Raşit Turan completed B. Sc. and M. Sc. degrees at the Physics Department of Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkey. He received his Ph.D. degree from University of Oslo, Norway. He worked as Post. Doc. at Linköping University, Sweden. He joined METU Physics Department as faculty member in 1991. He worked as a visiting scientist at the Material Science Department of Toronto University. His main research interests have been physics and technology of semiconductor materials and devices including solar cells. He has published more than 220 scientific papers in this field in the internationally recognized journals. Rasit Turan initiated the foundation of a national research center called Center for Solar Energy Research and Applications (GUNAM).