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RESEARCH KHAS

Newsletter of Research | January - March 2026

KHAS Receives Funding for 6 New Projects Under
the TÜBİTAK ARDEB 1001 Program

Assoc. Prof.  Tunçer Baykaş Awarded TÜBİTAK 1001 Project Support 

The project titled “Form Characteristics in Turkish Music, the Temporal Evolution of Prosodic Harmony, and Meşk Chains: An Analysis through Decomposition, Nonlinear Dynamics, and Network Science Perspectives in Composer-Performer Interactions,” led by Assoc. Prof. Tunçer Baykaş, a faculty member of our Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, has been selected for support under the TÜBİTAK 1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program. 

The project aims to quantitatively reveal the temporal evolution of form characteristics, prosodic harmony, and “meşk” (traditional oral transmission) chains by analyzing archival records of Turkish Music through signal processing, nonlinear dynamics, network science, and artificial intelligence-based methods. 

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Assoc. Prof. Baykaş and wish the project team great success. We would also like to express our gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Taner Arsan, Asst. Prof. Arif Selçuk Öğrenci, and Asst. Prof. Yalçın Şadi for their valuable contributions during the panel process. 

Assoc. Prof.  Ayşe Nur Erek Awarded TÜBİTAK 1001 Project Support 

The project titled “A Qualitative Analysis of Contemporary Art’s Potential in Enhancing Public and Spatial Access to Urban Cultural Heritage Sites,” led by Assoc. Prof. Ayşe Nur Erek, a faculty member of our Department of Industrial Design, has been selected for support under the TÜBİTAK 1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program. 

The project aims to examine the potential of art to enhance public and spatial interaction with urban architectural heritage sites by leveraging its capacity for meaning-making, storytelling, and the creation of new narratives. 

The project team includes Assoc. Prof. Defne Karaosmanoğlu as a Researcher and Assoc. Prof. Oğuzhan Ceylan as a Consultant. 

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Assoc. Prof. Erek and wish the entire project team great success. We would also like to express our gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Zeynep Günsür, Assoc. Prof. Balca Arda, and Asst. Prof. Perrin Öğün Emre for their valuable contributions during the panel process.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sezin Öner Yaman Awarded TÜBİTAK 1001 Project Support 

The project titled “Collective Memory Dynamics: An Intra-societal and Inter-societal Investigation of Narrative Features and Event Phenomenology,” led by Assoc. Prof. Sezin Öner Yaman, a faculty member of our Department of Psychology, has been selected for support under the TÜBİTAK 1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program. 

The project aims to investigate how individuals remember significant societal events and how these memories shape social identity. Based on the Multidimensional Mental Representations Model (MMMR), the study will examine the narrative, episodic, and semantic components of memories regarding societal events in Turkey. 

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Assoc. Prof. Öner Yaman and wish the project team great success in their research. 

Assoc. Prof. Onurcan Yılmaz Awarded TÜBİTAK 1001 Project Support 

The project titled “The Role of Intuitive and Analytical Processes on Cooperation in Self-Protection Contexts: A Cross-Cultural and Experimental Test of the Generalized Social Heuristics Model,” led by Assoc. Prof. Onurcan Yılmaz, a faculty member of our Department of Psychology, has been selected for support under the TÜBİTAK 1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program. 

The project aims to examine the Generalized Social Heuristics Model (GSHM)—which explains why individuals prefer cooperation during rapid decision-making—through cross-cultural methods. The study will investigate the role of intuitive cooperation under conditions where self-protection and social identity motives are active. 

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Assoc. Prof. Yılmaz and wish the project team great success. 

Asst. Prof. Akın Sefer Awarded TÜBİTAK 1001 Project Support 

The project titled “Military Industry, Labor, and Social Transformation in Ottoman Istanbul: The Tophane Basin, 1789-1856,” led by Asst. Prof. Akın Sefer, a faculty member of our Core Program, has been selected for support under the TÜBİTAK 1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program. 

In the context of the early Industrial Revolution and the period between 1789 and 1856—during which the Empire’s initial industrialization moves were made—the project will investigate the transformations within military industrial facilities in Istanbul. The study aims to analyze the impact of these transformations on production relations, worker profiles, urban demographics, and the daily life of Istanbul.  

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Asst. Prof. Sefer and wish the project team great success. We would also like to express our gratitude to Asst. Prof. Ulaş Karakoç, Asst. Prof. Müge Özbek, and Asst. Prof. Neslişah Başaran for their valuable contributions during the panel process. 

