Dr. Melike Şahinol, Senior Researcher at the Orient-Institut Istanbul, was awarded third place in the prestigious “Wissen der Vielen – Research Award for Citizen Science.” We warmly congratulate her on this outstanding achievement!
The award was established in 2023 to honor exceptional research in the field of Citizen Science. The award is presented by Wissenschaft im Dialog and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin as part of the project Bürger schaffen Wissen. The selection is made by an interdisciplinary jury of professors. The award is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.
In her publication, “3D printed children’s prostheses as enabling technology? The experience of children with upper limb body differences,” Dr. Şahinol demonstrates how participatory approaches in technology development—particularly through dialogues with children, families, and volunteers—can be effective. Using a specially designed probes toolkit, children document their physical, emotional, and social experiences with 3D-printed prostheses.
Dr. Melike Şahinol advocates for the active involvement of children in science and technology from an early age, so that their perspectives, needs, and creative ideas can be made visible and meaningfully integrated into design.
We congratulate Dr. Melike Şahinol for her pioneering research in a field that remains marginalized and underexplored, and for bringing visibility to the lived experiences of children who use prosthetics.