This biography was compiled by our board member Özkan Değer for the booklet “TMD 75 Yılın Ardından,” prepared on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Mathematical Society.