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Prof. AHMET BİNGÜL
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bingül serves as a faculty member at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Gaziantep University. He is also actively involved in academic activities at Middle East Technical University (METU).Prof. Dr. Bingül has made significant contributions in the field of high-energy physics and has participated in the ATLAS experiment at CERN. His work related to the discovery of the Standard Model Higgs boson is particularly noteworthy.He also provides training on optical design and simulation software, including beginner-level courses on Ansys Zemax OpticStudio.
Prof. ALİ SERPENGÜZEL
Prof. Dr. Ali Serpengüzel earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Physics from Boğaziçi University in 1987. He then pursued his Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Physics at Yale University, completing it in 1992.Following his doctorate, Prof. Serpengüzel worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Yale University and later at Polytechnic University (now part of New York University). He then served as an Assistant Professor of Physics at Bilkent University. In 1999, he joined Koç University as a Professor of Physics and founded the Microphotonics Research Laboratory, where he continues to lead research on photonic applications of microsphere resonators, focusing on silicon photonics and liquid crystal photonics.Prof. Serpengüzel has been recognized with the Werner von Siemens Excellence Award for Science and Innovation and is the first Turkish Fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). He is also a member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.
Prof. ATAÇ İMAMOĞLU
Ataç İmamoğlu recieved his B.S. degree from Middle East Technical University in 1985 ,M.S. and Ph.D. degree from Stanford University.He moved to ETH Zurich as a Professor of Physics. He is the head of Quantum Photonic Group and Full Professor at the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich.Ataç İmamoğlu is working on quantum optics and quantum computation. His academic interests are quantum optics, semiconductor physics, and nonlinear optics.
Prof. ATİLLA AYDINLI
Atilla Aydinli received the M.S. and the Ph.D. degrees in engineering physics from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA, in 1980. He did postdoctoral work with Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA, and joined Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, in 1982. He became an Associate Professor in 1984. He was a Visiting Professor with the University of Padova, Padova, Italy, and University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA, before becoming a Full Professor in 1990. He was the Chairman with the Physics Department, Bilkent University, Ankara, from 1993 to 1997. He was a Fulbright Scholar with the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, in 1997. His current research interests include integrated optical devices, plasmonic cavities, nanocrystals, and IR superlattice photodetectors. He has been involved in numerous national and international projects. He is the author of over 130 peer reviewed journal articles
Prof. METE ATATÜRE
Mete Atatüre received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1996 from Bilkent University Physics Department and he then joined the Quantum Imaging Laboratory at Boston University for his PhD studies. From 2002 to 2007, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Quantum Photonics Group at ETH Zurich. He then joined the Cavendish Laboratory in 2007 and became a professor in 2015 and the head of the Cavendish Laboratory in 2023. He now leads the Quantum Optical Materials and Systems (QOMS) group, focusing on spin-photon interfaces, quantum sensors, and novel quantum materials. He is also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Nu Quantum Ltd.
Assist.Prof. YUSUF KELESTEMUR
Assist. Prof. Dr. Yusuf Keleştemur is Vice-Chair of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Middle East Technical University, where he explores colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals—from their synthesis and surface chemistry to assembly and optoelectronic device integration. He received his B.S. from METU (2010) and his M.S./Ph.D. in Materials Science & Nanotechnology from Bilkent University (2012 & 2017), then completed a Marie Skłodowska-Curie post-doctoral fellowship at ETH Zurich (2017-2020). Keleştemur has authored more than forty peer-reviewed publications that have garnered almost 3 000 citations, and his contributions have been recognized with a 2018 MSCA Individual Fellowship and the 2015 SPIE Optics & Photonics Education Scholarship. He currently teaches materials-science and solar-energy courses while supervising graduate research on nanomaterials and photonic devices.
Assist. Prof OZAN ARI
Ozan Arı is an Assistant Professor at Hacettepe University’s Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Department of Photonics. He earned his BSc in Physics from Ege University (2009) and his MSc (2011) and PhD (2017) from the İzmir Institute of Technology. From 2018 to 2024, he was Chief Research Scientist at ASELSAN, where he founded and led the KUANTAL lab, focusing on quantum technologies for defense. He also managed projects like Quantum RADAR and LIDAR and led ASELSAN’s Quantum Technologies Research Group. In 2024, he joined Hacettepe University to further his research on integrated quantum technologies.
