Diversity in Science. Excellence in Research.
2026-03-06 12:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Moscow)
Dear Members of the Bilkent University Community,
Bilkent University National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) is pleased to host a special panel discussion titled “Diversity in Science. Excellence in Research.” in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Bringing together four members of the UNAM community, including two faculty members, a team leader engineer, and a doctoral researcher, the panel will highlight the voices of women advancing science at UNAM. The speakers will share their professional motivations, reflect on structural barriers encountered throughout their research journeys, speak about milestones they take pride in, and discuss their vision for fostering a more inclusive and forward-looking research ecosystem.
The program will open with a brief overview of the latest data on women’s representation in R&D, academia, and patent applications in Türkiye to provide context for the broader conversation.
We would be delighted to welcome you as we come together to celebrate International Women’s Day and the contributions of women in science.
Speakers: Dr. Ayça Arslan, Dr. Sezin Galioğlu Özaltuğ, Esra Arman, Dilşad Taydaş
Date: March 6, 2026 (Friday) | 12:00–13:00
Venue: UNAM Conference Hall
Language: Turkish
Kind regards,
Bilkent UNAM

From sound fields to functions through the design of acoustic operators for microscale particle control
2026-03-11 11:00 - 12:30
Carlos A. Dorao
Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Manipulating micro- and nanoscale particles is fundamentally challenging because, at small scales, conventional forces behave very differently. Particles are dominated by viscous drag, Brownian motion, and surface forces, making them difficult to control precisely without physical contact or chemical labeling. Traditional mechanical or optical methods can be invasive, complex, or difficult to scale, especially when dealing with delicate biological samples or large numbers of particles. This is where acoustic manipulation offers a compelling alternative. Sound waves can generate contactless, gentle, and tunable forces inside fluids, enabling us to design acoustic operators that perform tasks such as patterning, concentration, mixing, and lysis. By structuring the acoustic field in space and time, we can create programmable operations that act on particles across a wide range of sizes.

About Speaker
Professor Carlos A. Dorao is a professor at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He holds an engineering degree in Nuclear Engineering from the Balseiro Institute (Argentina) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from NTNU. His research focuses on the development of acoustic operators for the manipulation of micro- and nanoscale particles using sound waves as well as on fundamental thermohydraulics with an emphasis on identifying dominant heat transfer mechanisms in two-phase flow systems and understanding how flow oscillations influence these mechanisms.

Highly Crystalline Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors for Microfiber-Based Bioelectronic Interfaces and Energy Storage Devices
2026-03-12 15:30 - 17:00
Myung-Han Yoon
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

In this research, we report highly crystalline organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) designed to overcome the inherent trade-off between electrical/electrochemical performance and long-term aqueous stability. First, by introducing a sulfuric acid treatment, we successfully crystallized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) films. These films exhibit excellent electrical, electrochemical, and optical properties, alongside robust long-term stability and high biocompatibility for primary cultured cardiomyocytes and neurons over several weeks. Consequently, they were successfully employed in high-performance multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) to record and stimulate the electrophysiological activities of primary cardiomyocytes and chicken retinal tissues. Furthermore, we developed the fabrication of crystalline PEDOT:PSS microfibers and a unique self-fusion process to create single-strand wearable electrochemical transistors and 3D microfibrillar network-based bioelectronic interfaces. Finally, we demonstrated fiber-type energy storage devices by implementing carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn/PEDOT:PSS core-shell fibers.

1. Kim, S.-M., et al. Influence of PEDOT:PSS Crystallinity and Composition on Electrochemical Transistor Performance and Long-term Stability, Nature Communications, 9, 3858 (2018).
2. Kim, Y., et al. Single Strand Microfiber-Based Wearable Human Sweat Sensors with Channel Dimension Independent Performance, NPG Asia Materials, 10, 1086 (2018).
3. Kim, Y., et al. Strain-engineering Induced Anisotropic Crystallite Orientation and Maximized Carrier Mobility for High-performance Microfiber-Based Organic Bioelectronic Devices Adv. Mater. 33, 2007550 (2021).
4. Saini, N.; Lee, D.-Y.; Yoon, M.-H.*, and Awasthi, K.*, Unveiling the Potential of Pt Nanoparticle-Decorated PEDOT:PSS Membranes for Efficient Gas Separation, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 16, 7700 (2024).
5. Kim, Y.*, et al. Arbitrary 3D Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductor Architectures via Self-Fusion of PEDOT:PSS Microfibers, Science Advance, e16951 (2025).
About the speaker
Myung-Han Yoon earned his B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Seoul National University. He subsequently received his Ph.D. in Inorganic/Materials Chemistry from Northwestern University (2006) under the supervision of Profs. Tobin J. Marks and Antonio Facchetti, focusing on high-performance organic semiconductor/dielectric thin-film transistors. Following his doctoral studies, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University with Prof. Hongkun Park, where he specialized in the development of neuronal electronic and microfluidic interface arrays. In 2010, Dr. Yoon joined the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), where he currently serves as a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His professional leadership roles include serving as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Materials Chemistry B (Royal Society of Chemistry, UK) and an advisory professor for LG Electronics. With over 15,000 citations and an h-index of 51, his prolific research has earned prestigious recognitions, including Commendations from the Prime Minister (2024) and the Minister of Science and ICT (2019) of the Republic of Korea. He is also a three-time recipient of the GIST Excellent Research Award (2016, 2022, 2025) and has been honored by the Polymer Society of Korea and the Korean Chemical Society. His current research interests are at the forefront of functional and sustainable materials, encompassing organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs), metal oxides, and fibrillar hydrogels. These materials are applied toward bioelectronic interfaces, neuromorphic electronics, renewable energy (hydrogen generation), and advanced environmental purification.

