Alper Bozkurt

Biography

Dr. Alper Bozkurt joined NC State in August 2010. His research interests include development of microscale sensors, systems and methodologies to unlock the mysteries of biological systems with an aim of engineering these systems directly or developing new engineering approaches by learning from these systems.

Dr. Bozkurt currently serves as the McPherson Family Distinguished Professor in Engineering Entrepreneurship in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State University. He received a doctorate in electrical engineering from Cornell University and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Drexel University. He is the founder and Director of the Integrated Bionic MicroSystems (iBionicS) Laboratory at NC State, where his team explores novel bionic interfaces with cockroaches, sphinx moths, plants, mussels, birds, canines, horses, lemurs, and humans. He envisions a future where biological organisms play a meaningful role in the cyber-physical understanding and management of our ecosystems. On the human health side, Dr. Bozkurt's team's innovative biomedical devices have been applied in areas such as brain-machine interfaces, cognitive augmentation, sleep performance monitoring, asthma and diabetes management, and the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Dr. Bozkurt's recent research achievements on the Internet of Bionic Things have been covered by several media agencies, including BBC, CNN, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Newsweek, and Reuters. The innovations resulting from his team’s work have led to the spin-off of six companies from NC State University. In parallel with his studies, he also worked as an official consultant for the Disney movie G-Force , produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and participated in the Smart America Challenge organized by the White House Presidential Innovation Fellows. Bozkurt is a recipient of the Calhoun Fellowship from Drexel University, the Donald Kerr Award at Cornell University, the Chancellor's Innovation Award (three times), the Outstanding Global Engagement Award, and the William F. Lane Outstanding Teacher Award at NC State University and several IBM Faculty Awards. He has also received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation and the IEEE Sensors Council Young Professional Award. In 2015, he was included in Popular Science Magazine's "Brilliant 10" list. Dr. Bozkurt’s team has received best paper and presentation awards from the U.S. Government Microcircuit Applications & Critical Technology Conference, IEEE Sensors Conference, IEEE Body Sensor Network Conference, FLEX Conference, and ACM Animal-Computer Interaction Conference.

Dr. Bozkurt served as an Associate Editor for IEEE Sensors Journal.  He currently serves as the Co-Director of the National Science Foundation Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST) and the Co-Director of the Institute of Connected Sensor Systems (IConS) at NC State University.

(More information about these research is available at Dr. Bozkurt's website).

Education

• Ph.D. 2010
  Electrical and Computer Engineering
  Cornell University, Ithaca
• Master's 2004
  Biomedical Engineering
  Drexel University, Philadelphia
• Bachelor's 2001
  Electrical and Electronics Engineering
  Bogazici University, Istanbul