He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU) in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science from The University of Iowa in 1991. He has been a faculty member in the Computer Engineering Department at METU since 1992 and continues in that role. His research areas include software engineering (model-driven engineering) and modeling and simulation (distributed simulation).
Özgür Koray Şahingöz earned his bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Boğaziçi University in 1993, followed by a master's degree in 1998 and a Ph.D. in 2006 from Istanbul Technical University, also in Computer Engineering. He currently works as a Professor in the Computer Engineering Department at Biruni University in Istanbul. He is the author of over 110 publications and is currently managing two research projects.
He has supervised more than 13 master's students and provided guidance to six doctoral students. Notably, he has served as a reviewer for over 80 national projects related to TÜBİTAK, KOSGEB, and the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Additionally, he regularly reviews for more than 60 international journals indexed in the Science Citation Index (Expanded). His research interests include artificial intelligence, machine/deep learning, data science, software engineering, and drone networks. Dr. Şahingöz is also very active in various research fields, particularly artificial intelligence and computer science, having participated in over 100 conferences/workshops as a member of the organizing and/or program committees. He has developed and taught approximately 20 different academic courses.
In 2019, 2020, and 2021, he was included in the list of “World’s Most Influential Scientists” published by Stanford University.
Cemal Yılmaz received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from Bilkent University in 1997 and 1999, respectively. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA, in 2005. From 2005 to 2008, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Hawthorne, New York. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Sabancı University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. His current research interests include software engineering, software security, and software quality assurance.
He was born and raised in Afyonkarahisar.
He studied Electrical Engineering at Middle East Technical University on behalf of the Turkish Air Force, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1989. He served in various roles and projects within the Turkish Air Force. From 2009 to 2014, he held the position of department head and later institute director at the Istanbul Air Force Academy. During his academic tenure, he chaired the RAST (Recent Advances in Space Technologies) conference. He earned his Ph.D. from Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul.
When he retired in 2016 to join Airbus Turkey, he was the Head of the Space Department of the Turkish Air Force. Since then, he has been working on the TÜRKSAT 5A and 5B programs, along with other projects in Turkey for Airbus.
He is married and has three children.
Faruk Emre Güngör graduated from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1998. He holds a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Middle East Technical University (2003) and an MBA from Bilkent University (2005).
He began his professional career in 1999 as a Systems Engineer at STM Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Inc. (STM), where he subsequently served as Business Development Manager and Director of Quality and Human Resources. He briefly worked abroad as Customer Services Manager at IPKO Telecommunications, a subsidiary of Telekom Slovenia, in 2008. After returning to Turkey, he worked as Business Development Manager at Koç Information and Defense Technologies Inc. in 2011. Before joining Microsoft Turkey, he spent ten years at SAP, holding positions in Business Development, Sales Management, and Public Sales Manager. In June 2021, he joined Microsoft Turkey and currently serves as the Public Sector Sales Manager.
Married and a father of two sons, Faruk Emre Güngör has experience in the defense, telecommunications, and software technology sectors.
He summarizes his core philosophy in business as attributing meaning to his work and leaving behind value-added systems and digital legacy projects that can benefit future generations.
İsmail Başyiğit was born in 1952 in Manisa. He completed his high school education at İzmir Air Force High School and obtained a BSc in Electrical/Electronics Engineering and an MSc in Computer Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU).
He began his career in the Turkish Air Force in 1975 as a software engineer officer. From 1982 to 1985, he worked as a specialist engineer in the NATO AEW Program Management Agency within the NATO civilian staff. Since 1985, he has served as the Project Manager responsible for Electronic and Software Systems in the F-16 Project within the Turkish Air Force. He played a key technical leadership role in the development and implementation of the F-16 Information System, as well as in the flight tests of the F-16 Electronic Warfare system and the establishment of the Programming Simulation Center.
He retired at his own request with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1995. After serving as Deputy General Manager at STM from 1995 to 1998, he co-founded MilSOFT Software Technologies Inc. in 1998, which aimed to compete internationally in the defense industry software sector. MilSOFT placed a strong emphasis on continuous R&D and quality, becoming the first company in Turkey and Europe to achieve CMMI Level 5 maturity in 2005. The company has been involved in many significant projects on both international and national levels, becoming a major player in the global market with its high-tech, standard-compliant products.
İsmail Başyiğit currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board (Co-Founder) of MilSOFT Software Technologies Inc. He is married and has two children.
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Zeynep Beyza Uçar graduated from the Software Engineering Department of TED University. She gained various experiences through internships at institutions such as TÜBİTAK, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), and Microsoft. At TÜBİTAK, she worked on image processing tasks in a thermodynamics laboratory, at TUSAŞ she focused on avionic systems, and at Microsoft, she worked on cloud applications.
She obtained her bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU) in 1992, and her master's and doctoral degrees from Ankara University in 1995 and 2005, respectively. She is a member of the Chamber of Computer Engineers and served on the board of directors during the 4th term from 2018 to 2020. She is actively involved in the Chamber's Education Commission and in TMMOB working groups. For the past three years, she has served as a Peer Evaluator in MÜDEK Evaluation Teams on behalf of the Chamber of Computer Engineers.
He received his master's degree in 2001 from the Department of Computer Engineering at Bilkent University and is currently pursuing his doctorate at the Department of Computer Engineering at Çankaya University. Since 2015, he has been a founding partner and general manager of SmartICT Bilişim AŞ, and he also holds the position of group president at Simsoft Computer Technologies.
Ertuğrul Barak received his bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU) in 1998 and his master's degree in 2022. He joined Aselsan in 1997 as a part-time employee and held various positions over 25 years, ranging from software engineer to software manager. In the early 2000s, he began working with Agile development methods and focused on implementing and promoting them within Aselsan. In 2022, he facilitated the initiation of the Agile Transformation project in the Defense Systems Technologies Sector Directorate at Aselsan, where he also served as the project leader. After retiring from Aselsan in 2023, he worked for a time as the Deputy General Manager responsible for Technology at Onbiron Information Technologies Company. An expert in Software Architectures, Software Product Lines, and Software Processes, Ertuğrul Barak has delivered talks at various conferences and universities on these topics. He is married to Bahriye Barak and has two daughters, İpek and Ece. As of May 2024, he has joined ACM Agile as an Agility Consultant, focusing on the spread of agility in the defense industry and providing consulting and training services.