From Molecules to Populations: How Single-Cell Stochasticity Drives Population Heterogeneity in Bacteria
2026-04-01 11:00 - 12:30
Murat Tuğrul
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

A central challenge in evolutionary biology is predicting how microscopic processes within a cell determine the macroscopic success of a population. While classical population genetics often treats cellular fitness as a scalar parameter, real biological populations are characterized by profound phenotypic heterogeneity, even among genetically identical individuals. In this talk, I will present a multiscale framework that links biophysical mechanisms directly to population-level outcomes and heterogeneity. First, I will show single-cell microscopy techniques that allow us to collect high-resolution data on physiological states, gene expression, and fitness components in bacteria. Integrating mathematical modeling with single-cell experiments, I will demonstrate how stochastic damage dynamics and asymmetric segregation reshape individual lifespans and emergent population growth. Second, I will focus on the complex regulatory systems controlling polygenic traits, specifically the flagellar network. I will show how the biophysical logic of genetic networks generates phenotypic bimodality, providing a strategic ‘hedge’ that might facilitate evolutionary survival. Finally, I will argue for a transition toward a mechanistic evolutionary theory where the physics of the cell dictates the logic of adaptation, offering new insights into global challenges such as antibiotic resistance.

About Speaker
Dr. Murat Tuğrul is a biophysicist and theoretical evolutionary biologist studying how stochastic processes at the single-cell level give rise to population-level heterogeneity and evolution. He is currently a Research Fellow in the Molecular Microbiology Lab at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where he combines mathematical modeling with single-cell data analysis to investigate the regulatory principles of bacterial flagellar systems. Previously, he led a Marie Skłodowska-Curie project at Freie Universität Berlin focused on bacterial aging and damage accumulation in single cells. He completed his PhD at IST Austria, developing biophysical and population genetic models of transcriptional evolution. His research integrates theory and experiment to build predictive, multiscale frameworks for understanding how cellular processes shape fitness and evolution in microbial populations.

Building a minimal nucleus to understand structure and mechanics of assembly
2026-04-15 11:00 - 12:30
Alexander Von Appen
MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

The nucleus, the largest organelle in human cells, plays a crucial role in protecting, organizing, and regulating our genome. Despite its complexity, it undergoes remarkable dynamics during cell division: as the cell enters mitosis, nuclear organization dissolves, leading to the detachment of the nuclear membrane from chromatin. The nucleoplasm and cytoplasm merge into a single entity, while the spindle distributes chromosomes to form daughter cells. Following this “open” mitosis, the entire organelle reassembles within minutes, prompting the central question: what molecular mechanisms drive nuclear self-assembly?
I will present our latest efforts to reconstitute nuclear self-assembly processes, which we study structurally using cryo-electron tomography and mechanically using optical tweezers. Specifically, I will show how ESCRT proteins assemble to close the nuclear membrane and how DNA is organized at the chromatin–nuclear membrane interface.

About speaker
PhD, EMBL Heidelberg, with Martin Beck, studying the structure of the human nuclear pore complex PostDoc, UCSF San Francisco, with Adam Frost, studying the role of phase separation in ESCRT-mediated nuclear membrane assembly Since 2021, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany

ZEISS and UNAM Present Semiconductor Advances Summit’26
2026-04-17 09:00 - 17:00
Semiconductor Advances Summit’26, organized in collaboration with the Bilkent University National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) and ZEISS, will take place on Friday, April 17, 2026, at the ZEISS Customer Center in Ankara. The event aims to bring together leading researchers and industry experts to explore the latest developments shaping the future of semiconductor science and engineering.
Prof. Dr. Hilmi Volkan Demir, Executive Board Chairman of UNAM, will deliver a talk entitled “Semiconductor Nanocrystal Quantum Optoelectronics: From Wavefunction Engineering to Quantum Purity,” sharing his latest research and innovative approaches in semiconductor nanocrystals and quantum optoelectronics. The summit will also feature Gabriel Reichl, Business Development Manager at ZEISS; Associate Professor Mario Lanza Martinez from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the National University of Singapore; Ahmet Çeliktaş from TÜBİTAK; Elif Tepeli, representative of the Turkish Integrated Circuits Alliance (TICA); and Kasem Bau, Principal Specialist at ZEISS.
Semiconductor Advances Summit’26 will provide a dynamic platform for collaboration and engagement between academia and industry, offering participants a rich and comprehensive perspective on key topics including quantum optoelectronics, post-Moore electronic materials and devices, integrated circuit ecosystems, and advanced characterization and failure analysis techniques.
Registertration now

Injectable Cryogels for Biomedical Applications: from Tissue Engineering to Immunotherapy
2026-04-29 11:00 - 12:30
Sidi A. Bencherif
University of Rouen Normandy
Northeastern University

Across cell therapy, regenerative medicine, and immunoengineering, there is a need for advanced three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds that support cells, modulate their behavior, and guide tissue regeneration. Injectable biomaterials have become especially attractive, offering minimally invasive delivery without the risks of open surgery while enabling precise placement within delicate tissues. In this context, we introduced a breakthrough platform: large, preformed macroporous cryogels that can be delivered through a standard needle–syringe system while preserving their structure and function [1]. Our 2012 report of the first injectable cryogel capable of passing through a hypodermic needle while maintaining native-like microenvironmental cues sparked widespread interest and helped redefine the design space of soft biomaterials [2]. These sponge-like constructs, produced through environmentally friendly cryogelation, exhibit unique features—including elasticity, interconnected macroporosity, and shape-memory behavior enabling complete geometric recovery after injection. Over the past decade, injectable cryogels have emerged as a versatile and customizable class of biomaterials aligned with modern research priorities. They hold great promise for tissue repair, controlled drug delivery, cell therapies, cancer immunotherapy, and innovative vaccine platforms, including those developed during the COVID-19 era [3–5].
Acknowledgements
Financial support from the Chaire d’Excellence de Normandie is gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1] L.J. Egremont et al. Trends in Biotechnology 2019, 38:418–431.
[2] S.A. Bencherif et al. PNAS 2012, 109, 19590–19595.
[3] M. Rezaeeyazdi et al. Materials Today Bio 2022, 100207.
[4] S.A. Bencherif et al. Nature Communications 2015, 6:7556.
[5] T. Colombani et al. Advanced Science 2021, 2100316.

About speaker
Sidi A. Bencherif, Ph.D., is a senior researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and a faculty-affiliated principal investigator at the University of Rouen Normandy. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard University. His research focuses on the design and development of advanced biomaterials—particularly injectable and macroporous cryogels—for applications in regenerative medicine, controlled drug delivery, and cancer immunotherapy. His work bridges fundamental materials science with translational biomedical applications. Dr. Bencherif has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including Science, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, PNAS, Advanced Science, Bioactive Materials, Cell Biomaterials. His work has received ~15,000 citations (h-index: 51), and he is an inventor on 15 patents. He has been recognized among the world’s top 2% of most-cited scientists (Stanford/Elsevier) and has received numerous prestigious honors, including the U.S. NSF CAREER Award, ACS PMSE Young Investigator Award, ACS I&EC Influential Researcher Award, BMES-CMBE Rising Star Award, and more recently the Normandy “Chair of Excellence.”

The Light of Science Shines at UNAM NanoDay 2026 on May 8
2026-05-08 08:30 - 18:00
NanoDay 2026, organized by the Bilkent University National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM), bringing together leading figures from the international scientific community, will take place on Friday, May 8, 2026.
As part of NanoDay 2026, UNAM will host Prof. Valentin Valtchev from the University of Caen Normandy and CNRS, recognized for his pioneering work in porous materials and zeolite chemistry, as well as Prof. Roland Netz from Freie Universität Berlin, renowned for his work in soft matter and theoretical physics.
Bringing together scientists, researchers, students, and industry representatives from Türkiye and around the world, NanoDay has, for 12 years, served as a prominent platform for sharing the latest developments in science. To date, 35 distinguished speakers from some of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions—including Harvard, ETH Zurich, the Max Planck Institutes, and Northwestern University—have shared their expertise in nanotechnology, photonics, biomedical engineering, materials science, quantum optics, and biotechnology, inspiring more than 3,000 participants.
For more information and registration, you can visit the NanoDay website.
