About Me

I earned my B.A. in Psychology, with a minor in Philosophy, from Bilkent University, Türkiye, in 2016. During my undergraduate studies, I completed substantial coursework in engineering and mathematics and worked for three years at the National Magnetic Resonance Research Center (UMRAM) with Prof. Hulusi Kafaligonul. I then completed my Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022, specifically following the Center for Perceptual Systems interdisciplinary training program in perception. During my Ph.D., I worked at the Center for Perceptual Systems with Prof. Wilson Geisler. In 2023, I was a postdoctoral researcher at École Normale Supérieure (PSL) in the Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs. In 2024, I began a postdoctoral position at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the Laboratory of Psychophysics.

I have a wide mix of interests across science and art. I like to read and learn about many fields of science, such as physics, mathematics, philosophy, machine learning, economics, and sociology. I am also interested in classic and modern literature and film. I try to organize my interests around a clear big picture purpose (which generally involves reflection on existence and life). That structure helps me keep my time balanced and feel comfortable with how I spend it. When a topic feels meaningful and I am confident that it is worth the effort, I like to dive in and study it thoroughly, down to the fine details.

For example, reading novels is a significant part of my life, and I have already read several long classics, such as In Search of Lost Time, Ulysses, and The Man Without Qualities. Among modern authors, some of my favorites are Juli Zeh and Jonathan Safran Foer; among classic authors, Robert Musil and Fernando Pessoa.

As one might expect, I enjoy casually discussing and thinking about big questions at almost any time, often for hours, and I balance that interest by staying physically active, mostly by playing basketball and hiking with my wife.