TASSA 2026 Conference Program
Tentative Schedule at a Glance
The conference in one picture. Click to enlarge the Schedule at a Glance, then scroll down for the full program with session descriptions and speakers.
Tentative Detailed Program
Arrival and Welcome Afternoon
Registration desk opens at 2:00 pm. Afternoon social activities, a guided tour of the Sancar Turkish Cultural and Community Center, and an evening dinner for early arrivals.
Breakfast and Registration
Welcome and Opening Remarks
- Hasan Ayaz & Canan Dağdeviren, Conference Co-Chairs
- Ercan Alp, TASSA President
Opening Keynote
Science Without Borders: Discovery, Persistence, and Global Responsibility
- Aziz Sancar, Nobel Laureate and Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fireside Chat with Aziz Sancar: Science and Society
- Aziz Sancar, Nobel Laureate and Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In conversation with
- Canan Dağdeviren, Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Hasan Ayaz, Professor, Drexel University
Conversation themes
- How curiosity-driven discovery shapes medicine and society
- Advice for the next generation of scientists and leaders
Coffee Break and Poster Session
Turkish tea, coffee, refreshments, with conversation among the posters. Posters are on display throughout the conference; presenters will be at their posters during the dedicated poster sessions on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Panel 1: Reverse Brain Drain, Diaspora Impact, and the Türkiye-U.S. Innovation Bridge
University presidents and leaders from Türkiye join the Turkish-American community to discuss how talent, ideas, and investment can flow in both directions, and what it takes to turn individual success stories abroad into lasting institutional partnerships.
Focus
- Building sustainable collaborations between the U.S. and Türkiye
- Incentives for return or dual engagement
- Case studies of successful cross-border labs and startups
- Policy, education, and research partnerships
- Joint funding mechanisms and institutional collaboration models
Moderator
- Süleyman Gökoğlu, Retired Senior Scientist, NASA Glenn Research Center
Speakers
- Hasan Mandal, President and Professor, Istanbul Technical University
- Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz, Professor and Past President, Kadir Has University; Vice President, European Women Rectors Association
- Metin Sitti, President and Professor, Koç University
- Barış Tan, President and Professor, Özyeğin University
Lightning Talks
Rapid-fire presentations by poster presenters selected from the submitted abstracts. Each speaker briefly shares the essence of their work, from a single result to a new institutional initiative, and the full posters can be seen at the poster sessions.
Lunch
Poster Session
Poster presentations from across the TASSA community: students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and professionals from academia, industry, and government, presenting research, projects, and programs at every stage. The session also features institutional posters from universities, research centers, companies, and organizations in the U.S. and Türkiye showcasing their programs, partnerships, and opportunities.
Panel 2: The Future of AI: From Foundation Models to Impact in Industry, Science, and Medicine
Leading researchers and technology executives examine where artificial intelligence is heading, from the large models reshaping industry to the tools transforming scientific discovery and medical care, and what these changes mean for researchers, companies, and society.
Focus: the "mind" of AI (models, algorithms, deployment)
Moderator
- Haluk Ünal, Professor of Finance, University of Maryland
Speakers
- Asuman Özdağlar, MathWorks Professor and Head, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Aydoğan Özcan, Chancellor’s Professor and HHMI Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
- Ece Kamar, Chief Technology Officer, Turing; formerly Corporate Vice President and Managing Director, AI Frontiers Lab, Microsoft Research
Tea Break and Networking
Turkish tea, coffee, refreshments. An open half hour to continue the conversation with speakers and fellow attendees.
Panel 3: Embodied Intelligence: Robotics and AI in the Physical World
This panel moves from software to the physical world, exploring how robots, sensors, and insights from neuroscience are giving AI a body, and how these systems are entering factories, hospitals, homes, and the human body itself.
Focus: the "body" of AI (robots, sensors and neuroscience)
Moderator
- Candan Tamerler, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, and Charles E. & Mary Jane Spahr Professor, University of Kansas
Speakers
- Taşkın Padır, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University; Amazon Scholar, Amazon.com Inc.
- Metin Sitti, Professor, School of Medicine and College of Engineering, Koç University
- Murat Yıldırım, Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Remembering Aşık Veysel
A cultural tribute to Aşık Veysel, the great folk poet of Sivas, whose songs and verse carry the voice of Anatolia.
Introduced by
- Canan Dağdeviren, Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Ercan Alp, Argonne Distinguished Fellow & Senior Physicist, Argonne National Laboratory
Speaker
- Çiğdem Özer, Granddaughter of Aşık Veysel, President of Aşık Veysel Foundation
Job Fair: Talent and Career Hub
Universities, companies, and startups from the U.S. and Türkiye meet students and researchers seeking positions, internships, and collaborations.
