Nefise Akçelik

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Nefise Akçelik (1955–2003) was a Turkish civil engineer who specialized in building tunnels. She was born in Muratlı, Tekirdağ, and studied at Erenköy Girls' High School in Istanbul. At 16 she entered Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi as the only woman in the civil engineering department and graduated in 1976 at age 20, also learning English and French. In 1989 she earned a master's in Geotechnics from Gazi University in Ankara and became a technical chief.

In 1978 she joined the General Directorate of Highways, working in ground mechanics and tunnels. She rose to chief of tunnels and structures, then deputy branch manager and branch manager. Over her career she worked on more than 200 tunnel and geotechnical projects, wrote two books on tunnel construction and weak ground issues, and published 21 articles. She spoke at an ITA conference in Istanbul in 2002 and contributed to international working groups, and she was known for supporting other women engineers.

She retired in September 2003 and died on October 5, 2003, from cancer. She married colleague İbrahim Ethem Akçelik in 1978, and they had a daughter, Oya, and a son, Oğuz. The Ordu Nefise Akçelik Tunnel, built in Ordu Province, was renamed in her honor in 2007. At 3,825 meters, it was Turkey’s longest tunnel when it opened. She was commemorated at the 31st International Tunneling and Underground Space Association World Tunneling Congress in 2005.