Asst. Prof. Elif Akçalı Awarded TÜBİTAK 1001 Project Support 

The project titled “Outside of Turkish Cinema: Writing a New Cinema History through Alternative Films,” led by Asst. Prof. Elif Akçalı, a faculty member of our Department of Radio, Television and Cinema, has been selected for support under the TÜBİTAK 1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Support Program. 

The project will investigate alternative cinematic works in Turkey that have not yet been the subject of any comprehensive study. By focusing on alternative audiovisual productions that have lacked visibility in Turkish cinema historiography and faced restricted channels for audience engagement, the study aims to propose a critical new framework for the history of Turkish cinema. 

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Asst. Prof. Akçalı and wish the project team great success. We would also like to express our gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Melis Behlil, Assoc. Prof. Defne Karaosmanoğlu, and Asst. Prof. Esin Paça Cengiz for their valuable contributions during the panel process. 

Asst. Prof. Yasemin Önder Awarded TÜBİTAK 3501 Project Support 

The project titled “Investigation of Inhibitory Neural Networks and Adaptive Mechanisms Underlying Diet-Induced Obesity in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus,” led by Asst. Prof. Yasemin Önder, a faculty member of our Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, has been selected for support under the TÜBİTAK 3501 – Career Development Program. 

The project aims to elucidate new neural mechanisms for the treatment of metabolic diseases by examining the control of specific neural pathways in the mouse brain over obesity and energy balance. This study will serve as a fundamental stepping stone for potential clinical approaches against obesity, one of the greatest challenges of the modern era. 

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Önder and wish the project team great success. We would also like to express our gratitude to Asst. Prof. Nuray Söğünmez Erdoğan, Asst. Prof. Ebru Bilget Güven, and Dr. Yiğit Kocagöz for their valuable contributions during the panel process. 

The 2025 Research Projects Catalog Has Been Published 

The Research Projects Catalog, which features national and international scientific projects led by our esteemed researchers and funded within the year 2025, is now available. 

This catalog, organized for the first time this year, includes projects that were funded or commenced during 2025. Moving forward, the catalog will be published annually on a regular basis. 

We wish all our researchers great success in their projects and look forward to a year of ever-increasing scientific productivity. 

(TAL) Theater Research Laboratory Archive Project – PANEL II 

The second panel, titled “What is (Who is) the Theater Research Laboratory (TAL)?” was held as part of the Theater Research Laboratory (TAL) Archive Project, which is conducted by the Kadir Has University Theater Department and supported by the TÜBİTAK 1001 Program. 

(TAL) Archive Project / Voice-Body-Space Research in Acting Workshop 

The “Voice-Body-Space Research in Acting” workshop was held between January 31 and February 1 at the Kadir Has University Blackbox, as part of the Theater Research Laboratory (TAL) Archive Project. Drawing upon the research tradition established at (TAL), the workshop was led by Erol Babaoğlu, Mustafa Kaplan, Sevi Algan, and Yaşar Nezih Eyüboğlu, all of whom have previously collaborated with (TAL). 

(TAL) Archive Project / Round Table Meeting 

A round table meeting was held with professionals who were part of the acting, theater, and dramaturgy training processes at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Theaters (İBŞT) TAL between 1988–2002, and subsequently under the institutions Ekol Drama and Çatı, having had the opportunity to work directly with Beklan Algan and Ayla Algan. 

During this meeting, participants shared stories of how their paths crossed with (TAL), discussed the contributions of (TAL)’s research to their professional development, and provided suggestions for the (TAL) Archive Project. These accounts and recommendations were officially recorded as part of the project documentation. 

KHAS’s Battery Vision for Europe

The Weakest Link of Electric Vehicles is Now Smarter: KHAS’s Battery Vision for Europe 

The battery of an electric vehicle can suddenly stall, overheat, or in the worst-case scenario, catch fire. A KHAS researcher working on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model that predicts these risks beforehand presented this vision at one of Europe’s most prestigious platforms. 

Asst. Prof. Vahit Barış Tavakol, a faculty member of our Department of Mechatronics Engineering, was a featured speaker at the “Synergizing EV Technologies” webinar organized within the scope of the EU-funded ARISE Project. The event was more than just an academic meeting; it was a vision platform discussing how Europe will shape electric vehicle (EV) technology over the next decade. 

The “Brain” Problem of Batteries 

The most critical safety risk in EV technology is known as “thermal runaway”—the process where a battery heats up uncontrollably, leading to fire. Current battery management systems (BMS) often detect this risk only after it has begun. Dr. Tavakol’s approach aims to shift the system from being reactive to predictive. 

