- People
- Administration & Staff
- Research faculty
- Gabriela Aceves-Sep煤lveda
- Alissa N. Antle
- Sheelagh Carpendale
- Parmit Chilana
- Jon Corbett
- Steve DiPaola
- Halil Erhan
- Brian Fisher
- Diane Gromala
- Marek Hatala
- Kate Hennessy
- Alireza Karduni
- Sylvain Moreno
- Carman Neustaedter
- Will Odom
- Philippe Pasquier
- Niranjan Rajah
- Bernhard Riecke
- Gillian Russell
- Thecla Schiphorst
- Chris Shaw
- Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
- Ron Wakkary
- 脰. Nilay Yal莽in
- Teaching faculty
- Emeritus
- Adjunct Faculty
- Alumni
- Work at SIAT
- Opportunities
- Research
- Programs
- News & Events
- Spaces & Equipment
- StudioSIAT
- Media
- We are hiring
- Showcase
- Contact
- Staff & faculty resources
Feature, Research
Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Dr. Ö. Nilay Yalçin
School of Interactive Arts & Technology assistant professor 脰. Nilay Yal莽in鈥檚 interest in science, and specifically cognitive science, began with an increasing curiosity to understand human cognition and the potential of artificial intelligence to model the human mind.
Cognitive science is a unique interdisciplinary field and Yal莽in was intrigued by the interplay of the different disciplines, such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, and AI, to tackle one very complex problem at different angles.
鈥淚 loved what my mentors and other researchers in cognitive science and AI created in their work, the excitement they had when they talked about their research and I wanted to be a part of it.鈥�
Yal莽in鈥檚 journey into the cognitive science field was not always linear.
Yal莽in completed her bachelor鈥檚 degree in Management Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and discovered that the courses she excelled in were related to math, statistics, and programming.
Near the end of her undergraduate degree, Yal莽in had the opportunity to work on a graduation project where she was encouraged to propose her own project idea for a year-long individual project. While exploring potential topics, Yal莽in found herself developing an interest in human-computer interaction and began analyzing educational platforms and their perception by users. Through this, her project took shape.
鈥淒uring this project, I realized how much I enjoyed research: forming hypotheses, collecting data, evaluating, and brainstorming,鈥� says Yal莽in. 鈥淚t was also during this time that I discovered cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and how technology affects human behaviour.鈥�
Yal莽in enjoyed the work so much and was so interested in the subject that she found herself going above and beyond the project requirements.
After graduating, Yal莽in was accepted to the Middle East Technical University鈥檚 Master of Science program and was further introduced to AI. During this time, Yal莽in decided to pursue a career in academia.
In 2019, she completed her PhD in AI-powered interactive agents at the School of Interactive Arts & Technology. Through this work, Yal莽in wanted to build AI-powered interactive agents to both understand the human mind and to create technologies for positive societal impact.
To other women and girls pursuing the sciences, or indeed any field, Yal莽in says 鈥測our voice, ideas, and contributions are invaluable!鈥� Find your passion, she says, and follow it. 鈥淣o one has the same journey, embrace your path and don't be afraid of breaking the barriers/assumptions of others. Seek mentors and allies, connect with supportive communities, and believe in your abilities to be the best at what you do.鈥