Institute Directors

Prof. Dr. Okan Örsan Özener received his B.Sc (2001) and M.S. (2003) degrees in Industrial Engineering from Middle East Technical University. In 2006, he obtained his M.S. degree in Operations Research and in 2008 his Ph. D in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He worked as a research assistant at Middle East Technical University between 2001 and 2003, and at Georgia Institute of Technology between 2003 and 2008. His research interests are in data science, data-driven optimization, integer/combinatorial optimization, machine learning, non-cooperative/cooperative game theory and supply chain management applications. Prof. Özener has been a faculty member in the Department of Industrial Engineering since 2008 and has served as the Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering between 2016-2022 and as the Vice Dean of the Engineering Faculty from 2022-2024. He was appointed as Deputy Dean of The Faculty of Engineering and Deputy Director Graduate School of Engineering as of January 2025.

Atakan Yalçın serves as the Ozyegin University Business School Dean since June 2019. Before joining Özyeğin University Business Faculty in 2012 he was with Koc University, and has held visiting positions at Brandeis University and Boston College. Dr. Yalçın received his MBA from Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in 1996, and his Ph.D. in Finance from Carroll School of Management at Boston College in 2002. Dr. Yalçın has taught courses in Investment Management, Derivatives Securities and Financial Management. His research interest is in empirical asset pricing and empirical aspects of financial economics. His work has been published in such journals as the Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Financial Research, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research. Dr. Yalçın is a member of the American Finance Association, Western Finance Association, Financial Management Association and the CFA Institute.

Dr. Gözkan received his B.A. degree in Philosophy from Boğaziçi University in 1994. She obtained her first master’s degree in philosophy at Boğaziçi University and her second master's degree in developmental psychology at Koç University, Department of Psychology. She completed her PhD in developmental psychology at Clark University in 2012. Dr. Gözkan's research focuses on social and emotional development during adolescence from the perspective of positive youth development and self-determination theory. Dr. Gözkan has been working in the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Özyeğin University since 2012. She served as the Head of the Department of Psychology between 2017-2020. Since September 2023, he has been working as the Director of the Institute of Social Sciences.