About
Emre Onur Kahya
Professor of Physics, Department of Physics Engineering, Istanbul Technical University.
PDF · updated 28 August 2026
I am a professor in the Department of Physics Engineering at Istanbul Technical University. I studied physics at Middle East Technical University and completed my Ph.D. at the University of Florida in 2008, with a thesis on quantum gravitational corrections to scalar field equations during inflation, supervised by Richard P. Woodard.
After postdoctoral positions at Koç University and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, I joined İTÜ in 2012, where I became associate professor in 2013 and professor in 2018. My research spans quantum field theory in curved spacetime, quantum corrections during inflation, cosmology and observational tests of modified gravity.
From 2019 to 2021 I was a visiting researcher at Mila – Quebec AI Institute, where I completed an M.Sc. in Computer Science at Université de Montréal with a thesis on identifying electrons with deep learning. Machine learning now runs through my work: from astronomical light curves to particle identification, and — as a current research direction — mechanistic interpretability and reliable AI.
Outside the lecture hall I talk about physics, the history of science and artificial intelligence on Teke Tek Bilim, and I publish worked physics problems on my own YouTube channel.
- Research interests
- Machine learning, artificial intelligence, cosmology, alternative theories of gravity, quantum field theory
- Referee for
- Physical Review D, Physics Letters B, Classical and Quantum Gravity, Astroparticle Physics
Timeline
Education & appointments
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1996–2000
B.Sc. in Physics (Education)
Middle East Technical University
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2000–2002
M.Sc. in Physics (Education)
Middle East Technical University
Thesis: Higher dimensional metrics of colliding gravitational plane waves · teaching assistant
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2002–2008
Ph.D. in Physics (Education)
University of Florida
Thesis: Quantum Gravitational Correction to Scalar Field Equations during Inflation · supervisor Richard P. Woodard · teaching assistant
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2008–2009
Postdoctoral researcher (Positions)
Koç University
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2009–2012
Postdoctoral researcher (Positions)
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant (PI)
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2012–present
Faculty member (Positions)
Istanbul Technical University
Department of Physics Engineering · associate professor 2013, professor 2018
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2019–2021
Visiting researcher; M.Sc. in Computer Science (2021) (Education)
Mila – Quebec AI Institute, Université de Montréal
Thesis: Identifying Electrons with Deep Learning Methods
Sources: the CV, the İTÜ academic profile, INSPIRE-HEP and ORCID records.
Research projects
Funded projects
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2026–2028
Carrollian Field Theories
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2019–2023
Optimization Methods in Machine Learning
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2019–2021
Machine learning for the analysis of the Large Hadron Collider data at CERN
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2017–2019
Inflation and Supersymmetric Attractors
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2013–2015
Quantum Effects in the Early Universe
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2009–2012
Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant
Talks
Invited talks & seminars
26 talks at workshops, conferences and institutes, 2006–2017. Talk titles in their original wording.
May 1–6, 2017
Loop Effects on Non-Gaussianity
Hot Topics in Modern Cosmology, Spontaneous Workshop XI · Corsica, FranceInvited
July 10–15, 2016
Effects of Time-Dependent Scalar Mode Functions on Non-Gaussianity
GR21, 21st International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation · Columbia University, New York, USA
June 27–July 1, 2016
Loop Corrections to Primordial Non-Gaussianities
Utrecht Cosmology Symposium 2016 · Utrecht, the NetherlandsInvited
August 2014
Quantum Effects on Conformal Scalars during Inflation
Cosmo 2014, 18th International Conference on Particle Physics and Cosmology · Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, Chicago, USA
September 11–14, 2012
Quantum Effects on Scalar Particles During Inflation
Physics of de Sitter Spacetime, Albert Einstein Institute · Hannover, GermanyInvited
September 5–23, 2011
Effects of Loops During Inflation
Quantum Gravity: From UV to IR, CERN · Geneva, SwitzerlandInvited
Show all 26 talks
May 1–6, 2017
Loop Effects on Non-Gaussianity
Hot Topics in Modern Cosmology, Spontaneous Workshop XI · Corsica, FranceInvited
July 10–15, 2016
Effects of Time-Dependent Scalar Mode Functions on Non-Gaussianity
GR21, 21st International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation · Columbia University, New York, USA
June 27–July 1, 2016
Loop Corrections to Primordial Non-Gaussianities
Utrecht Cosmology Symposium 2016 · Utrecht, the NetherlandsInvited
May 23–27, 2016
Zeta-Zeta propagator: Is it time-dependent?