Reception and Dinner
Breakfast and Registration
Parallel Sessions
TASSA Business Session
Annual general meeting of the association. Reports from the TASSA President and Board, followed by elections and open discussion of priorities for the coming year.
- Ercan Alp, TASSA President; Argonne Distinguished Fellow and Senior Physicist, Argonne National Laboratory
Workshop: Entrepreneurship for Academics: Turning Research into Ventures
A hands-on session for faculty, postdocs, and students on moving ideas out of the lab: founding a company, working with investors, governance and risk, and the mindset shift from researcher to founder.
- Deniz Tudor, Senior Executive in Banking and Financial Technology; Advisor on Risk, Governance, and Innovation
Inspiring the Next Generation: Young Guru Academy’s Science and Technology Education Movement in Türkiye
How YGA is bringing science and technology education to two million children across Türkiye, and how the Turkish-American community can take part.
Moderator
- Ayşenil Belger, Professor and Director of Neuroimaging Research in Psychiatry, and Director of Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Speaker
- Ege Gedikli, Young Guru Academy (YGA)
Coffee Break and Poster Session
Turkish tea, coffee, refreshments, with conversation among the posters. Posters are on display throughout the conference; presenters will be at their posters during the dedicated poster sessions on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Panel 4: Technology Translation: From Lab to Market
Founders and academic leaders who have built companies out of university research share how discoveries become products, what the startup ecosystems of the U.S. and Türkiye offer, and how researchers, investors, and institutions can work together to bring science to market.
Focus
- Commercializing academic research
- Startup ecosystems in the U.S. and Türkiye
- Venture capital versus public funding
Moderator
- Can Erbil, Professor, Department of Economics, Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences, Boston College
Speakers
- Eren Bali, Co-Founder and CEO, Monogamy; Founder and former CEO, Udemy
- Cengizhan Öztürk, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Boğaziçi University; Co-Founder and Board Member, Boğaziçi University Center for Life Sciences and Technologies (LifeSci), Boğaziçi University Center for Targeted Therapy Technologies (CT3), and Istanbul Health Industry Cluster (ISEK)
- Melik Demirel, Endowed Chair Professor of Engineering and Director, Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies, Penn State University; Co-Founder, Tandem Repeat Technologies, Inc.
Lightning Talks
Rapid-fire presentations by poster presenters selected from the submitted abstracts. Each speaker briefly shares the essence of their work, from a single result to a new institutional initiative, and the full posters can be seen at the poster sessions.
Session Chair
- Uzay Emir, Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lunch
Poster Session
Poster presentations from across the TASSA community: students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and professionals from academia, industry, and government, presenting research, projects, and programs at every stage. The session also features institutional posters from universities, research centers, companies, and organizations in the U.S. and Türkiye showcasing their programs, partnerships, and opportunities.
Panel 5: Science, Philanthropy, and Society: Mobilizing the Turkish-American Diaspora for Impact
Leaders in global health and diaspora philanthropy discuss how giving, mentorship, and institutional partnerships can strengthen science, education, and health in Türkiye and the U.S., and how the Turkish-American community can move from responding to crises toward building lasting impact.
Focus
- Philanthropy as a catalyst for science, education, medicine, and social impact
- Diaspora engagement and Turkish-American giving models
- Supporting young scholars, fellowships, exchanges, and institutional partnerships
- Aligning nonprofit, university, industry, and community priorities
- From emergency response to sustainable long-term impact
Moderator
- Şenay Ataselim Yılmaz, Executive Director, Turkish Philanthropy Funds
Speakers
- Rıfat Atun, Dean of Education and Innovation, Julio Frenk Professor of Public Health Leadership and Professor of Global Health Systems, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Director, Health Systems Innovation Lab, Harvard University
- Ayşenil Belger, Professor and Director of Neuroimaging Research in Psychiatry, and Director of Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Tea Break and Networking
Turkish tea, coffee, and refreshments. An open half hour to continue the conversation with speakers and fellow attendees.
Panel 6: Navigating Immigration for Scientists and Scholars: Visas, Permits, and Pathways in the U.S. and Türkiye
A practical session on the immigration landscape for researchers: F-1 and OPT, J-1 and the two-year home-residency requirement, H-1B and cap-exempt positions, O-1 and EB-1/EB-2 NIW pathways for researchers, and current policy changes. The Türkiye side covers options for Turkish-Americans and returning scholars, including dual citizenship. Followed by open Q&A.
Moderator
- Günay Evinch, Principal, Saltzman & Evinch, PLLC
Young Scholars Awards and Presentations
Recognition of the TASSA Young Scholar Award recipients, followed by short presentations of their research.
Closing Remarks and Thanks
- Hasan Ayaz & Canan Dağdeviren, Conference Co-Chairs
- Ercan Alp, TASSA President
Adjourn
All sessions and meals take place at the Sancar Turkish Cultural and Community Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Preliminary program, subject to change.