Assist. Prof Selçuk Yerci
Assoc. Prof. Selçuk Yerci is a faculty member in the Micro and Nanotechnology Programme within the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at METU’s Center for Solar Energy Research and Applications. He completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Boston University in 2011, followed by postdoctoral research in Mechanical Engineering at MIT from 2011 to 2014. He holds both M.S. and B.S. degrees in Physics from Middle East Technical University (2007 and 2004, respectively). His research focuses on micro- and nanotechnology applications in solar energy.
Assist.Prof.Figen S. Öktem
Assist. Prof. Dr. Sevinç Figen Öktem is an Associate Professor in METU’s Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, a post she has held since 2020 after five years on the faculty as an Assistant Professor and a NASA Goddard post-doctoral appointment in 2014. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2014) and her M.S./B.S. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University (2009, 2007). Öktem directs the Signal Processing and Computational Sensing (SPACE) Lab, where her research blends computational imaging, inverse problems, machine learning and optical information processing to build physics-aware sensing systems for advanced remote-sensing and spectral-imaging applications.
ALTUĞ UÇAR
Altuğ Uçar is an optics and systems designer.He completed both his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and Master of Science (M.Sc.) degrees in Physics Engineering at Ankara University.From 2007 to 2013, he worked at TÜBİTAK SAGE, where he contributed to significant projects in optics and system design. He is the founder and CEO of Rekrom Optoelectronics, a company specializing in innovative advancements in optoelectronics and system design.
KUTHAN YELEN
Kuthan Yelen received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey, in 1999. He obtained his M.Sc. degree in Optical Fiber Communications from the Department of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, U.K., in 2001, followed by a Ph.D. from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the same university in 2004. His doctoral research focused on developing a design method for achieving ultimate efficiency in linear-cavity continuous-wave lasers using distributed feedback. His research interests include computational photonics, as well as the characterization, modeling, simulation, and design of lasers, rare-earth-doped devices, and periodic structures.
DEVRİM ANIL
Dr.Devrim Anıl learned both his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and Master of Science (M.Sc.) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU). His work focuses on advanced optical systems and their applications in defense and technology. Dr. Devrim Anıl currently serves as the Team Leader in the Optical Design unit within the Optical and Optomechanical Design Directorate at ASELSAN. In this role, he oversees the development of electro-optical imaging systems and manages research and development projects related to optical technologies.
M.Safa Dal
M. Safa Dal is an Optical Application Engineer at Numesys, an Ansys Elite Channel Partner, where he provides technical support and innovative solutions in optical engineering. With a strong background in physics and engineering, he specializes in optical system design, simulation, and analysis, helping clients optimize their projects across various industries. Safa holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from Middle East Technical University and pursued a Master's degree in Micro and Nanotechnology.His academic journey has equipped him with extensive knowledge of cutting-edge optical technologies, including nanophotonics and advanced materials.
Dr. BEGÜM KABAGÖZ
(2025 OPTICA AMBASSADOR)
Dr. Begüm Kabagöz is a Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Physics at the California Institute of Technology, stationed at LIGO Livingston Observatory. She earned a double major in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey, supported by the prestigious TUBITAK Scholarship for Double Major in Science. She completed her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University, where her doctoral research, titled "Energetic Ultrafast Frequency Generation in Multimode Fibers," advanced the understanding of nonlinear optical phenomena with higher-order modes in complex fiber systems in the ultrafast regime. The broad knowledge gained from this work has been instrumental in her transition to precision quantum metrology.
At LIGO Livingston, Dr. Kabagöz works on quantum noise reduction for gravitational-wave detectors, drawing on her interdisciplinary expertise in experimental physics and electrical engineering. She enjoys the challenge of tackling complex problems that require innovative solutions and collaborative approaches. Working in LIGO’s collaborative environment, where individuals with diverse and fluid expertise work towards a common goal, has profoundly shaped her perspective on teamwork and the power of collective problem-solving in science.
At LIGO Livingston, Dr. Kabagöz works on quantum noise reduction for gravitational-wave detectors, drawing on her interdisciplinary expertise in experimental physics and electrical engineering. She enjoys the challenge of tackling complex problems that require innovative solutions and collaborative approaches. Working in LIGO’s collaborative environment, where individuals with diverse and fluid expertise work towards a common goal, has profoundly shaped her perspective on teamwork and the power of collective problem-solving in science.
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