Birth and Early Years

Ihsan Ketin was born in Kayseri in 1914. He adopted April 10 as his official birth date for administrative purposes in Germany. The natural environment around Mount Erciyes during his childhood formed the foundation of his interest in nature and earth sciences.

Education

A successful student, Ketin was sent to Germany on a state scholarship. He began his studies in Berlin in 1932 but continued them at the University of Bonn due to political unrest in Germany, becoming a student of the renowned geologist Hans Cloos. He completed his doctorate in 1938 and returned to Türkiye.

Academic Career

Period at Istanbul University

After returning to Türkiye, he began his career as an assistant lecturer at the Institute of Geology, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University. At the time of his appointment he was 24 years old and among Türkiye’s first geologists to hold a doctorate.

Period at Istanbul Technical University

In 1950–1951, Ketin worked with Ernst Cloos at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. Upon his return, he resigned from Istanbul University and joined the General Geology Chair at the Faculty of Mines of Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) as a faculty member.

Scientific Contributions

Research on the North Anatolian Fault

Following the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, Ihsan Ketin mapped surface fractures along the North Anatolian Fault and demonstrated the existence of a major strike-slip fault. He proposed that this fault was associated with the westward movement of the Anatolian block and that this motion was balanced by a complementary left-lateral fault to the south. He published these findings in 1948.

In his 1969 article on the North Anatolian Fault, he noted that the fault is approximately 1100 km long, consists of a fracture zone 500–1000 metres wide, and is accompanied by numerous hot springs, travertine deposits, and small volcanic cones along its length. He explained that the fault’s movement began in the Quaternary or Pliocene period and had produced horizontal displacements of up to 800–1000 metres at the surface.

Contributions to Understanding Türkiye’s Tectonic Structure

Ihsan Ketin made significant contributions to the understanding of Türkiye’s geological structure, conducting extensive research on active faults, continental collision zones, and orogenic structures. He pioneered studies on the movement and deformation of Anatolia in accordance with plate tectonic theory.

Awards and Memberships

• 1981: TÜBİTAK Science Award (the first ever awarded to a geoscientist)
• 1981: Hamit Nafiz Pamir Award from the Geological Society of Türkiye
• 1984: Foreign Membership of the Geological Society of London
• 1988: Gustav-Steinmann Medal from the Geologische Vereinigung
• 1988: Honorary Membership of the Geological Society of America
• 1993: Honorary Membership of the Türkiye Academy of Sciences

The “Ihsan Ketin Special Award,” conferred by Istanbul Technical University, honors his contributions to the scientific community and young researchers.

Approach to Science and Society

Aware of the education he received abroad and the state scholarship that enabled it, Ihsan Ketin continued his scientific work with a strong sense of responsibility and placed great importance on transferring knowledge to Türkiye’s younger generations. He maintained his commitment to state-supported education throughout his life.