1. Why Mathematics?

It is a medium through which I can express myself, something that I am reasonably good at, and an obsession that is not likely to become boring later in life, assuming that almost every person is destined to have an obsession.

2. Tell us about your background?

I was born and raised in Ankara. In high school, I was involved in Mathematical Olimpics. I completed my undergraduate degree at METU Ankara Campus in 1995, with a double major in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Mathematics. Between 1995-2000, I completed a Ph.D. program in Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles. From 2000 to the time that I came to the Northern Cyprus Campus, I was a faculty member at the METU Ankara Campus in the Mathematics Department.

3. What are you working on now? (What is the topic? What is its main issue?)

There are several projects that I’m working on now, together with my students and coworkers. One is about using certain degenerations to study line arrangements. Another concerns spaces parametrizing points on the plane, in particular studying the fixed locus of certain group actions on such spaces. Yet another is about knot invariants, using some ideas emerging from mathematical physics. These three can be categorized under the title “geometry”. There is one number theory project we are working on, concerning whether certain products can be squares or not. I am also in the middle of a book project about group representations and physics.

4. What are your research interests? (Specific interests & focus topics...)

The main subject areas I am interested in are algebraic geometry, combinatorics, number theory, and mathematical physics.

ü      What is the “Algebraic Geometry” ? What is the importance of “Algebraic Geometry” in science?

Algebraic geometry is the study of the geometric loci where one or more polynomials are simultaneously zero. In layman’s terms, we can think of the subject as looking at the solution set of several equations, in several variables. Each of these equations is a polynomial. In high school analytic geometry, we already see some examples, like lines, circles, ellipses, etc. The subject stands somewhat at the crossroads of many different subfields of mathematics, so studying algebraic geometry has many rewards in the sense that one acquires a feeling of what is going on in several different branches. Philosophically, geometry is the way that our brains “see” and “understand” whereas algebra gives us the algorithms to compute quickly. The field of algebraic geometry can be thought of as the art of going back and forth between these two viewpoints. For the engineering-minded, I must also say that, it already has many practical applications, such as in robotics, coding or even car manufacture.

ü      What is the “Combinatorics” ? Do you think “Combinatorics” is attracting many students?

Combinatorics is a general name attributed to topics involving methods related to counting, graph theory or a detailed possibility analysis, and some others. It is hard to convey a feeling of what this bag of topics is about, to someone outside mathematics, but I can say that all the tricky problems you saw in high school about counting, combinations, permutations, probability and much more fall into this category. The field is notoriously hard to organize under definite subtitles, but there has been many succesful advances in this direction anyhow. The problems are usually easy to state, but as in the rest of mathematics, this does not give a good clue about how hard the problem might be to solve. The “ease of statement” property attracts many students, however combinatorics is sometimes a dangerous area for students, since the problem could easily be very difficult for everybody. But it is a beautiful area, and it will probably remain a very active area for a long time.

ü      Do you involve students in your research?

Yes, I do. Currently I have three Ph.D. students. I also had Master’s students before, some in departments other than mathematics. I worked with a few undergraduate students before, and I may work with more in the future.

5. How is TRNC for scientific research?

The biggest advantages of TRNC for research are being away from the problems of a big city, and a relatively smooth organization (compared to most places in Turkey). The disadvantages are the absence of a pool of seminars and graduate students. However these may be solved in the future.

6. Does METU NCC provide an infrastructure for the academic and scientific research? (What kind of infrastructure-labs, scientific or academic freedom,etc..)

METU NCC has been doing a very good job in terms of many of these topics so far, even though it is an extremely young university. I can say that the amount of support provided is quite good, and there is a very positive interaction with the administration. As mathematicians, we don’t use labs: Our lab experiments are interactions with other mathematicians. The more frequently and more efficiently we can meet with productive mathematicians in our area, the better the experiment results. One possible path for improvement for our campus in this respect would be to make the policies for research support more flexible, taking into account different needs for different disciplines.

7. Why academia as a career?

I think because I am well-suited for it, and also because I enjoy the life style. For an academic career, the main requirements are to be self-disciplined, to enjoy teaching, and last but not the least, to be extremely patient …to the extent that one should be patient enough to throw everything done last year to the waste basket and start over, if this is the right thing to do. By the way, you can’t do this in the industry. There, you have to produce something by the deadline.

8. Tell us little about yourself? What hobby do you most enjoy? (What are your hobbies and interests?)

I am probably a family-guy type, so I spend most of the time away from my work with my family. I enjoy playing the guitar, and playing volleyball.

9. What do you most enjoy about your job?

Being fascinated by a very interesting fact more often than many people. And being able to tell a fascinating fact to students very often.

10. If you weren’t a mathematics researcher, what would you be doing now?

I would be interested in being a historian. Trying to dig out an interesting fact from dusty archives is an appealing idea, especially if you are the first person to realize an interesting pattern. It is like solving a big puzzle that nobody is even aware of. Maybe I will try it some day, if I feel more confident that I can do it.