I don't usually spend my free time doing funky stuff with CFD like the figure above.  This was part of an actual work to test the capabilities of the flow solver and grid optimization software for arbitrary complex aerodynamic configurations with detached shocks...

    I was born in Samsun, Turkey, 1981, while my parents were working through their residencies in a university hospital.  We moved to Canakkale (left figure) a few years later, where I completed my primary education.  I was too much into Star Wars and Legos back then.  I even attended a Lego competition which I did not win.  It was a devastating experience.

    Canakkale is a great place to be at.  The remains of ancient Troy is one hour away from the city center.  The sea and the weather is excellent.  Sunsets are great as well!  There's a lot of WWI stuff to look at.  This is the place where British naval forces were stopped by the Turkish defense, protecting the pass to Istanbul in 1915.  Some 500,000 people died total on both sides.  British forces were mainly composed of ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps).

These are two of my favorite sunsets shots that my mom (left) and I (right) took over the years from our back yard.  No photoshopping here!.  The land across is Gallipoli.

    This is Guzelyali, our summer retreat about 15km from the city center.   If you're lucky, you can get fresh fish delivered to your door straight from the boat.  I remember eating almost 3 lbs of sardines at once that kept me full for two days.

    The best "midye dolma" (stuffed mussels) is made in Canakkale.

At 11, I moved to Istanbul to attend American Robert College as a boarding student for middle and high school.

I started pretty geeky as seen on the left photo, but ended up with a guitar in my hand, a band, and a weird hair-do!  Volga now develops NASCAR and Madden NFL at Electronic Arts, Omer is in Rochester doing his PhD, and Onur just got his 2nd MS in Penn State.

Undergrad...

The Legos and the Star Wars finally paid off, I got into the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department of Istanbul Technical University.  There is an F-104 guarding the department building.  The hair grew just a little longer.  I still played the guitar, and played in "The Blue Bus" and Bosphorus University Rock Choir.

    Here the Blue Bus is performing at the South Campus in BU during the Tasoda concerts. Our playlist is composed of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Skid Row, Queen, and the like. 

    Here at a practice session for the Bosphorus University rock choir.

On stage with the choir

I went to Salamanca, Spain, for the summer of 2002 to work on my Spanish, and guess who showed up to give a concert?  B.B. King!!

Graduation.  On an F-104.

Grad School

  I was admitted to the Aerospace Engineering Department, Old Dominion University for graduate education.  Norfolk is much quieter than Istanbul, which is ideal for the tough schedule of full-time graduate education and research.

  There's always time for some music, but the hair had to go.  Here Hector and I playing at the Borjo Coffee House across the campus.

    John D. Anderson and me at the awards ceremony for AIAA Region 1 Student Paper Competition at Penn State, April 2006.  I doubt there is an aerospace engineer who did not read one of Anderson's books.

Friends & Family.  Featuring :: Mom, Dad, Brother, Pinar, Sissy, Lolita, Mike, China, Nehir, Kerem, Tunc, Toygun, Omer, Zeynep...

Check out my flickr page as well for more photos...