The model, titled “Intelligent State Estimation and Risk-Aware Decision Making,” provides decision support to the management system by calculating future risk probabilities rather than just current status. In short: it provides the battery with a “brain.” 

COLLABAT: A Europe-wide Knowledge Hub 

The webinar also introduced the COLLABAT Cluster, one of Europe’s largest collaboration networks for battery technologies. Bringing universities and industrial organizations under one roof, this platform represents an ecosystem where Kadir Has University (KHAS) now stands not just as a participant, but as a contributing partner. 

Who Will Prepare the Workforce for Europe’s Green Transition? The Answer Comes from Istanbul 

By the end of this decade, Europe will possess a fundamentally different economy. Prof. Dr. Meltem Ucal, a KHAS academic, serves as the coordinator of the project that utilizes Artificial Intelligence to predict the specific skills required for that future economy today. 

What Happens to the Grid When the Sun Is Obscured by Clouds? A Mathematical Answer from KHAS 

When the wind drops and clouds cover solar panels, the stability of the power grid is put at risk. Addressing this uncertainty through mathematical modeling, KHAS researcher Assist. Prof. Zeynep Bektaş has been awarded support from TÜBİTAK for her work. 

Being Present on the Street and on Screen

Being Present on the Street and on Screen: An Academic Spotlight on the Silent Experience of Disabled Men 

A newly funded study supported by TÜBİTAK raises a question that has not previously been explored in this depth in Türkiye: what does it mean to experience disability and masculinity at the same time? 

Led by Assist. Prof. Nurseli Yeşim Sünbüloğlu of Kadir Has University’s Core Program, the project has been awarded support under the TÜBİTAK 3501 Career Development Program. The research also marks a first for academia in Türkiye, offering a comprehensive field study that examines disability and gender together. 

Mapping the unseen 

In academic literature, disability studies have largely focused on physical accessibility, healthcare, or economic participation, while gender studies have predominantly centered on women’s experiences. The intersection of these two fields—the identity experiences of disabled men, their strategies for navigating everyday life, and how they define themselves—remains a largely unexplored area in Türkiye. 

Sünbüloğlu’s project directly addresses this gap. The research will analyze the experiences of disabled men both in physical environments and across social media platforms and online forums. One of the study’s most compelling questions is whether digital spaces serve as arenas of empowerment for these individuals, or whether they reproduce new forms of exclusion. 

From academia to policy 

The findings of the research aim to provide an empirical foundation for the development of social policies addressing disability. The project is advised by Assist. Prof. Perrin Öğün Emre. 

Project Title: “An Analysis of Disabled Masculinities from a Gender Perspective and Their Construction and Experience in Physical and Digital Spaces” 
Funding Body: TÜBİTAK 3501 Career Development Program 

The Code of a Rare Disease Hidden in a Tiny Fly 

In the fight against a rare genetic disorder that causes severe neurological symptoms in children and currently has no known cure, Dr. Farzaneh Larti of Kadir Has University has been awarded support from a U.S.-based foundation. Her tool: the fruit fly. 

European Union Research and Innovation Funding Info Day Held 

An informational training session on European Union funding opportunities was held on February 16 for our academics and PhD students, delivered by Dilem Hızlan, Founder of Galata Innovation. 

Theatre Research Laboratory (TAL) Archive Project 

As part of the Theatre Research Laboratory (TAL) Archive Project, we held the third session of our panel series on February 28 at Kadir Has University’s Cibali Campus. 

PhD Student Asya Özer Receives TÜBİTAK 3005 Project Grant 

The project titled “‘Year of the Family’ Discourses in the Media and Public Perceptions of Family Policies,” led by our Communication Sciences PhD student Asya Özer, has been awarded funding under the TÜBİTAK 3005 program. 

The study aims to provide an academic perspective on social policies by examining how the concept of “family” is constructed in media and political discourse. 

Theatre Research Laboratory (TAL) Archive Project – 4th Panel Session 

Continuing its panel series, the Theatre Research Laboratory (TAL) Archive Project—dedicated to preserving the memory of our theatre history—held its fourth session on March 23 at Kadir Has University’s Cibali Campus. 

Bringing together academics and artists, the session featured in-depth discussions on the academic and artistic value of the TAL archive. 

Education and Activities

As the Project Development Office, we conducted an informational session for doctoral students as part of a seminar course. During the seminar, we shared information about funding opportunities available to them, while also discussing key points and best practices regarding the process of preparing a research proposal.

Funds Currently Open for Applications

Upcoming Information Sessions