CM-Ismail

İsmail was born and raised in Türkiye, with a journey from Trabzon on the Black Sea shoreline to the Mediterranean coast. Highly inspired by his mentors in Chemistry Olympiads, his path in chemistry began as a pre-baccalaureate research student in Prof. Charl FJ Faul’s group at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. He pursued his undergraduate education in his home country and graduated from Bilkent University in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. During his time in Ankara, İsmail investigated the role of non-covalent interactions in [2+2] photoadditions under the guidance of Prof. Yunus Emre Türkmen. His undergraduate research also took him to the groups of Prof. Richmond Sarpong (UC Berkeley), Prof. Viresh Rawal (University of Chicago), Prof. Hideki Yorimitsu (Kyoto University, Japan), and Prof. Tatjana Parac-Vogt and Prof. Francisco de Azambuja (KU Leuven, Belgium).

Beyond the lab, İsmail is a passionate traveler, a somewhat fearless sailor, and a curious ham radio operator (callsign: TA4IK) who loves to communicate across vast distances—from astronauts aboard the International Space Station to the opposite half of the world by bouncing signals off the Moon. He hopes to see you on air!

Two truths and one lie:
1. I have talked to ISS Expedition 71 crew twice while they were in the space.
2. I have eaten a raw spider.
3. I can sail and fly a plane, yet cannot drive.

kokculer ‘at’ ucla.edu