Planck 2016, 19th International Conference from the Planck Scale to the Electroweak Scale · Valencia, Spain
August 27, 2015
Zeta Zeta Correlator is Time-Dependent
Pusan National University · Busan, South KoreaInvited
August 25, 2015
Zeta Zeta Correlator is Time-Dependent
CosKASI, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute · Daejeon, South KoreaInvited
May 25–29, 2015
Zeta-Zeta propagator: Is it time-dependent?
Planck 2015, 18th International Conference from the Planck Scale to the Electroweak Scale · Ioannina, Greece
April 2015
Quantum Effects During Inflation
University of Granada · Granada, SpainInvited
February 13, 2015
Cosmological Perturbations
Ankara YEF Days 2015 · Ankara, TürkiyeInvited
November 2014
Quantum Gravitational Effects during the Early Universe
Middle East Technical University · Ankara, TürkiyeInvited
September 1–12, 2014
Primordial Nucleosynthesis
Feza Gürsey Summer Schools · TürkiyeInvited
August 2014
Quantum Effects on Conformal Scalars during Inflation
Cosmo 2014, 18th International Conference on Particle Physics and Cosmology · Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, Chicago, USA
September 11–14, 2012
Quantum Effects on Scalar Particles During Inflation
Physics of de Sitter Spacetime, Albert Einstein Institute · Hannover, GermanyInvited
June 19–23, 2012
Quantum Effects During Inflation
IZYEF 2012 · Izmir, TürkiyeInvited
April 20–22, 2012
Power Spectrum — Can it really be time-dependent?
12th Workshop on Quantization, Dualities and Integrable Systems, Koç University · Istanbul, TürkiyeInvited
March 23–24, 2012
Realizing Quantum Effects During Inflation
Annual Meeting GRK 1523: Quantum and Gravitational Fields · Oppurg, GermanyInvited
April 21–23, 2012
Quantum Effects During Inflation
11th Workshop on Quantization, Dualities and Integrable Systems · Pamukkale, TürkiyeInvited
September 5–23, 2011
Effects of Loops During Inflation
Quantum Gravity: From UV to IR, CERN · Geneva, SwitzerlandInvited
June 28–July 1, 2010
Testing New Physics with Gravitational Waves
Modified Gravity Approaches to the Dark Sector · Strasbourg, FranceInvited
June 26–27, 2010
Externally Triggered GW Searches and Tests of Alternate Gravity Models
Gravitational Wave Tests of Alternative Theories of Gravity in the Advanced Detector Era · Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USAInvited
June 8–11, 2010
Externally Triggered GW Searches and Tests of Alternate Gravity Models
Dark Matter in the Universe and Universal Properties of Galaxies: Theory and Observations · Paris, FranceInvited
April 4–9, 2009
Testing Alternative Gravity Models
Interactions in the Dark: Physics of Dark Energy–Dark Matter Interactions · Leiden, the NetherlandsInvited
December 13–16, 2007
Testing Modified Gravity Models by Gravitational Wave Observation
12th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop, MIT · Cambridge, MA, USA
August 2007
A Generic Test of Modified Gravity Models which Emulate Dark Matter
Inaugural Conference, Penn State University · University Park, PA, USA
August 2006
Quantum Corrected Mode Functions for SQED during Inflation
University of Crete · Heraklion, CreteInvited
July 2006
Effective Field Equations for Charged Scalar during Inflation
MG11, Eleventh Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity · Berlin, Germany